Motown Greatest Hits is a double vinyl compilation issued by Motown and Universal Music Group on 16 August 2019, released as part of the label's 60th anniversary programme. Motown was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on 12 January 1959 and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on 14 April 1960, taking its name from a portmanteau of "motor" and "town", the long-standing nickname for its home city of Detroit.
The Compilation
Twenty-seven recordings are spread across four sides, compiled by Daryl Easlea. The running order opens with Barrett Strong's "Money (That's What I Want)" and closes with Shanice's "I Love Your Smile", drawing on the label's singles catalogue in between: The Supremes, The Temptations, Four Tops, Martha Reeves & The Vandellas, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, The Jackson 5, Diana Ross, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, the Commodores and Lionel Richie all appear. Sides A and B lean on the Detroit-era singles, while sides C and D carry the label through the 1970s and into the 1990s with "What's Going On", "Superstition", "Three Times A Lady" and "All Night Long (All Night)".
This Pressing
The set carries catalogue number 00600753879696, with the two records catalogued individually as 00600753879702 and 00600753879719. It was mastered by Geoff Pesche at Abbey Road Studios in London, where the lacquers were also cut. Copies are manufactured in the EU, and shrink-wrapped stock typically carries a front hype sticker reading "60th Anniversary Edition", naming Marvin Gaye, Lionel Richie, Diana Ross and The Temptations.
Artwork
The sleeve sets the gold Motown "M" logo and the words Motown Greatest Hits against a black ground, framed by a thin gold border. The reverse prints the full four-side running order together with the writing, publishing and recording credits, and the record labels themselves repeat the gold logo on black.
Track Listing
Side A: Money (That's What I Want), Barrett Strong; Please Mr. Postman, The Marvelettes; Do You Love Me, The Contours; My Guy, Mary Wells; Dancing In The Street, Martha Reeves & The Vandellas; Baby Love, The Supremes; My Girl, The Temptations; I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch), Four Tops
Side B: Do I Love You (Indeed I Do), Frank Wilson; This Old Heart Of Mine (Is Weak For You), The Isley Brothers; What Becomes Of The Brokenhearted, Jimmy Ruffin; Reach Out, I'll Be There, Four Tops; I Heard It Through The Grapevine, Marvin Gaye; I Want You Back, The Jackson 5; Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I'm Yours), Stevie Wonder
Side C: War, Edwin Starr; The Tears Of A Clown, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles; Stoned Love, The Supremes; I'm Still Waiting, Diana Ross; What's Going On, Marvin Gaye; Got To Be There, Michael Jackson
Side D: Superstition, Stevie Wonder; Don't Leave Me This Way, Thelma Houston; Three Times A Lady, Commodores; Upside Down, Diana Ross; All Night Long (All Night), Lionel Richie; I Love Your Smile, Shanice