3 Motown Artists From the 1960s Who Inspire Us To Sing

Motown. That record label born of the Motor City. The sounds and songs of Detroit during the decade were the kinds of things that could make you swoon, make you fall in love, or make you want to pick up a record player and hear more.

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Here below, we wanted to highlight three Motown artists from the 1960s who are worth revisiting—not just because they sounded good, but because they were inspiring. Indeed, these are three Motown artists from the 1960s who inspire you to sing.

The Supremes

Before there were Beyoncé and Destiny’s Child there were Diana Ross and The Supremes. Indeed, Ross’ 1960s girl group was the talk of the town and their success propelled Ross to go solo later in her career. But with The Supremes, the act released songs like “Baby Love”, “Come See About Me”, You Can’t Hurry Love” and “Stop! In The Name Of Love”. You could put those four songs and call it the Mount Rushmore of the 1960s and few would argue.

The Temptations

The spiritual sibling Motown band to The Supremes in the 1960s was most assuredly The Temptations. The all-male singing group released songs that melted your heart, including “My Girl”, “Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)” and “Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone”. Indeed, if you were a music lover in the 1960s, you were likely a fan of The Temptations. Same goes for today, too!

Smokey Robinson

Even if you just took the songs that Smokey Robinson wrote and never performed, he would be a first ballot Hall of Famer. Robinson penned such incredible songs as “You’ve Really Got a Hold on Me”, “The Way You Do the Things You Do”, “My Girl” and “I Second That Emotion”—all within about five years. Over the next several decades, Robinson would continue to write songs that continue to be played today. But he also had his own singing career, performing solo and would groups like The Miracles. It’s true—without Smokey Robinson, American music as we know it today wouldn’t nearly be the same.

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