Hits for the Long (Playing) Run
TRACKING MOTOWN’S TOP 20 TOTALITY, PART II
There’s surely something symbolic in the fact that the first and last major hit albums for Motown Records under Berry Gordy were both by Stevie Wonder. Perhaps the Boss had innervisions when he inked the 11-year-old in the summer of ’61.
In total, Wonder delivered 11 long-players which reached the Top 20 of the main Billboard album chart between 1963 and 1987, including three which climbed to Number One. It was his Recorded Live/The 12 Year Old Genius which was Motown’s first substantial LP success.
Yet perhaps a more remarkable statistic is that the Temptations scored 17 (yes, 17) Top 20 albums during this survey period, plus another two with Diana Ross & the Supremes. No other Motown act performed so well, unless you combine the Supremes’ score with that of Diana Ross, solo.
A clutch of 1962 Motown albums: “Stock ‘em up”
What’s more, the Temptations’ tally includes a Top 20 album every year from 1966-74 – an achievement also unmatched by anyone else at Hitsville. And the group’s Greatest Hits spent 120 weeks on the full-length Billboard chart, the fourth-longest run for any Motown release. (The company’s longest was with 1983’s movie soundtrack to The Big Chill, which occupied the 200-position countdown for 161 weeks.)
Welcome to the latest WGB chart analysis, intended to complement the singles snapshot posted two weeks ago. As you will see, there are both surprising and predictable results: the former includes the Top 20 absence of Motown stalwarts such as Martha & the Vandellas, the Marvelettes and Jr. Walker & the All Stars, while the latter includes the 1980s’ dominance by Lionel Richie. His three Top 20 albums – two of which went to Number One – spent 358 weeks on the full Billboard best-seller list, with Can’t Slow Down running for 160 weeks, Lionel Richie for 140 weeks.
As shown below, Motown snagged an impressive total of 103 Top 20 albums from 1963-87 (albeit none during 1988, its last year owned by Gordy). It placed nine in the Top 20 during 1967, including a five-week reign at Number One for Diana Ross & the Supremes’ Greatest Hits, and another nine in 1973, including two weeks at the peak for the Lady Sings The Blues soundtrack. Also noteworthy was 1970: eight Top 20 titles, with one for Ross, two apiece for Rare Earth and the Temptations, and three for the Jackson 5.
During the ’80s, Motown’s best showing was in the decade’s first year, with success for two albums by Smokey Robinson and one apiece by Ross, Wonder, Jermaine Jackson and the Commodores. Less bountiful were 1975 (one Top 20 entry, by the Temptations) and 1986 (also one, by Richie). A complete count-by-artist yields the following:
The Temptations, 19 Top 20 albums, including two with Diana Ross & the Supremes
The Supremes, 12, including two with the Temptations
Stevie Wonder, 11
Diana Ross, 8
The Commodores, 8
The Jackson 5, 8
Marvin Gaye, 6
Rick James, 5
The Four Tops, 4
Lionel Richie, 3
Smokey Robinson, 3
Smokey Robinson & the Miracles, 2
Rare Earth, 2
Michael Jackson, 2
Each of the following earned one Top 20 album: Mary Wells, Gladys Knight & the Pips, Eddie Kendricks, Thelma Houston, Jermaine Jackson, the Dazz Band, Rockwell, DeBarge, the Mary Jane Girls and Bruce Willis. There were Top 20 credits for the Mahogany and The Big Chill soundtracks, while movie/TV soundtrack albums by the Supremes & the Temptations, Wonder, Ross, Gaye and the Jackson 5 are included in their artist counts.
MOTOWN’S FIRST CHARTING LP
Motown’s first LP release was Hi, We’re The Miracles in June 1961. It did not figure on Billboard’s main album chart, which was divided at the time into mono (Top 150) and stereo (Top 50) rankings. The trade mag had a Top 30 R&B singles chart then, but none for R&B albums until January 1965.
