Detroit's hit factory ran on harmony groups, teenage prodigies and a house band nobody put on the sleeve. Decide who actually carried the label.
1The Jackson 5The Gary, Indiana brothers whose first four Motown singles all went to number one in 1970.
2The SupremesMotown's biggest chart act, with twelve US number ones between 1964 and 1969.
3The TemptationsFive-part harmony and footwork, from My Girl to the psychedelic soul of Papa Was a Rollin' Stone.
4Stevie WonderSigned at eleven, and by the 1970s writing and producing his own run of classic albums.
5Marvin GayeMotown's most searching voice, who fought the label to release What's Going On in 1971.
6Smokey Robinson & the MiraclesGave Motown its first million-seller and its most-covered songwriter.
7The Four TopsLevi Stubbs' lead voice on Reach Out I'll Be There and a lineup that held for four decades.
8Gladys Knight & the PipsTook I Heard It Through the Grapevine to number one before Marvin Gaye's version.
9Martha and the VandellasDancing in the Street became both a summer single and a civil-rights anthem in 1964.
10Diana RossLeft the Supremes in 1970 for a solo run of number ones and an Oscar nomination.
11The CommodoresFunk band turned ballad machine, and Lionel Richie's launch pad.
12The MarvelettesPlease Mr. Postman in 1961 gave Motown its very first number-one pop single.
13Jr. Walker & the All StarsThe label's rawest act, built on Walker's honking tenor saxophone.
14Mary WellsMotown's first star, whose My Guy topped the chart in 1964.
15Rick JamesBrought punk-funk and Super Freak to the label in the early 1980s.
16Boyz II MenSigned to Motown in 1991 and broke the record for weeks at number one twice.
Comments 1
Motown's youngest act sent its first four singles to number one in 1970; the Supremes managed twelve between 1964 and 1969: https://youpick.best/articles/michael-jackson-ranked-many-ways
YP
ypb-teamAug 21
