The Motown Song
"The Motown Song" | ||||
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Single by Rod Stewart featuring the Temptations | ||||
from the album Vagabond Heart | ||||
B-side | "Sweet Soul Music" (live) | |||
Released | August 1991 | |||
Recorded | 1989 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length |
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Songwriter(s) | Larry John McNally | |||
Producer(s) | Richard Perry | |||
Rod Stewart singles chronology | ||||
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The Temptations singles chronology | ||||
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"The Motown Song" is a song performed by Rod Stewart featuring the Temptations. The song is from Stewart's 1991 album Vagabond Heart. 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 2015 for the compilation "I. C. Independent Celebration, Vol. 1" for the German label "Birdstone Records".
The single peaked at number 10 on the US Billboard Hot 100 on 21 September 1991 and at number one on the Canadian RPM Top Singles chart on 5 October. It also reached number three on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart and number one on the RPM Adult Contemporary chart.
Music video[]
![]() | This section does not cite any sources. (October 2019) |
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) and featured other headline-making 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; 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 falls into an open manhole while doing the moonwalk. 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.
- Director: Derek Hayes
- Producer: Maddy Sparrow
- Animators: Jimmy Farrington, Andy Goff, Malcolm Hartley, Derek Hayes, Ric Machin, Gaston Marzio, Paul (Robert) Stone.
- Additional Animation: 'A' For Animation
- Production Company: Animation City
Charts[]
Weekly charts[]
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Year-end charts[]
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References[]
- ^ "Australian-charts.com – Rod Stewart with The Temptations – The Motown Song". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
- ^ "Austriancharts.at – Rod Stewart with The Temptations – The Motown Song" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
- ^ "Ultratop.be – Rod Stewart with The Temptations – The Motown Song" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
- ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 1642." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
- ^ "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Issue 1637." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
- ^ "Top 10 Sales in Europe" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 8 no. 30. 27 July 1991. p. 20. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
- ^ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 8 no. 27. 9 July 1991. p. 45. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
- ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Rod Stewart with The Temptations – The Motown Song" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
- ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – The Motown Song". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 18 July 2019.
- ^ "Charts.nz – Rod Stewart with The Temptations – The Motown Song". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
- ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Rod Stewart with The Temptations – The Motown Song". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
- ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "Rod Stewart Awards". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 7 January 2016. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
- ^ "RPM 100 Hit Tracks of 1991". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
- ^ "RPM 100 Adult Contemporary Tracks of 1991". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
- ^ "Top 100 Singles–Jahrescharts 1991" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
- ^ "1991 The Year in Music & Video: Top Pop Singles" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 103 no. 51. 21 December 1991. p. YE-14. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
- ^ "1991 The Year in Music" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 103 no. 51. 21 December 1991. p. YE-36. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
- Rod Stewart songs
- 1986 songs
- 1991 singles
- Animated music videos
- RPM Top Singles number-one singles
- Song recordings produced by Richard Perry
- Songs written for films
- The Temptations songs
- 1990s rock song stubs