The Motown Top 250 Countdown (#250-246) & This Week's Statistics

Hello, my friends, old and new! I've spent the whole week tallying the votes for the Motown countdown, which means that I had no time to write a story in-between. I think it's only the 2nd time in the 27-month history of this blog that we go from weekend to weekend without a new story. So, let's talk about our new countdown.

Four people voted: Joanna, Efie, Alan (my greatest thanks to all three), and yours truly. I had said that I will include every song that would receive a vote - and that added up to a total of just short of 250 songs. I added a couple of songs on my own to have a good round number, et voilà, here is the Motown Top 250 countdown.

It's only fitting to begin at the beginning. The single Come To Me was released in May 1959 and was co-written and sung by Marv Johnson (photo). It was the first ever single to be released by what would eventually become known as Motown, on the newly formed Tamla Records label. It also became Johnson's first hit single after the song was nationally distributed by United Artists.

After he issued the first release for the Tamla (Motown) label, Johnson was signed by United Artists. He released three albums and several singles for UA but continued to record in Motown’s homegrown studios at Hitsville USA.

By early 1960, the song had reached #30 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #6 on the national R&B chart. Between 1959 and 1961, Johnson issued nine Billboard Hot 100 singles, including two Top 10s. They were, however, hits for United Artists, thus ineligible for our countdown. Come To Me, on the other hand, is eligible - and it is found at #250:

As an extra, here is Johnson's biggest hit, You Got What It Takes, also in 1959. It sold over a million copies, entering the US and UK top 10 and hitting the top in Australia:

At #249 is my chance to salute one of my favorite songs of all-time. The Motown version was a collaboration between the post-Diana-Ross Supremes & The Four Tops, who were about to exit Motown for ABC Records. Produced by Nickolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson, River Deep – Mountain High with its soaring vocals and string section, peaked at #7 on the R&B chart and at #14 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1971, making it the highest-charting version of the song in the United States. Their version also peaked at #11 on the UK Singles Chart and at #25 on Netherlands' MegaCharts. Here it is:

But is it the best version of the song? No, it isn't. The best is definitely the original: the single from 1966, performed by Tina Turner and credited to Ike & Tina Turner, is the best. The song's producer and co-writer (along with the songwriting duo of Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich), the legendary Phil Spector, considers it to be his best work - and he's right. Had this version been available for our countdown, I'm pretty sure that it would have made our Top 10.

Spector was well aware of Ike Turner's controlling attitude in the studio, and therefore he drafted an unusual contract: the River Deep – Mountain High album and single would be credited to "Ike & Tina Turner", but Ike was paid $20,000 to stay away from the studio, and only Tina Turner's vocals would be used on the record.

The track was recorded using Spector's "Wall of Sound" production technique, cost a then-unheard-of $22,000, and required 21 session musicians and 21 background vocalists. Due to Spector's perfectionism in the studio, he made Turner sing the song over and over for several hours until he felt he had the perfect vocal take for the song. Turner recalled, "I must have sung that 500,000 times. I was drenched with sweat. I had to take my shirt off and stand there in my bra to sing."

The single entered the lower end of the Billboard 100 and stopped at #88 on the pop charts. Even though it had better fortune in the United Kingdom, peaking at #3 in the singles charts on its first release, Spector was so disillusioned that he ceased involvement in the recording industry totally for two years, and only intermittently returned to the studio after that; he effectively became a recluse and began to self-destruct.

Ike Turner remarked that he felt the record did not do well in America because the sound was "pop or white", while Tina Turner's voice was R&B, so that "America mixes race in it" – though the writer Michael Billig speculated that although earlier records which had mixed black singers with a white pop sound had sold well, by 1966 the black political movement was encouraging African Americans to take a pride in their own culture, and River Deep – Mountain High was out of step with that movement.

George Harrison praised the record, declaring it "a perfect record from start to finish. You couldn't improve on it." Later Rolling Stone was to put it at #33 on its list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. Here it is, in all its glory:

The recording of the song was later dramatized for Tina Turner's biographical film, What's Love Got to Do with It. This is the scene, with Angela Basset in the role of Tina Turner, for which she received a Best Actress Oscar nomination:

The song was covered by many. Deep Purple (Mark I) recorded a 10-minute version on their second studio album, while Céline Dion covered the song on her 1996 album Falling Into You. Let me play two more versions that I particularly like. The Easybeats were an Australian rock band that formed in Sydney, Australia, in late 1964, and disbanded at the end of 1969. They were the first rock and roll act from Australia to score an international pop hit with the 1966 single Friday on My Mind (a classic).

