"The Motown Song" is a song performed by British singer Rod Stewart featuring American vocal group the Temptations. The song is from Stewart's 16th studio album, Vagabond Heart (1991). It was written by Larry John McNally and was originally recorded by McNally for the soundtrack to the film Quicksilver in 1986. McNally recorded a new version in 2015 for the compilation I. C. Independent Celebration, Vol. 1 for the German label Birdstone Records.
Released on 3 June 1991 by Warner Bros. Records, the single peaked at number 10 on both the UK Singles Chart and the US Billboard Hot 100. In Canada, the song was number one on the RPM 100 Hit Tracks chart on 5 October 1991. It also reached number three on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart and number one on the RPM 40AC (Adult Contemporary) chart.
Music video
A music video for the song was produced by Animation City, an animation company in London, England, directed by Derek Hayes. It followed the success of the Madonna video "Dear Jessie", and Elton John's "Club at the End of the Street", by the same company. The video, set in an unnamed city, depicts live-action and animated versions of Stewart gathering neighbors together for a party on the rooftop of an apartment building.
It paid tribute to Motown (featuring animated versions of the Temptations, the Supremes and former Motown artist Michael Jackson). It also featured other stars of the time, including animated versions of rapper Vanilla Ice, and singers Sinéad O'Connor, Madonna and Elton John. Several comical mishaps befall these artists caused by Stewart's dog; Vanilla Ice gets buried under a truckload of ice cubes, O'Connor slips while shaving her head and has to wear bandages over the resulting nicks, Madonna gets her dress ripped off in a car door and shows up for the party in her underwear, and Jackson moonwalks into an open manhole. At the end of the video, the animation is crumpled up as a sheet of paper by the live-action Stewart, who has been drawing the scene in an art studio. He kicks the paper ball into a trash can, picks up his jacket, and leaves with a smile.
Credits and personnel Credits are lifted from the Vagabond Heart album booklet.
Studios Recorded at Cherokee Studio, Conway Studio (Hollywood, California), and Sarm Studio (London, England) Mastered at Precision Mastering (Los Angeles)
Personnel
Larry John McNally – writing The Temptations – background vocals Steve Lukather – guitars Paul Jackson Jr. – guitars David Paich – acoustic and electric piano, basic track arrangement Khris Kellow – synth bass Steve Porcaro – synthesizers Steve Lindsey – synthesizers, synth horns, horn arrangement Jeff Porcaro – drums Chris Trujillo – percussion Richard Perry – production Julie Larson – production coordination Steve Macmillan – mixing, engineering Dee Robb – additional engineering Eric Anest – additional engineering Leon Granados – engineering assistance John Karpowich – engineering assistance Scott Ralston – engineering assistance Eric Rudd – engineering assistance Stephen Marcussen – mastering
Charts
Weekly charts Chart (1991) PeakpositionDenmark (IFPI) 7Europe (Eurochart Hot 100) 18Europe (European Hit Radio) 4Luxembourg (Radio Luxembourg)Radio Luxembourg Singles. 30 June 1991. 5 UK Airplay (Music Week) 1US Billboard Hot 100 10US Adult Contemporary (Billboard) 3US Cash Box Top 100 9 Zimbabwe (ZIMA)* Zimbabwe. Kimberley, C. Zimbabwe: singles chart book. Harare: C. Kimberley, 2000 1
Year-end charts Chart (1991)PositionCanada Top Singles (RPM) 10Canada Adult Contemporary (RPM) 10Europe (European Hit Radio) 19Germany (Media Control) 90Sweden (Topplistan) 79US Billboard Hot 100 99US Adult Contemporary (Billboard) 14
Release history RegionDateFormat(s)Label(s)United Kingdom3 June 1991Warner Bros.Australia8 July 1991
References