James Dean, The Motown Top 250 Countdown (#175-171) & This Week's Statistics

Hello, my friends, old and new! In exactly two weeks from today, a 24-year-old man was killed when his Porsche Spyder race car collided with another car while on the road near Cholame, California. He was killed almost immediately from the impact from a broken neck. The young man was James Dean. Today's first story is dedicated to him.

James Byron Dean was born February 8, 1931, in Marion, Indiana, to Mildred Marie (Wilson) and Winton A. Dean, a farmer turned dental technician. His mother died when Dean was nine, and he was subsequently raised on a farm by his aunt and uncle in Fairmount, Indiana. After grade school, he moved to New York to pursue his dream of acting. He received rave reviews for his work as the blackmailing Arab boy in the New York production of Gide's "The Immoralist", good enough to earn him a trip to Hollywood. His early film efforts were strictly small roles: a GI in Samuel Fuller's moody study of a platoon in the Korean War, Fixed Bayonets! (1951) and a sailor in the Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis overly frantic musical comedy Sailor Beware (1952). This scene is from the latter - and although it is a very small part, you can tell from his posture and from the furtive glances he gives the camera that he is so much more than a blond bit-player...

He also had an uncredited part as a youth in the Piper Laurie-Rock Hudson comedy Has Anybody Seen My Gal (1952):

He then appeared, once again uncredited in the John Wayne vehicle, Trouble Along the Way (1953) and two years later lightning struck - twice. In 1955 Jimmy was the lead actor in two iconic films - and, snap! - he was a star.

In the Elia Kazan production of John Steinbeck's East of Eden (1955), a spin of the tale of Cain and Abel, he played Cal Trask, the bad brother who could not force affection from his stiff-necked father. The film earned him his first Best Actor Oscar nomination. In this great scene, he is accompanied by his screen father, Raymond Massey:

In this also very important scene we see him with his screen mother, Jo Van Fleet, who won a Supporting Actress for this role:

This is his major scene with the film's love interest, Julie Harris:

His true starring role, the one which fixed his image forever in American culture, was that of the brooding red-jacketed teenager Jim Stark in Nicholas Ray's Rebel Without a Cause. If it hadn't come out the same year as East of Eden, surely this would have been his second Oscar nomination. In this scene early on in the film, one can observe his acting chops:

This is an equally powerful scene:

The fact that Sal Mineo was gay and Dean was bisexual provided the movie with an interesting subtext. In this scene, Mineo is totally and desperately trying to spend the night with Dean:

This is the heartbreaking finale:

Dean is the only actor in history to receive both of his Oscar nominations posthumously. The second one came for Giant (1956), George Stevens' adaptation of Edna Ferber's novel, in which he played the non-conforming cowhand Jett Rink who strikes it rich when he discovers oil. The movie wasn't completely finished when Dean died and some scenes had to be shot using his double. In this scene he is joined by his close friend, Elizabeth Taylor:

Here, he acts alongside fellow Oscar nominee, Rock Hudson:

James Dean is a cultural icon of lasting importance. He is the subject of three songs and is mentioned in countless others.

This is Phil Ochs' Jim Dean Of Indiana (1970):

This is James Dean by the Eagles (1974):

This is Mr. James Dean by Hilary Duff (2004):

Now, here are the songs that mention him: this is American Pie by Don McLean (1971):

This is David Essex with Rock On (1973)

This is Walk on the Wild Side (1973) by Lou Reed:

This is Jack and Diane by John Mellencamp (1982):

This is Forever by Skid Row (1988):

This is We Didn't Start the Fire by Billy Joel (1989):

This is Vogue by Madonna (1990):

This is Electrolite by R.E.M. (1996):

This is Choke On This by Senses Fail (2004):

This is Speechless by Lady Gaga (2009):

This is Rather Die Young by Beyoncé (2011):

This is Blue Jeans by Lana Del Rey (2012):

This is Style by Taylor Swift (2014):

This is Ghost Town by Adam Lambert (2015):

The weekend was here, which means it's time for our countdown and our statistics: Today's Motown countdown is the first where there's a tie. Also, it really belongs to Stevie Wonder, as three out of today's five songs are his. He also co-wrote and produced the fourth one.

At #175 of our countdown, we find Until You Come Back to Me (That's What I'm Gonna Do). The song was written by Morris Broadnax, Clarence Paul, and Stevie Wonder in 1967. Wonder's was the original recording, but his version was not released as a single and did not appear on an album until 1977's anthology Looking Back. This is it:

The most well-known version of this song is the 1973 release by Aretha Franklin, who had a million-selling top 10 hit on Billboard charts. The song reached #1 on the R&B chart and #3 on the Hot 100 chart in 1974. It became an RIAA gold record. Here it is:

Miki Howard recorded the song for her 1989 self-titled album. Her version was an R&B hit in 1990 when it peaked #3 on Billboard's Hot Black Singles chart. Here it is:

This is Chaka Khan's live version (2002):

At #174 is another song by Stevie Wonder, called Don't You Worry 'bout a Thing. Don't You Worry 'bout a Thing was a single, taken from his 1973 album Innervisions. It reached #16 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and #2 on the R&B chart. The song's lyrics convey a positive message, focusing on taking things in one's stride and accentuating the positive.