All five founding members were from families that had migrated to Australia from Europe: lead singer Stevie Wright and drummer Gordon "Snowy" Fleet were from England; rhythm guitarist George Young was from Scotland; lead guitarist Harry Vanda and bassist Dick Diamonde were from the Netherlands. Vanda and Young would later produce the first six albums for AC/DC (which featured George's younger brothers Angus Young and Malcolm Young). Their cover of River Deep – Mountain High has a welcome garage rock feel:

Eric Burdon & The Animals also had a great 7-minute trippy cover version of the song:

The song at #248 is yet another great song. What Does It Take (To Win Your Love) (1969) was one of Jr. Walker & The All Stars most successful releases, becoming a hit on both the R&B chart (#1) and the Hot 100 (#4). It also peaked at #13 in the UK.

The song was voted Top US Soul Record of 1969 and has sold over a million copies. Its extended intro and saxophone solo have influenced the works of David Sanborn, Clarence Clemons, and Bobby Keys. It was written by Johnny Bristol, Harvey Fuqua, and Vernon Bullock. Here it is:

Alton Ellis' reggae version was released as a single in 1970:

In 1986, instrumentalist Kenny G (with Ellis Hall on vocals) covered this tune on his 1986 album Duotones:

At #247, we find The Onion Song, sung by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell in 1970. Marvin and Tammi were Motown's greatest singing duo, but sadly their joint career was cut short when Tammi died of brain cancer at age 24, just ahead of The Onion Song's US release. Marvin would die 14 years later, at 44, shot by his own father...

The song, which reflected social consciousness, became Gaye & Terrell's biggest hit in the United Kingdom, entering the singles chart on 15 November 1969 and peaking at #9 on 9 December. The Onion Song peaked at #18 on the R&B singles chart and at #50 on the US Hot 100:

Finally for today, at #246, we find David Ruffin with his hit My Whole World Ended (The Moment You Left Me). Ruffin was most famous for his work as one of the lead singers of The Temptations (1964–68) during the group's "Classic Five" period as it was later known. He was the lead voice on such famous songs as My Girl and Ain't Too Proud to Beg. Known for his unique raspy and anguished tenor vocals, Ruffin was ranked as one of the 100 Greatest Singers of All Time by Rolling Stone magazine in 2008.

In October 1968, Ruffin filed suit against Motown Records, seeking a release from the label and an accounting of his money. Motown counter-sued to keep the singer from leaving the label and eventually the case was settled. The settlement required Ruffin to remain with Motown to finish out his initial contract (Ruffin joined Motown as a solo artist and always had a separate contract from the other Temptations, which some felt caused a lot of the in-fighting within the group).

Ruffin's first solo single was a song originally intended for the Temptations, My Whole World Ended (The Moment You Left Me). The single was released in 1969 and reached the US Pop and R&B Top Ten. It was written by Johnny Bristol, Harvey Fuqua, and James Roach. Here it is:

This is the cover version by Kiki Dee (of Don't Go Breaking My Heart fame, her international #1 duet with Elton John):

Now, let's continue with last week's statistics; after the previous rise, there was a 16% drop in last week's visits. Which was only natural, since there were no new stories to read. Still, Nick Cave's final chapter was his most popular entry in months and Diana Ross' solo years are still going strong. The United States and Greece were the week's winning countries, while France and to a lesser extent the United Kingdom and Russia suffered some losses. The other major players kept their percentages more or less stable.

Last week I included a map of the countries that have visited the blog, so far. This week I will include a map of the cities and towns that visited this blog in 2017 and during the first 5 months of 2018. Please note that this is not as accurate - many towns that visit are not picked up by Google Analytics, especially in countries other than Europe, the United States, and Australia. I have noticed that in many cases, the friendliest cities/towns to our blog lie near the sea. This is especially obvious in Asia, Australia, Africa, and South America. It's not as easy to see, but it also applies to the US. Could it be that the sea air makes us gay? [mischievous grin]

Here are this week's Top 10 countries:

1. the United States

2. Greece

3. the United Kingdom

4. Canada

5. France

6. Germany

7. Australia

8. South Africa

9. Brazil

10. Spain

Here are the other countries that graced us with their presence since our last statistics (alphabetically): Algeria, Argentina, Armenia, Austria, the Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Bolivia, Chile, China, Colombia, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, French Polynesia, Guatemala, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, Libya, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mexico, Montenegro, Myanmar (Burma), the Netherlands, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Pakistan, Peru, the Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Trinidad & Tobago, Turkey, Ukraine, the United Arab Emirates, Uruguay, US Virgin Islands, Venezuela, Vietnam, Yemen, and Zambia. Happy to have you all!

And here's the all-time Top 10:

1. the United States = 28.0%

2. France = 23.2%

3. the United Kingdom = 13.0%

4. Greece = 6.7%

5. Russia = 2.6%

6. Germany = 1.8%

7. Canada = 1.5%

8. Italy = 1.2%

9. Turkey = 0.98%

10. Cyprus = 0.88%

That's all for today, folks. Till the next one!