MOTOWN Trivia Quiz

Answer: Pagliacci

He had heard the story of Pagliacci, the Italian clown from the opera written by Ruggero Leoncavallo. Pagliacci was cheered and applauded by the crowds he entertained, but when he returned to his dressing room after a show he would cry because he didn't have the love of his own wife, who was having an affair.The music was composed by Stevie Wonder and Hank Crosby. When Stevie recorded aof it, he had no lyrics to go with it, so he gave it to Smokey Robinson who had always wanted to write a song that was a version of Pagliacci's story. So this was his opportunity.

Answer: Mary Wells

Mary Wells had a huge hit with "My Guy" and was known as "The Queen of Motown" until she left them in 1964, but she was not one of the Supremes. Those three young ladies had just graduated high school, and were among Berry Gordy's favorites, his "little special girls" as Mary Wilson recalled years later.

Answer: Detroit

The kitchen on that property was converted into the control room of the studio. Detroit had the fourth largest population of African-Americans in the U.S. and it was source of production of half of all the automobiles on the planet. Factory work was the most likely line of employment for many young African-Americans When Motown took off, many ambitious musicians and singers flocked to the studio seeking discovery by Motown.

Answer: David Ruffin

Levi Stubbs was lead singer of the Four Tops. Vernon Isley was the lead vocalist for the Isley Brothers. Merald "Bubba" Knight, was Gladys Knight's older brother and became a member of The Pips.

Answer: Martha Reeves

Martha Reeves recalled years later at age 77 that the tour bus that Martha and The Vandellas traveled was so broken down and had no bathroom. But that didn't stop her and her singing partners from recording several classic Motown hits such as "Heatwave", "Dancing in the Street", "Jimmy Mack", and "Nowhere to Run." In 1995 the group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Answer: Cloud Nine

"Reach Out I'll Be There" was recorded by the Four Tops. "I Second That Emotion" was a song by Smokey Robinson & The Miracles and was nominated for a Grammy in 1967. Heat Wave was also Grammy nominee, in 1963. But it wasn't until 1969 that Motown won a Grammy, and the song was "Cloud Nine" by The Temptations, a winner for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal.

Answer: "Please Mr. Postman" by The Marvelettes

"Please Mr. Postman" scored motown's first Number One hit ever, in 1961. "Ain't Too Proud to Beg" by The Temptations only peaked at Number 13, in 1966. "Uptight (Everything's Alright)" by Stevie Wonder peaked at Number 3 in 1965, and "Nothing but Heartaches" by The Supremes reached as high as Number 11 in 1965. When "Please Mr. Postman" hit Number One it confirmed Berry Gordy's hope that American kids white and black didn't care who recorded the music, they would buy good music no matter who the artist was. Mr. Gordy would claim at times that 70% of his record buyers were white.

Answer: "Shop Around" by Smokey Robinson and the Miracles

"Shop Around" was released late in 1960 and would become Motown's first record to sell one million units. The song was written by Smokey and it hit number one on Billboard's R&B chart, and number one on the Cash Box Magazine Top 100 Pop Chart. All those other "Around" songs are indeed Motown songs but they weren't million sellers. Besides which, "Don't Let Him Shop Around" came out in 1961, "Tie a String Around Your Finger" came out in 1963, and "Had You Been Around" was released in 1965.

Answer: "Good Morning Heartache" and "It's My Turn"

"Good Morning Heartache" only reached Number 34 on the U.S. chart, and "It's My Turn" only peaked at Number 9. All these songs went to Number One: "Upside Down" in 1980, "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" in 1970, "Touch Me in the Morning" in 1973, "Love Hangover" in 1976, "Theme from Mahogany (Do You Know Where You're Going To)" in 1973 and "Endless Love" a duet with Lionel Ritchie in 1981.

Answer: Stevie Wonder

Stevie Wonder is the winner of the silver medal with 8 Number One singles under the Motown label. His first was "Fingertips" in 1963, on which he was billed as Little Stevie Wonder. His next Number One wouldn't come for another 10 year-- "Superstition" in 1973. The other 6 were "You Are the Sunshine of My Life" (1973), "You Haven't Done Nothin'" (1974), "I Wish" and "Sir Duke" (1977), "I Just Called to Say I Love You" (1984), and "Part-Time Lover" (1985).

Right behind Stevie Wonder is Lionel Ritchie actually, with 7. Two with The Commodores ("Three Times a Lady" and "Still"), one in a duet with Diana Ross ("Endless Love") and four more as a solo act: "Truly", "All Night Long", "Hello", and "Say You, Say Me".

Michael Jackson had 5 Motown Number Ones: 4 with The Jackson 5 ("I Want You Back", "ABC", "The Love You Save", "I'll Be There") and one as a solo artist ("Ben")

The Temptations had four: "My Girl", "I Can't Get Next to You", "Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)" and "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone".

Marvin Gaye had 3: "I Heard It Through the Grapevine", "Let's Get It On", and "Got to Give It Up (Pt. 1)".

Boyz II Men actually had as many as the Temptations with four. In fact a fun bit of trivia is that Boyz II Men recorded the last four Number One hits of the Motown Era.

The Four Tops and The Miracles had 2 each

The Marvelettes, Mary Wells, Edwin Starr, Eddie Kendricks, Thelma Houston all had 1