The first Billboard-charting LP for Gordy’s firm was Mary Wells’ Two Lovers And Other Great Hits, which peaked at No. 49 in March 1963. But even after Wonder’s Number One later that year, it took time for the company’s album business to reach significant scale, as Barney Ales, its onetime sales chief, subsequently confirmed. “At the beginning, it was 90 percent singles, 10 percent albums,” he told me a while back.
A perpetual presence on the Billboard album charts
Motown was hardly alone in that respect. Independent competitors such as Stax and VeeJay couldn’t deliver Top 20 albums on the pop charts for the likes of Otis Redding (in his lifetime) or Jerry Butler. Ales said that it took a 1966 deal with the Columbia Record Club to make a meaningful difference to sales. Another factor was Motown’s multi-volume compilation line, 16 Original Big Hits. “Everybody had 12 songs on an album,” he recalled, “but we put some out with ten. Got nothing but complaints. So we changed that. Then I said, ‘Let’s go for 16. If people are complaining about 10 or 12, let’s try 16 big hits.’ And it worked.”
Most of the company’s Top 20 albums reached their pinnacle within three months of release – but not all. Rare Earth’s Get Ready and Smokey Robinson’s Where There’s Smoke were two which peaked more than nine months after arriving at retail, stimulated by hit singles. And some acts performed better on the Billboard album charts than on the Hot 100: Rick James logged only two Top 20 singles, for instance, but snared five Top 20 long-players.
Billboard’s changing chart methodology also made a difference, while it’s important to note that the album rankings were primarily based on music retailer (and mass merchandiser) data, whereas the Hot 100 reflected radio reports as well as input from record stores.
Anyway, enough exposition. Here’s the list by year, showing each album’s peak at left, with the date of that peak in parentheses after the title. In the case of chart-toppers, the number of weeks at the summit is also shown in parentheses. An asterisk after each record’s catalogue number means it reached Number One on the Billboard R&B album charts. As before, should there be mistakes, please let me know (and thanks).
1963
#1 (1) Recorded Live/The 12 Year Old Genius (August 24) LITTLE STEVIE WONDER (Tamla 240)
1964
#18 Greatest Hits (August 8) MARY WELLS (Motown 616)
1965
#2 Where Did Our Love Go (January 16) THE SUPREMES (Motown 621)*
#6 More Hits By The Supremes (October 16) THE SUPREMES (Motown 627)
1966
#11 The Supremes At The Copa (January 1) THE SUPREMES (Motown 636)
#20 Four Tops Second Album (January 29) THE FOUR TOPS (Motown 634)
#11 Temptin’ Temptations (February 5) THE TEMPTATIONS (Gordy 914)*
#8 Going To A Go-Go (February 26) SMOKEY ROBINSON & THE MIRACLES (Tamla 267)*
#8 I Hear A Symphony (April 30) THE SUPREMES (Motown 643)*
#12 Gettin’ Ready (September 24) THE TEMPTATIONS (Gordy 918)*
#1 (2) The Supremes A’ Go-Go (October 22) THE SUPREMES (Motown 649)*
1967
#5 Greatest Hits (February 11) THE TEMPTATIONS (Gordy 919)*
