I grew up in the biggest radio market in America: New York City. Back in the golden years of rock 'n roll, the early to mid-1960s, when the genre was still a fairly new musical phenomenon and the Beatles were fresh and hot, paving the way for dozens of British bands to hit it big in the US, it wasn't unusual for them to have two or more records in the Top 20 at the same time. In fact, during the week of March 24, 1964, the WABC All-American survey had "She Loves You" at Number 1, "Twist and Shout" (their cover of an Isley Brothers tune) at Number 3, "I Want To Hold Your Hand" at Number 4, and "Please Please Me" at Number 6, making the Beatles a tough act to follow.
But Motown wasn't far behind. The Beatles and other British acts had plenty of competition from the likes of The Supremes, The Four Tops, The Temptations, Stevie Wonder, Martha and The Vandellas, The Marvelettes, on and on. In fact, "Heat Wave" by Martha and The Vandellas, preceded the British Invasion by cracking WABC's Top 5 in the summer of '63. In spring '64, Mary Wells hit Number 2 with her smash, "My Guy". The Supremes spent 4 weeks at Number 1 with "Where Did Our Love Go" and then were joined in the Top 25 in subsequent weeks by Martha and The Vandellas' "Dancing In The Street" and The Four Tops' "Baby, I Need Your Loving". Later in the year, The Supremes had 2 records in the Top 20 concurrently with the former Number 1 smash "Baby Love" and "Come See About Me".
Motown really blasted off in 1965, with The Supremes, Marvin Gaye and The Marvelettes all in WABC's Top 20 in January, followed by The Temptations signature tune, "My Girl" in March. The Supremes were just getting started on their incredible run of hits and made the top of the charts in quick succession with "Stop, In The Name of Love" and "Back In My Arms Again".
The Motown empire included not only the actual Motown label, which carried The Supremes and The Four Tops, and, later, The Jackson 5, but also the Gordy label, made ubiquitous by The Temptations and Martha and The Vandellas, the Tamla label, which recorded Smokey and The Miracles, Marvin Gaye, The Marvelettes, and Stevie Wonder. Not to be ignored is Motown's Soul label, which presented Junior Walker and the All-Stars, famous for their sax-heavy hits "Shotgun", "Roadrunner", How Sweet It Is", their cover of Guess Who's "These Eyes" and their monster hit "What Does It Take (To Win Your Love)", and Gladys Knight and The Pips, who gave us the first version of the much covered "I Heard It Through The Grapevine", which was later turned into a soulful smash by Marvin Gaye, and then made into a 12-minute rock anthem by Creedence Clearwater Revival.
Motown would continue to share the spotlight with the Beatles for the rest of the decade. Though he had debuted before the British Invasion as 12-year-old "Little" Stevie Wonder with his harmonica hit "Fingertips", Stevie's run of hits really didn't begin until the mid-'60s with "Uptight" , and continued well into the '70s. The Supremes continued with such smashes as "You Can't Hurry Love", "The Happening", and their finale with Diana Ross, "Someday We'll Be Together" in 1969. With Jean Terrell out front, The Supremes enjoyed modest success in the early '70s with "Up The Ladder To The Roof" and "Everybody Has The Right To Love", but, like the Beatles, 1970 was pretty much the end of the road for them as a group.
With its stable of dozens of amazingly talented artists who produced hundreds of unforgettable tunes, Motown rightfully claimed its title as the heavyweight of American popular music, which, for me, along with the British Invasion and the long list of other American rock 'n rollers, made the 1963 to 1970 period the most musically memorable time of my life, by far.