CoronaVinyl Day 155 ('60s Compilation): A Collection of 16 Original Big Hits, Vol. 6 by Various Artists (Motown)

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Over the next three days, we're (or at least I'm) going to be listening to compilations from the '60s, '70s, and '80s, respectively.  Today, it's the '60s, and I'm going with a Motown compilation from 1967.  It's Volume 6 of the label's "16 Big Hits" series, which had nine volumes overall, from 1963 to 1968 -- a testament to how many hits Motown was churning out in the '60s.

Released in January 1967, Volume 6 contains 16 great songs released between 1964 and 1966 by 16 different acts, representative of "The Motown Sound," and what I like about it is that, in addition to the "big" Motown acts -- like the Supremes, Four Tops, Temptations, Miracles, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, etc. -- it has songs by Motown acts that weren't huge, like Jimmy Ruffin, Tammi Terrell (who had a bunch of duet hits with Marvin Gaye, but this is her solo), Kim Weston, and The Velvelettes.

The album is not on Spotify (though I am embedding a YouTube clip with the entire album), so here's the track listing, with the song's release date, peak position on the Billboard Hot 100, and peak position on the Billboard Hot R&B Singles chart in parentheses afterward.  And just as another reminder as to how good Motown was, I'm bolding all of the artists that have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Side 1

1.  "Shake and Fingerpop" by Jr. Walker & The All Stars (1965; #29; #7)

2.  "It's the Same Old Song" by The Four Tops (1965; #5; #2)

3.  "My Baby Loves Me" by Martha & The Vandellas (1966; #22; #3)

4.  "Stop! In the Name of Love" by The Supremes (1965; #1; #2)

5.  "Don't Mess With Bill" by The Marvelettes (1965; #7; #3)

6.  "Going to a Go Go" by The Miracles (1965; #11; #2)

7.  "As Long As There is L-O-V-E Love" by Jimmy Ruffin (1965; N/A; N/A)

8.  "I Can't Believe You Love Me" by Tammi Terrell (1965; #72; #27)

Side 2

1.  "Ain't That Peculiar" by Marvin Gaye (1965; #8; #1)

2.  "This Old Heart of Mine (Is Weak For You)" by The Isley Brothers (1966; #12; #6)

3.  "Helpless" by Kim Weston (1966; #56; #13)

4.  "My Baby" by The Temptations (1965; #14; #4)

5.  "Uptight (Everything's Alright)" by Stevie Wonder (1965; #1; #1)

6.  "Just a Little Misunderstanding" by The Contours (1966; #85; #18)

7.  "Truly Yours" by The Spinners (1966; N/A; #16)

8.  "Needle in a Haystack" by The Velvelettes (1964; #45; #31)

Favorite song from Side 1:  "Shake and Fingerpop" by Jr. Walker & The All Stars

Side 1 has a lot of heavy hitters, but I went with "Shake and Fingerpop" because it's more soul than pop, thanks in large part to Walker's wailing sax.

Favorite song from Side 2:  "Uptight (Everything's Alright)" by Stevie Wonder
This is a Stevie Wonder classic and just a great, catchy pop song.  It's such a standard and Stevie Wonder has been around for so long that sometimes it's easy to forget how young he was when he rose to fame.  He was only 15 when he recorded this song, and good thing he did, as it staved off some rumblings that Motown might be releasing him because his voice was beginning to change.  Ten Top 5 albums, 43 Top 40 singles, and 9 #1 singles later, I think Motown made the right choice by keeping Wonder on its roster.