‘I Can’t Help Myself’: The Motown song that established the sound of northern soul
Few record labels can claim the same colossal cultural importance as Motown Records. From its initial formation in 1959, Berry Gordy’s pioneering record label changed the landscape of soul music forever, defining the pop charts of the 1960s and launching a seemingly endless plethora of now-iconic performers. One of its most unexpected influences, however, came in the form of the northern soul scene, which dominated industrial towns and cities across the north of England back in the 1970s.
Built upon an adoration for obscure, forgotten, and overlooked soul sounds from America, the emergence of northern soul was pretty miraculous. Seemingly overnight, vast swathes of young people in cities and provincial towns like Wigan, Blackpool, Manchester, and Stoke became utterly entranced by the sweet sounds of soul, staying up all night to dance to these forgotten records in clubs, ballrooms, and tiny clubs in the middle of nowhere. A core part of the appeal of northern soul, particularly for DJs, was finding records that nobody else had heard before, so seeking out unknown artists and independent record labels became essential.
At the same time, however, Motown Records had an unavoidable presence within the northern soul scene, despite its intense popularity. Motown had been a regular fixture of the UK singles chart since the mid-1960s, ushered in by the emergence of the mod subculture and supported by pop artists like Dusty Springfield or The Beatles; yet it still had a place within the obscure world of northern soul.
Not only did some select tracks from the Motown vaults become defining tracks on the dancefloors of Wigan Casino, The Torch, or The Twisted Wheel, but one song in particular arguably established the sound of the entire movement. Penned by the infallible writing trio of Holland-Dozier-Holland, ‘I Can’t Help Myself’ was recorded by The Four Tops in 1965 and released in April that same year, when it reached the top of the US pop charts.
Such was the universal appeal of the track that it became a hit in the UK, too, reaching 23 in the singles chart. Almost immediately, the song was adopted by the mod subculture, adored by soul-obsessed youths for its distinctive rhythm and upbeat composition. The Four Tops’ track wasn’t the only Motown anthem to be adopted by the mods, but it was afforded a more enduring reputation than many other tracks of that era.
In fact, it was that distinctive rhythm and groundbreaking pop-centric composition style which made ‘I Can’t Help Myself’ a natural fit for the northern soul scene. After all, no matter how terrible a dancer you are, anybody and everybody can follow along to the Four Tops’ track with relative ease. So, not only did the 1965 song become a mainstay of northern DJ sets and all-nighters, but the sound of the single gave budding DJs and record collectors a sonic blueprint to look for.
Prominent DJs from the first wave of northern soul have often claimed that searching for northern soul records meant searching for a Motown-esque sound from labels or artists that nobody had heard of. A more accurate description might be that DJs were looking for records that followed the same kind of rhythm and groove of ‘I Can’t Help Myself’, just recorded by artists more underground than The Four Tops.
Luckily, given the number of artists hoping to capitalise on the success of Motown during the 1960s, enough imitators existed for this practice to uncover some truly legendary tunes. So much so that, even if you have never knowingly heard ‘I Can’t Help Myself’, you can probably recognise its core sound. It was a track that altered the history of soul music forever, as well as paving the way for one of the most enigmatic movements in British musical history.
