3 Eternal Motown Songs That Will Forever Sooth Your Soul

Is there any era of music better than Motown? The genre of soulful songs boasts a golden era of music from about 1961 to 1971 with bands that knew how to harmonize and swing and songwriters who knew how to tug at your heart and enliven your mind. Even today, more than five decades later, there is little that matches the Detroit-born sound.

Here below, we wanted to explore three timeless songs from the era that prove that very point. A trio of numbers that sound like golden rays of sunshine on listeners’ ears thanks to Motown founder Berry Gordy. Indeed, these are three eternal Motown songs that will forever sooth your soul.

[RELATED: 5 Fascinating Berry Gordy Facts]

“My Girl” by The Temptations from The Temptations Sing Smokey (1965)

As soon as the opening guitar line begins, you know what you’re about to hear. And then the sweet, dulcet tones of The Temptations flutter into your heart. This ode to love, which hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, was written by the great Smokey Robinson and Ronald White and it will last forever and a day. Even after the Earth implodes, this song will be ringing through the universe. And on it, lead vocalist David Ruffin croons,

I’ve got sunshine, on a cloudy day
When it’s cold outside, I’ve got the month of May (ooh)
I guess you’d say
What can make me feel this way?

My girl, my girl, my girl
Talkin’ ’bout my girl, my girl

I’ve got so much honey, the bees envy me
I’ve got a sweeter song, than the birds in the trees
Well, I guess you’d say
What can make me feel this way?

My girl, my girl, my girl
Talkin’ ’bout my girl, my girl

“Stop! In the Name of Love” by The Supremes from More Hits by the Supremes (1965)

If Motown struck gold with The Temptations, they struck diamond with The Supremes. Led by Diana Ross, the group released hit after hit, and perhaps the track at the top of the list is the imploring 1965 number “Stop! In the Name of Love” from More Hits by the Supremes. The song, which hit No. 1 on the Billboard Pop Singles chart, asks the listener to think before he acts. To not break another heart. Indeed, on the offering Ross sings,

Stop! In the name of love
Before you break my heart

Baby, baby I’m aware of where you go
Each time you leave my door
I watch you walk down the street
Knowing your other love you’ll meet
But this time before you run to her
Leaving me alone and hurt
(Think it over) After I’ve been good to you
(Think it over) After I’ve been sweet to you

“Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell from United (1967)

This song was originally written for the Tamla record label, which was a subdivision of Motown. Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell released their version in 1967 and the song enjoyed a resurgence in 1970 when Diana Ross recorded it. It then became her first solo No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 and earned her a Grammy nomination. But when sung by Gaye and Terrell, the energy of the song soars thanks to their brilliant vocal blending. And on the tune, the duo sings,

Listen baby, ain’t no mountain high
Ain’t no valley low, ain’t no river wide enough, baby
If you need me call me, no matter where you are
No matter how far, don’t worry, baby
Just call my name, I’ll be there in a hurry
You don’t have to worry

‘Cause, baby, there ain’t no mountain high enough
Ain’t no valley low enough
Ain’t no river wide enough
To keep me from getting to you, babe

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