Late Night Lounge: The Motown classic Paul Shaffer calls his “favourite” record
“I want everybody to enjoy my music,” Motown boss Berry Gordy once declared. It is fair to say that, over the course of the label’s reign over the pop charts, he certainly achieved that aim.
Breaking down barriers and uniting people of all different colours, nationalities, and sexualities, Motown was the defining sound of 1960s pop.
From the moment Motown burst onto the national stage with its first widespread hit, ‘Money (That’s What I Want)’, the label was well on its way to mainstream domination. In only a few short years, the Detroit independent label went from a small operation centred around Berry Gordy and a loan taken from his parents to an all-encompassing musical empire, with its own team of incredible songwriters, producers, and, of course, an extensive roster of now-iconic artists.
During a period in which music was increasingly aiming to reflect the current political, cultural, and social landscape, with the emergence of British Invasion rock and, later, the hippie counterculture, Motown always remained true to its roots. While it did have moments of political activism, Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On being perhaps the most renowned example, Gordy’s label always came back to its pop, soul, and R&B roots, which is just one of the reasons why the label has been afforded such an enduring popularity.
From The Beatles to Bruce Springsteen, Motown has spoken to multiple generations of artists, songwriters, and listeners alike. One such fan is the legendary bandleader and musician Paul Shaffer. Even if you aren’t immediately familiar with Shaffer’s name, you are undoubtedly familiar with his work. Since the mid-1970s, he has worked as a musician and occasional actor on everything from Saturday Night Live to Disney’s Hercules.
Throughout his career, Shaffer has immersed himself in a seemingly endless array of musical styles, in addition to witnessing the rise of countless up-and-coming acts through his work with SNL and Late Night with David Letterman. It is no surprise, therefore, that the bandleader maintains an impressively broad musical taste repertoire, within which Motown has always ranked very highly.
By the time Shaffer broke into the entertainment industry, Motown’s grip on the American mainstream was already loosening. The 1970s saw the label achieve fewer and fewer hit singles as the years went on, ultimately culminating in Gordy’s sale of Motown in 1988. Nevertheless, the influence of the Motown sound was still palpable during Shaffer’s younger years, and he has always maintained a deep appreciation for The Temptations’ ‘My Girl’, in particular.
Back in 2009, he told CNN, “As far as favourite ‘overall package’ record of all time, I’d have to say ‘My Girl’ by The Temptations.”
Explaining, “I like everything about it, not only the composition, but the arrangement, the production, the lead vocals, the background vocals, the horns, the strings. That one I listen to over and over again.”
First released in 1964, the Smokey Robinson-penned ‘My Girl’ became The Temptations’ first number-one with Motown, and typified the sound of the label during one of its most successful periods. For Shaffer, the song has been a continued source of inspiration for many decades and, according to a 2018 interview published on Medium, it is still the bandleader’s favourite song of all time.
“The vocals, lead vocal, David Ruffin, one of the greats of all time,” he shared.
Motown’s heyday might have ended back in the 1960s, but the legacy of Gordy’s label is carried on through the plethora of musicians and writers those soulful pop hits inspired, including Paul Shaffer.
