Who's Your Favorite "Motown" Group/Singer?

[Lowprofile]

Riding around today running errands, the local oldies station had "The Motown Hour". Brought back some good memories. 
My favorites are the Temptations & Gladys Knight & The Pips. 

[Vainglory, Esq.]

The Temptations are great.  Pretty much anything with Smokey Robinson you know will be good.

[Johnny SixPack]

Isaac Hayes and also The Commodores.

Do they qualify?

[69CoronetRT]

I can't pick just one:

Temps, 4-Tops, Jackson 5

[4402tuff4u]

The Pretenders, and does Nat King Cole fall under that category? If so, I think he's 

[nh_mopar_fan]

Smokey Robinson

[70charginglizard]

James Brown! Ha!...jumped back...almost kill myself

[Orange_Crush]

The man...Al Green.  MArvin Gaye was awesome too, but no one could sing music to make sweet love to like Al Green could.

[Ponch ®]

Not Motown per se...but Otis Redding.

[Old Moparz]

Never liked much of the Motown stuff except James Brown. I bet there's tons of it that sounds better than what the radio played & still plays, but according to radio standards, we'll never hear it.

[Shakey]

Johnny Paycheck   

[CaptMarvel]

The motor city madman! Ted Nugent.   

[Chris G.]

The man...Al Green.  MArvin Gaye was awesome too, but no one could sing music to make sweet love to like Al Green could.

I don't think Al Green was ever with Motown, but he is kick ass that's for sure. "For the good times" is one of my favorites. He took that country song and made it his. He had many, many great songs.

Motown has a huge roster of successful artists. I think The Temps are right at the top (IMO). Whitfield and Strong were monstrous writers who could probably write hits in their sleep. Marvin Gaye was great, but when some people start referring to one of his best songs as being the National Anthem, I have to draw the line. It's probably better he went when he did, or he may have turned into something we would all hate. Probably the same could be said for people like John Lennon or Elvis, etc, etc...

[Orange_Crush]

The man...Al Green.  MArvin Gaye was awesome too, but no one could sing music to make sweet love to like Al Green could.

I don't think Al Green was ever with Motown, but he is kick ass that's for sure. "For the good times" is one of my favorites. He took that country song and made it his. He had many, many great songs.

Motown has a huge roster of successful artists. I think The Temps are right at the top (IMO). Whitfield and Strong were monstrous writers who could probably write hits in their sleep. Marvin Gaye was great, but when some people start referring to one of his best songs as being the National Anthem, I have to draw the line. It's probably better he went when he did, or he may have turned into something we would all hate. Probably the same could be said for people like John Lennon or Elvis, etc, etc...

I lump Al Green in w/ Motown simply because of his style.  I guess "soul" or R&B would be more fitting names.

As far as elvis goes...when you put him down, you're treading on holy ground as far as I'm concerned.

[Chris G.]

As far as elvis goes...when you put him down, you're treading on holy ground as far as I'm concerned.

Not treading on him OC. I can only imagine if he was around today. He left at the right time (as cruel as that sounds). He will forever be an icon because of it.

Do you think Jim Morrison would have made it in the 70's and 80's? 

[Manfred318]

The motor city madman! Ted Nugent.   

I wouldnt really call the Nuge Motown, but he does make some kick ass music!! Free For All was such an awsome album too!!   

[69CoronetRT]

As far as elvis goes...when you put him down, you're treading on holy ground as far as I'm concerned.

Not treading on him OC. I can only imagine if he was around today. He left at the right time (as cruel as that sounds). He will forever be an icon because of it.

Do you think Jim Morrison would have made it in the 70's and 80's? 

Nope... and this coming from a Doors listener. He'd be playing Casinos, rodeos and WallMart openings.

Dying young/early is a sure ticket to legendary status regardless of your body of work.

[Orange_Crush]

As far as elvis goes...when you put him down, you're treading on holy ground as far as I'm concerned.

Not treading on him OC. I can only imagine if he was around today. He left at the right time (as cruel as that sounds). He will forever be an icon because of it.

Do you think Jim Morrison would have made it in the 70's and 80's? 

Yeah, I know...I'm just giving you a hard time.

I'm what you would call a "Rabid Elvis Fan."

[BrianShaughnessy]

As far as elvis goes...when you put him down, you're treading on holy ground as far as I'm concerned.

I'm not worried about Elvis,  but some people here are treading on MY holy ground dissing on Motown.   I grew up on the stuff.

AFAIC,   well...  The Temptations are  #1 and My Girl is probably the greatest Motown song ever but the rest of my top 5 goes to Diana Ross/Supremes,  J5,  Edwin Starr and Stevie W....   

And... well, there's just not enuf spots in a top 5 for 6 so just make it a top 6 and put Smokey in cause he's the sh8t too.   

[Brock Samson]

MOTOWN per say means the acts in Barrry Gordies' roster from approx 1962-1970s' MOTOWN was a label the one with the blue map of detroit on the 45s,..
with a star where the Hitsville studios were... the hit'sville studios were a bedroom in a house in a middle class area where the young and i do mean YOUNG acts were pitted against each other by barry... nearly all the groups recorded the same songs and the best ones were selected to be released,.. alot of interesting stories and tragic stories came from that era...
one thing that made motown was the drum set was the same for practically all those recordings check it out..
  some of the acts were quite short lived...
  when Barry sold out to CBS & moved the operation to L.A. in the '70s the bloom was off the rose...

Organised crime was all over the music biz back then, for a GREAT read try Nelson Georges' "Where Did our Love Go" (The rise and fall of the Motown sound) St Martins' press ISBN 0-312-01109-1
Think Dianna Ross is a good singer?.. think again..
 
  other R&B folks i like besides those mentioned,.. no, I  LOVE!..  include wilson pickett and curtis mayfield,..
  Mojo the best recording /performance of  Otis Redding backed by Booker T and the MGs,..  is on the otherside of the Monterey performance paired with Jimi Hendrix...
don't know if that recording is still avail though...
worth looking for...

  http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.soulwalking.co.uk/%25A5Artist%2520GIF%2520Images/Motown-Hitsville-Studios.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.soulwalking.co.uk/Funk%2520Brothers.html&h=198&w=204&sz=4&hl=en&start=2&tbnid=dVl7ELIaghc9RM:&tbnh=102&tbnw=105&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dmotown%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26sa%3DG

safe link for work