The opening melody is reminiscent of Horace Silver's Song For My Father over which Stevie engages in an English dialogue with a female, and speaks Spanish, using the phrase "Todo está bien chévere", which loosely translates as "Everything's really great." The song's second chorus begins with Stevie taking the vocals up an octave, with two vocal overdubs singing the same line. He also mimics the horn line with harmonized scat singing. Here it is:

In 1992, it was covered by British acid jazz band Incognito, who took it to #19 in the UK:

This is John Legend's version from the movie Hitch (2005):

In 2016, Tori Kelly as the voice of Meena covered the song for the animated movie Sing and its soundtrack:

At #173 we find a huge crossover Disco hit for Diana Ross: Upside Down was also a #1 hit in all three pertinent US charts: the Hot 100, the R&B chart and the Disco chart. It was also a top 3 hit in most major markets around the world.

The song was written by Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers (of the band Chic). In a 2011 interview, Nile Rodgers said: "Diana Ross was the first big star we ever worked with and we took it very seriously." Rodgers and Edwards interviewed her for several days. "This was the first time in her life somebody cared about who she was; what she was - everyone previously had treated her the way we had treated Sister Sledge - they got her in and said 'Sing this'. We (took a more personal approach)."

Here is the hit:

The tie I've been talking about occurs at #171, with two songs sharing this position. The first is It's A Shame, which was co-written by Stevie Wonder, Syreeta Wright, and Lee Garrett and produced by Wonder as a single for The Spinners on Motown's V.I.P. Records label in 1970. The single became the Detroit-reared group's biggest single on the Motown Records company since they had signed with the company in 1964.

The lineup of the Spinners included original members Pervis Jackson, Henry Fambrough, Billy Henderson, and Bobby Smith and lead vocalist G.C. Cameron. The song, which is about a man who complains about a lover's "messin' around" on him, became a huge hit for the group reaching #14 on the Hot 100, #4 on the R&B chart, and #20 in the UK. The song was the first song Stevie Wonder produced for another act by himself.

Two years later, the group would leave Motown for a contract with Atlantic Records on the advice of fellow Detroit native Aretha Franklin, also an artist on that label. Cameron, who was having an affair with Gwen Gordy (sister of Motown founder Berry Gordy) decided to stay in Motown and the group hired Cameron's cousin Philippé Wynne to replace him. Later, Cameron moved with the Gordys to Los Angeles and stayed with Motown for over a decade. Here is the hit version by the Spinners:

Jamaican reggae and rocksteady innovator Alton Ellis covered the song in 1971:

Hip-Hop pioneers Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five included a cover version on their 1982 debut album The Message:

In 1990, the song was sampled and covered by rapper Monie Love for the hit song It's a Shame (My Sister):

It was also covered by Raphael Saadiq for the Levi's Pioneer Sessions in 2010:

Also at #171 is yet another Stevie Wonder song and on this one, he's also the performer. It was co-written by Stevie Wonder, Sylvia Moy, and Henry Cosby; Cosby also served as the producer.

The song, originally entitled Oh, My Marsha, was composed about Wonder's girlfriend, while he was at the Michigan School for the Blind in Lansing, Michigan. Following their break-up, the lyrics and title were altered to the more general, My Cherie Amour. All of the song's instruments (with the exceptions of the horns and the strings) were recorded on November 8, 1967. On November 17, the horns and strings were added at Golden World Records, one year before it was acquired by Motown. Wonder's vocals were added on January 15, 1968, but, the song was not released until January 28, 1969, due to Wonder's vocal issues. Motown placed the track's release on hold until the issues were resolved. 

The song became a #4 hit on the Hot 100, the US R&B singles chart, and in the UK. It also peaked at #9 in Ireland and at #14 in Canada. Wonder also released Spanish and Italian-language versions entitled Mi Querido Amor and My Cherie Amor, respectively. This is the original hit version:

Jazz guitarist and vocalist George Benson covered My Cherie Amour in his album Tell It Like It Is (1969):

This cover version, taken from Rod Stewart's Soulbook (2009), features the song's originator, Stevie Wonder:

In 2014 My Cherie Amour was sampled by British DJ Philip George for his single Wish You Were Mine which was a hit all over Europe and topped the UK Dance Chart. Here it is:

Now, let's continue with last week's statistics; a Scottish Shower situation has taken root: up one week, down the other. This week we've experienced a 24% fall in the number of visits. The last two stories underperformed. The others did great.

As far as countries are concerned, a great week for the United States, Greece, Indonesia, while France, Russia, and Turkey are slightly falling behind. The other major players kept their percentages more or less stable.

Here are this week's Top 10 countries:

1. the United States

2. Greece

3. the United Kingdom

4. Germany

5. Indonesia

6. France

7. Brazil

8. Canada

9. Australia

10. Cyprus

Here are the other countries that graced us with their presence since our last statistics (alphabetically): Algeria, Angola, Argentina, Austria, Azerbaijan, the Bahamas, Belgium, Bermuda, Bulgaria, Cameroon, Cayman Islands, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Czechia, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Faroe Islands, Finland, FYR Of Macedonia, Ghana, Gibraltar, Guatemala, Honduras, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lebanon, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macau, Malawi, Malaysia, Mexico, Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar (Burma), the Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Peru, the Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Trinidad & Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Turks & Caicos Islands, Ukraine, the United Arab Emirates, Uruguay, Vietnam, and Zimbabwe. Happy to have you all!

And here's the all-time Top 10:

1. the United States = 31.2%

2. France = 19.5%

3. the United Kingdom = 12.0%

4. Greece = 8.2%

5. Russia = 2.4%

6. Germany = 1.8%

7. Canada = 1.7%

8. Italy = 1.1%

9. Cyprus = 0.92%

10. Turkey = 0.81%

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