http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNgmaAz0Yog
Mary Wells- Gigolo (1981)

Motown is legendary for the many 60s and 70s hits they had, but I find the 80s-era of Motown is not often discussed.


Many on this forum know that I was a 60's Motown collector during/after college starting in the late 70's.  What Motown was in the 60's and early 70's was a powerhouse hit machine that "everybody" (slight exaggeration) knew and loved.  By the mid-70's, Motown had seriously fallen off their high horse, most of their high-flying acts either having left the label, or fallen on hard times (a notable exception being Stevie Wonder). In part this was due to the label mistreating various acts.  The new acts the label subsequently added did not make up for what they lost, so they started experimenting a lot in the 70's, with mixed results.

60's music in general was not highly valued in the late 70's.  It is incredible to me how many high-value albums I added to my collection from the cheap "50 cents" bin at the used record store.  At that time, no one wanted that stuff except me.  The early 80's was barely different.  But during the 80's something unexpected happened: the nostalgia craze for 60's music.  Suddenly, people were listening to old music with fresh ears, and it was cool again.  The much-lauded Motown 25 TV special (1983) helped that along.  So Motown found a degree of success in the 80's by repackaging and selling collections like The Marvelettes Greatest Hits.  A good moneymaker, for a little while.  But Motown's 80's acts were not of the caliber needed to make them big again.  Sad but true.

After all that, I'll post an 80's Motown smash

Rockwell - Somebody's Watching Me (1984)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNBilAoaCjs

Here's one of the more obscure songs from The Mary Jane Girls self-titled debut, better known for their hit "In My House":

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All Night Long (1983)

Not to be confused with the Lionel Richie hit of the same name, this Rick James-produced song hit number 11 on the R&B charts, but missed the Hot 100.

Speaking of the '60s nostalgia craze, this led to new versions of Motown classics, and it actually started before that 1983 special, beginning with Soft Cell's 1982 remake of The Supremes "Where Did Our Love Go" (a double A-side hit with "Tainted Love", as well as Phil Collins' "You Can't Hurry Love" (1982). Kim Wilde's "You Keep Me Hangin' On" (1987) went all the way to #1 in America just like the 1966 hit from Diana & Co.,

...Speaking of the '60s nostalgia craze, this led to new versions of Motown classics, and it actually started before that 1983 special, beginning with Soft Cell's 1982 remake of The Supremes "Where Did Our Love Go" (a double A-side hit with "Tainted Love", as well as Phil Collins' "You Can't Hurry Love" (1982). Kim Wilde's "You Keep Me Hangin' On" (1987) went all the way to #1 in America just like the 1966 hit from Diana & Co.,


Agreed that it started well before the TV special.  There were signs of increased 60's interest back when Stars On 45 released their medleys in '81 and '82.  The TV special perhaps widened the audience, though (at that time, TV specials often did so).