#17 Four Tops Live! (March 11) THE FOUR TOPS (Motown 654)*
#6 The Supremes Sing Holland Dozier Holland (March 18) THE SUPREMES (Motown 650)*
#10 Temptations Live! (May 20) THE TEMPTATIONS (Gordy 921)*
#20 The Supremes Sing Rodgers & Hart (July 22) THE SUPREMES (Motown 659)
#11 Four Tops Reach Out (September 16) THE FOUR TOPS (Motown 660)
#7 With A Lot O’ Soul (September 30) THE TEMPTATIONS (Gordy 922)*
#1 (5) Greatest Hits (October 28) DIANA ROSS & THE SUPREMES (Motown 663)*
#4 Greatest Hits (November 25) THE FOUR TOPS (Motown 662)
1968
#13 In A Mellow Mood (March 16) THE TEMPTATIONS (Gordy 924)*
#7 Greatest Hits Vol. 2 (March 23) SMOKEY ROBINSON & THE MIRACLES (Tamla 280)
#18 Reflections (June 15) DIANA ROSS & THE SUPREMES (Motown 665)
#13 Wish It Would Rain (August 17) THE TEMPTATIONS (Gordy 927)*
1969
#2 Diana Ross & The Supremes Join The Temptations (January 11) DIANA ROSS & THE SUPREMES and THE TEMPTATIONS (Motown 679)*
#14 Love Child (January 25) DIANA ROSS & THE SUPREMES (Motown 670)
#1 (1) TCB (February 8) DIANA ROSS & THE SUPREMES with THE TEMPTATIONS/TV SOUNDTRACK (Motown 682)*
#15 Live At The Copa (March 1) THE TEMPTATIONS (Gordy 938)
#4 Cloud Nine (May 3) THE TEMPTATIONS (Gordy 939)*
#5 Puzzle People (November 29) THE TEMPTATIONS (Gordy 949)*
1970
#5 Diana Ross Presents The Jackson 5 (April 15) THE JACKSON 5 (Motown 700)*
#9 Psychedelic Shack (May 2) THE TEMPTATIONS (Gordy 947)*
#12 Get Ready (June 27) RARE EARTH (Rare Earth 507)
#4 ABC (July 11) THE JACKSON 5 (Motown 709)*
#15 Ecology (August 15) RARE EARTH (Rare Earth 514)
#19 Diana Ross (October 3) DIANA ROSS (Motown 711)*
#4 Third Album (October 24) THE JACKSON 5 (Motown 718)*
#15 Greatest Hits II (October 31) THE TEMPTATIONS (Gordy 954)
1971
#11 Maybe Tomorrow (May 22) THE JACKSON 5 (Motown 735)*
#16 Sky’s The Limit (June 26) THE TEMPTATIONS (Gordy 957)
#6 What’s Going On (July 31) MARVIN GAYE (Tamla 310)*
#16 Goin’ Back To Indiana (November 20) THE JACKSON 5/TV SOUNDTRACK (Motown 742)
1972
#12 Greatest Hits (February 5) THE JACKSON 5 (Motown 741)
#14 Got To Be There (April 1) MICHAEL JACKSON (Motown 747)
#7 Lookin’ Through The Windows (August 5) THE JACKSON 5 (Motown 750)
#5 Ben (November 11) MICHAEL JACKSON (Motown 755)
#2 All Directions (December 2) THE TEMPTATIONS (Gordy 962)*
1973
#3 Talking Book (February 3) STEVIE WONDER (Tamla 319)*
#14 Trouble Man (March 3) MARVIN GAYE/MOVIE SOUNDTRACK (Tamla 322)
#1 (2) Lady Sings The Blues (April 7) DIANA ROSS/MOVIE SOUNDTRACK (Motown 758)
#7 Masterpiece (April 21) THE TEMPTATIONS (Gordy 965)*
#9 Neither One Of Us (May 19) GLADYS KNIGHT & THE PIPS (Soul 737)*
#5 Touch Me In The Morning (September 1) DIANA ROSS (Motown 772)*
#4 Innervisions (September 22) STEVIE WONDER (Tamla 326)*
#2 Let’s Get It On (October 20) MARVIN GAYE (Tamla 329)*
#18 Eddie Kendricks (November 3) EDDIE KENDRICKS (Tamla 327)
1974
#19 1990 (February 23) THE TEMPTATIONS (Gordy 966)
#8 Marvin Gaye Live! (September 7) MARVIN GAYE (Tamla 333)*
#1 (2) Fulfillingness’ First Finale (October 5) STEVIE WONDER (Tamla 332)*
