It is possibly the most famous record label of all. Ask anyone what EMI or RCA Victor or Polydor were famous for and you would be met with a host of different answers. Not so Motown – it was a feel and a beat and a movement, not just a record label.
Here are two different sections, comprising straight questions and the mix-and-matches. The first section is pretty easy – but they get progressively tougher.
Answers: here
1 What was the name of the house band that played on most of Motown’s hits between 1959 and 1972? What was the title of Paul Justman’s 2002 documentary about this band?
2 Who played the scarecrow opposite Diana Ross’s Dorothy in The Wiz, Motown Productions 1978 musical re-imagining of The Wizard of Oz? Who directed the movie?
3 Who were the two backing singers behind Diana Ross in the classic Supremes line-up from 1962 to 1967?
4 Brian, Eddie and Lamont: explain, in a Motown context.
5 In 1972, Motown relocated from Detroit to which city, partly to set up a film and TV company, Motown Productions? Who was the subject of this company’s first film release, Lady Sings the Blues, starring Diana Ross?
6 Which 1970 hit was the last time the Supremes hit the Top 10 in both the US and the UK? Who sang lead vocals on this song, with Diana Ross having left to start a solo career?
7 Who were Motown’s biggest chart act of the nineties, with five US number ones? What was their only number one in the UK?
8 Who was the founder and controlling influence in Motown Records? Who was his brother-in-law from 1963 to 1975 after marrying his sister, Anna?
9 Who sang the lead vocal on The Four Tops’ biggest hit, ‘Reach Out (I’ll Be There)’? What was his contribution to 1986 musical comedy film The Little Shop of Horrors?
10 Who recorded Motown’s first US number one single, ‘Please Mr Postman’? Which brother-and-sister soft rock duo covered it in 1975?
11 Otis Williams, David Ruffin and Eddie Kendricks were prominent singers in which Motown vocal group? What was their first big hit in 1965, reaching number one in the US and number two in the UK?
12 Who duetted with Marvin Gaye on ‘It Takes Two’? And which other frequent Gaye collaborator collapsed in the singer’s arms at a 1967 concert and later died of a brain tumour?
13 How did Berry Gordy start out in the music industry? And what name did Motown use outside North America?
14 ‘Do You Love Me’ was the only US Top 40 single for the Contours. Which beat group took it to number one in Britain the following year? Which 1987 film revived its popularity, along with ‘Unchained Melody’?
15 Who had US Top 30 hits for Motown with ‘Every Little Bit Hurts’ and ‘When I’m Gone’? The followers of which UK dance-club scene revived her popularity in the nineties?
Simply match the artists to the songs.
1 ‘Papa Was a Rolling Stone’. 2 ‘Touch Me in the Morning’. 3 ‘I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)’. 4 ‘Truly’. 5 ‘ABC’ 6 ‘I Heard it Through the Grapevine’. 7 ‘My Guy’. 8 ‘Superstition’. 9 ‘Stop! in the Name of Love’. 10 ‘On Bended Knee’.
a The Supremes. b Lionel Richie. c The Temptations. d Mary Wells. e Boyz II Men. f The Four Tops. g Stevie Wonder. h The Jackson 5. i Diana Ross. j Marvin Gaye.
1 ‘Ain’t Too Proud to Beg’. 2 ‘Love Hangover’. 3 ‘(Love is Like A) Heat Wave’. ‘4 Shop Around’. 5 ‘Fingertips (part 1)’. 6 ‘Can I Get a Witness’. 7 ‘Somebody’s Watching Me’. 8 ‘Don’t Leave Me This Way’ 9 ‘Don’t Let Him Shop Around’. 10 ‘Baby I Need Your Loving’.
a Rockwell. b The Temptations. c Debbie Dean. d The Miracles. e Marvin Gaye. f Thelma Houston. g The Four Tops. h Little Stevie Wonder. i Diana Ross. j Martha and the Vandellas.
1 ‘It’s a Shame’. 2 ‘Stubborn Kind of Fellow’. 3 ‘Going to the Hop’. 4 ‘Solid Sender’. 5 ‘Heaven Must Have Sent You’. 6 ‘Please, Mr Postman’. 7 ‘Devil with the Blue Dress’. 8 ‘Shotgun’. 9 ‘He Was Really Sayin’ Something’. 10 ‘Take Me In Your Arms (Rock Me a Little While)’.
a Junior Walker & the All-Stars. b Chico Leverett. c Shorty Long. d Kim Weston. e The Satintones. f The Velvelettes. g Marvin Gaye. h The Marvelettes. i The Elgins. j The (Detroit) Spinners.