Before Motown was Motown -- with the Supremes, Temptations, Four Tops, Miracles, and the like ruling the airwaves and crossing over in the mid to late '60s -- it was still a pretty damn good record label that produced some rock and R&B classics in the first couple years of the decade, including Barrett Strong's "Money (That's What I Want)," The Miracles' "Shop Around," and The Marvelettes' "Please Mr. Postman.
Another one of those early Motown hits came via The Contours. In 1962, they scored a hit with the now-classic "Do You Love Me," penned by Berry Gordy himself. "Do You Love Me" is a mix of rock, R&B, soul, and pop, with Billy Gordon's throat-scratching plea to his ex-girlfriend, who apparently broke up with him because he couldn't dance. Hold on a minute, toots, because now he can do the Mashed Potato and the Twist, so do you love him now? The answer should be "Yes! Yes! A thousand times over, yes!"
The song hit #1 on the Billboard R&B charts, as well as #3 on the Billboard Hot 100, and the single sold over a million copies. Of course, many Gen X females discovered or rediscovered the song because it was featured in Dirty Dancing, and then on the More Dirty Dancing soundtrack. As a result, it actually recharted in 1988, reaching #11 on the Billboard Hot 100. Not too shabby!
Anyway, enjoy this 2 minutes and 54 seconds of garage soul, and let it be a lesson: chicks dig a guy who can dance. Personally, I can dance, but I choose not to do so, for the same reason that TV stations would only broadcast Elvis from the waist up -- it's just too fucking sexy.
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