Inspiring covers by everyone from The Beatles to Carpenters, The Marvelettes’ ‘Please Mr Postman’ song put Motown on the map as a true cultural force.
Everyone knows the heavy-hitting classics, but Motown’s output was so good there are tons of overlooked 70s albums you need to know.
Cutting far deeper than most break-up songs, ‘What Becomes Of The Brokenhearted’ remains Jimmy Ruffin’s defining Motown soul statement.
Having helped birth soul music in the 60s, Motown helped it mature in the 70s, creating classic albums and asking some of the biggest questions of the era.
Stuffed with classics – both those Stevie created and those he adopted – ‘My Cherie Amour’ still provokes wonder: how did he get so much joy into one album?
Defining “The Sound Of Young America” in the 60s, Motown dominated the decade with some of the most life-affirming music of all time.
The best Motown songs are timeless soul classics that capture everything it means to be in love, to suffer heartbreak – and to want to dance with abandon.
The best John Lee Hooker songs find an imitiable groove to prove that the blues could make you feel, but it could also make you dance.
The best Isaac Hayes songs revolutionised soul music in the 60s and 70s, spearheading symphonic soul and helping to invent the Blaxploitation genre.
The soundtrack album to the 1972 festival, ‘Wattstax: The Living Word’ captured the power, heart and sense of unity and purpose behind the pioneering event.
Who was more authentically rock’n’roll than Gene Vincent? ‘Bluejean Bop!’ has a reasonable claim to be the best debut album ever – it really is that good.
One of the most powerful albums that Stax Records released, ‘A Dramatic Experience’ proves why The Dramatics were one of Detroit’s greatest vocal groups.
‘Straight Outta Compton’ arrived like a road crash: you couldn’t ignore it. It launched gangsta rap and made the West Coast matter in hip-hop.
His final album for Stax Records, ‘Crown Prince Of Dance’ proved that Rufus Thomas could still claim the throne when it came to floor-filling soul music.
His insane lifestyle might have risked overshadowing the music, but Rick James was a talented musician whose work speaks for itself.
