Not often a label thought of in hip-hop terms, the best Motown samples prove that Berry Gordy’s empire had more than enough beats for the crate-diggers.
Rihanna’s second record, ‘A Girl Like Me,’ saw her evolve beyond the dancehall and introduced the world to an emerging pop force.
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.
Motown’s secret weapon, Marc Bolan’s widow, and a Northern soul icon, Gloria Jones’ legacy extends far beyond ‘Tainted Love.’
Motown’s story is often told by the superstars who helped define the company’s sound, but that doesn’t tell the whole story.
Fifty songs that were part of rhythm and blues heritage but which didn’t fully find a mainstream audience until they were remade.
There are many great cover songs, but only a few stand out as landmarks, earning themselves a distinction among the best cover versions of all time.
The stirring ballad became the group's second Motown, and third overall, R&B No.1.
Soft Cell put synthesizers into northern soul on September 5, 1981, when they took ‘Tainted Love’ to the top of the UK charts.
“We were curiously chopping up samples from various Seventies disco and soul records when suddenly, ‘Fantasy’ by Aquarian Dream gave us the exact thing we were searching for.”
Everyone knows the heavy-hitting classics, but Motown’s output was so good there are tons of overlooked 70s albums you need to know.
Two vinyl box sets, each featuring seven double-sided Northern Soul singles from the vaults of Chess and Capitol, will be released by Universal on July 24.