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Writer's pictureCL Smooth

40 of the best Motown songs

We’ve gone back to the 60s at Clear View Sound when Motown’s iconic fusion of pop, soul, and R&B first hit the airwaves and rose to popularity with  "Shop Around" by The Miracles. Written by Smokey Robinson and Berry Gordy, it was Motown's first major hit song, reaching number one on the Billboard R&B chart and number two on the Billboard Hot 100. 


This success marked the beginning of what would become a stream of hits from the label, turning Motown into a dominant force in the American music scene throughout the 1960s and beyond.


Today, we offer you some of the best Motown songs that shouldn’t be missing from any Motown playlist. 


Top 40 Motown songs 


  1. "My Girl" - The Temptations

  2. "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" - Marvin Gaye

  3. "What's Going On" - Marvin Gaye

  4. "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" - Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell

  5. "Superstition" - Stevie Wonder

  6. "You Can't Hurry Love" - The Supremes

  7. "Reach Out I'll Be There" - Four Tops

  8. "Dancing in the Street" - Martha and the Vandellas

  9. "The Tracks of My Tears" - Smokey Robinson & The Miracles

  10. "Let's Get It On" - Marvin Gaye

  11. "Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours" - Stevie Wonder

  12. "Stop! In the Name of Love" - The Supremes

  13. "The Tears of a Clown" - Smokey Robinson & The Miracles

  14. "ABC" - The Jackson 5

  15. "I Want You Back" - The Jackson 5

  16. "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone" - The Temptations

  17. "Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)" - The Temptations

  18. "Where Did Our Love Go" - The Supremes

  19. "Baby Love" - The Supremes

  20. "Ain't Too Proud to Beg" - The Temptations

  21. "Sir Duke" - Stevie Wonder

  22. "War" - Edwin Starr

  23. "Heat Wave" - Martha and the Vandellas

  24. "Shotgun" - Junior Walker & the All Stars

  25. "Do You Love Me" - The Contours

  26. "I'll Be There" - The Jackson 5

  27. "My Cherie Amour" - Stevie Wonder

  28. "It's the Same Old Song" - Four Tops

  29. "Money (That's What I Want)" - Barrett Strong

  30. "Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)" - Marvin Gaye

  31. "Uptight (Everything's Alright)" - Stevie Wonder

  32. "Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing" - Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell

  33. "You Keep Me Hangin' On" - The Supremes

  34. "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch)" - Four Tops

  35. "Cloud Nine" - The Temptations

  36. "Living For the City" - Stevie Wonder

  37. "Nightshift" - Commodores

  38. "Easy" - Commodores

  39. "This Old Heart of Mine (Is Weak for You)" - The Isley Brothers

  40. "Please Mr. Postman" - The Marvelettes


There you have it, our top 40 Motown songs. Feel like we’ve missed a classic? Put it in the comments below. 


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