happy birthday, motown!

Motown Records turns 50 years young today. This is the greatest. Can you believe 50 years ago today Berry Gordy founded this label that would literally CHANGE THE WORLD? It's so great. I had a wine flight to celebrate. You know how mama loves her cab sav.

Here's the deal: everyone knows those massive Motown hits. They are timeless and amazing. In 1959, Berry Gordy (look at that suave SOB above) got a loan from his family. Somehow, they managed to scrape together $800 for lil Berry and he started Tamla Records. He had big dreams. Berry had already worked with and discovered Smokey Robinson's group The Miracles, so he started writing songs and building up his label with more artists. Eventually, Tamla turned into Motown and soon tons of baby hits were born. Berry was instrumental in promoting African American artists. He got people listening to the good stuff. He definitely knew what he was doing, because he also had a pretty strong hold on the public image of all his artists. None of this Motown folks from that time would be caught in Us Weekly, if you get my drift. Also, look at that totally baller garage that Berry Gordy used to CRANK OUT THE HITS. That is so tight.

The list would be eighteen miles long of all the amazing acts and hits from Motown. I've blogged about many of them, and they all mean so much to me. It's time to get real and let the magic of Motown wash over you. The true definition of soul.

tight people of the day: the contours

So, this coming Monday is the 50th birthday of Motown Records. Holla! I will be eating a slice of cake to celebrate Berry Gordy and the empire he built. The sound of Motown has truly changed my life and increased my amounts of happiness on a daily basis. In honor of that coming birthday celebration, I want to feature a classic Motown band today, The Contours.

When I listen to The Contours, and especially their biggest hit "Do You Love Me," I just want to do the Twist all over the place. I start to think I can really dance when I hear this song. I want this played at my wedding as my husband and I run out and high five everyone, right after they announce Mr. and Mrs. Ryan Gosling. Just kidding! But seriously, this song is pure fun. Everyone loves this song. If it doesn't get your toe tapping or just your shoulder slightly moving, I'm afraid you might be dead inside to the joys of life. This song is also really tight because it gets really quiet AND THEN COMES BACK. At parties I'm the asshole that screams, "IT'S NOT OVER YET!" and ruins it for everyone. Sorry about that. This tune also features some super awesome song talking, which makes my world go round and round. Who doesn't love a sweet little talking intro? Also, how much is the lead singer shouting in this song? So tight.

The Contours were one of the very first soul groups signed to Motown. Berry Gordy was a bit skeptical of them at first. But in one of his finer bidness moves, he had them record "Do You Love Me" in 1962 and the rest is history. This song was originally intended for The Temptations! Good thing The Contours got their paws on it. Amazingly, it only went to #2 on the charts. Good thing it went to #1 IN MY HEART.

"Do You Love Me" had a bit of comeback when it was featured in Dirty Dancing in 1988. Crazy for Swayze. It charted again thanks to the movie. Several members of the group are still performing today and playing Contours songs. For the record, I would love you even if you couldn't dance.

The Contours - Do You Love Me