The Motown Song

"The Motown Song"
Single by Rod Stewart featuring the Temptations
from the album Vagabond Heart
B-side	"Sweet Soul Music" (live)
Released	5 August 1991 (1991-08-05)[1]
Recorded	1989
Genre	Rock, soul
Length	4:00 (album version) 4:17 (single remix)
Songwriter(s)	Larry John McNally
Producer(s)	Richard Perry
Rod Stewart singles chronology
"Rhythm of My Heart" (1991) "The Motown Song" (1991) "Broken Arrow" (1991)
The Temptations singles chronology
"Soul to Soul" (1990) "The Motown Song" (1991) "The Jones" (1991)

"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 5 August 1991, 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 Top Singles chart on 5 October 1991. It also reached number three on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart and number one on the RPM 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.

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1991) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[2] 26 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[3] 22 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[4] 42 Canada Top Singles (RPM)[5] 1 Canada Adult Contemporary (RPM)[6] 1 Denmark (IFPI)[7] 7 Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[8] 18 Germany (GfK)[9] 21 Ireland (IRMA)[10] 2 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[11] 23 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[12] 11 UK Singles (OCC)[13] 10 US Billboard Hot 100[14] 10 US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[14] 3 Zimbabwe (ZIMA)[15] 1

Year-end charts Chart (1991) Position Canada Top Singles (RPM)[16] 10 Canada Adult Contemporary (RPM)[17] 10 Europe (European Hit Radio)[18] 19 Germany (Official German Charts)[19] 90 US Billboard Hot 100[20] 99 US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[21] 14

References

1. "New Releases: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 10 August 1991. p. 21. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
2. "Rod Stewart with The Temptations – The Motown Song". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
3. "Rod Stewart with The Temptations – The Motown Song" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
4. "Rod Stewart with The Temptations – The Motown Song" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
5. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 1642." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
6. "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Issue 1637." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
7. "Top 10 Sales in Europe" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 8, no. 30. 27 July 1991. p. 20. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
8. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 8, no. 27. 9 July 1991. p. 45. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
9. "Rod Stewart with The Temptations – The Motown Song" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
10. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – The Motown Song". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 18 July 2019.
11. "Rod Stewart with The Temptations – The Motown Song". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
12. "Rod Stewart with The Temptations – The Motown Song". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
13. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
14. "Rod Stewart Awards". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 7 January 2016. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
15. * Zimbabwe. Kimberley, C. Zimbabwe: singles chart book. Harare: C. Kimberley, 2000
16. "RPM 100 Hit Tracks of 1991". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
17. "RPM 100 Adult Contemporary Tracks of 1991". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
18. "EHR Year-End Top 100" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 8, no. 51–52. 21 December 1991. p. 20. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
19. "Top 100 Singles–Jahrescharts 1991" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
20. "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.
21. "1991 The Year in Music" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 103, no. 51. 21 December 1991. p. YE-36. Retrieved 8 August 2021.