11 January 2009

Motown Turns Fifty.

Yes, Motown turns fifty, and we all get to feel really old. Anyway, to celebrate Motown's demi-centenniel, NPR's All Things Considered has music critic (and former Detroit Free Press journalist) Gary Graff run down six lamentably overlooked singles from Gordy's label.

Graff's list includes some great trivia. For example, one of the tracks he includes, "Does your Mama Know About Me," by Bobby Taylor and the Vancouvers, features a young Tommy Chong on guitar. Yes, that Tommy Chong. Moreover, Graff claims that Bobby Taylor and the Vancouvers "discovered" the Jackson Five, thereby deflating the Motown myth of Diana Ross's role in bringing the Jacksons to Detroit).

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