#16 Dancing Machine (November 23) THE JACKSON 5 (Motown 780)
1975
#13 A Song For You (April 26) THE TEMPTATIONS (Gordy 969)*
1976
#19 Mahogany (January 24) MOVIE SOUNDTRACK (Motown 858)
#4 I Want You (June 5) MARVIN GAYE (Tamla 342)*
#5 Diana Ross (June 26) DIANA ROSS (Motown 861)
#12 Hot On The Tracks (October 2) THE COMMODORES (Motown 867)*
#13 Diana Ross’ Greatest Hits (October 2) DIANA ROSS (Motown 869)
#1 (14) Songs In The Key Of Life (October 16) STEVIE WONDER (Tamla 340)*
1977
#11 Any Way You Like It (May 7) THELMA HOUSTON (Tamla 345)
#3 Live At The London Palladium (May 14) MARVIN GAYE (Tamla 352)*
#3 Commodores (June 18) THE COMMODORES (Motown 884)*
#18 Baby It’s Me (December 3) DIANA ROSS (Motown 890)
#3 Commodores Live! (December 10) THE COMMODORES (Motown 894)
1978
#3 Natural High (July 29) THE COMMODORES (Motown 902)*
#13 Come Get It! (September 16) RICK JAMES (Gordy 981)
1979
#16 Bustin’ Out Of L Seven (March 24) RICK JAMES (Gordy 984)
#14 The Boss (September 29) DIANA ROSS (Motown 923)
#3 Midnight Magic (October 27) THE COMMODORES (Motown 926)*
#4 Stevie Wonder’s Journey Through The Secret Life Of Plants (December 8) STEVIE WONDER (Tamla 371)
1980
#17 Where There’s Smoke (March 1) SMOKEY ROBINSON (Tamla 366)
#14 Warm Thoughts (May 24) SMOKEY ROBINSON (Tamla 367)
#6 Let’s Get Serious (July 12) JERMAINE JACKSON (Motown 928)*
#7 Heroes (July 12) THE COMMODORES (Motown 939)
#2 Diana (October 4) DIANA ROSS (Motown 936)*
#3 Hotter Than July (December 6) STEVIE WONDER (Tamla 373)*
1981
#10 Being With You (June 6) SMOKEY ROBINSON (Tamla 375)*
#3 Street Songs (August 1) RICK JAMES (Gordy 1002)*
#13 In The Pocket (August 29) THE COMMODORES (Motown 955)
1982
#4 Stevie Wonder’s Original Musiquarium I (June 12) STEVIE WONDER (Tamla 6002)*
#13 Throwin’ Down (July 10) RICK JAMES (Gordy 6005)
#14 Keep It Live (July 10) THE DAZZ BAND (Motown 6004)*
#3 Lionel Richie (November 27) LIONEL RICHIE (Motown 6007)*
1983
#16 Cold Blooded (October 29) RICK JAMES (Gordy 6043)*
#1 (3) Can’t Slow Down (December 3) LIONEL RICHIE (Motown 6059)*
1984
#17 The Big Chill (January 21) VARIOUS/MOVIE SOUNDTRACK (Motown 6062)
#15 Somebody’s Watching Me (March 31) ROCKWELL (Motown 6052)
#4 The Woman In Red (November 10) STEVIE WONDER/MOVIE SOUNDTRACK (Motown 6108)*
1985
#12 Nightshift (April 27) THE COMMODORES (Motown 6124)*
#19 Rhythm Of The Night (June 1) DeBARGE (Gordy 6123)
#18 Only Four You (June 22) THE MARY JANE GIRLS (Gordy 6092)
#5 In Square Circle (November 23) STEVIE WONDER (Motown 6134)*
1986
#1 (2) Dancing On The Ceiling (September 27) LIONEL RICHIE (Motown 6158)
1987
#14 The Return Of Bruno (March 7) BRUCE WILLIS (Motown 6222)
#17 Characters (December 19) STEVIE WONDER (Motown 6248)*
Credit notes: as with the singles chart analysis, it’s important to note that the above couldn’t have been done without the Joel Whitburn/Record Research reference books, or the World Radio History website, with its online stash of Billboard back issues. I’m also grateful to Fred Bronson and Ken Barnes, chart and music aficionados, without whom, etc. (no, seriously).