The Motown track Dan Auerbach calls perfect: “It had so much depth and so much groove”
As one half of the legendary garage rock outfit The Black Keys, Dan Auerbach has had an undeniable impact on the lineage of indie and alternative rock. You would be forgiven for assuming that the listening habits of the guitarist are mainly composed of obscure indie rock and guitar-led anthems, but, in actuality, Auerbach’s taste is much more varied. Despite the grassroots independence of The Black Keys, the guitarist seems to have a deeply ingrained appreciation for the hit factory that was Motown.
No record label in musical history has had quite the same impact as Berry Gordy’s Motown label. Motown, for the first time, gave the sweet sounds of soul music a mainstream appeal, creating a plethora of hits and launching the careers of countless artists, including the likes of Diana Ross, Stevie Wonder and Smokey Robinson, among many others. In addition to commercial success, however, the label was also noted as being an indispensable force for furthering awareness of the fight for Black civil rights in America.
Given the incredibly wide-reaching influence of Motown, stretching from the industrial landscape of Detroit to the dancefloors of Wigan, it should perhaps come as no surprise that Dan Auerbach was infatuated with these infectious sounds from a young age. Admittedly, The Black Keys have flirted with funk and soul occasionally throughout their career – as they have done with countless other genres – which hints at Auerbach’s love of Motown, which first started in childhood.
“I heard my parents play lots of Motown, so I knew all the Motown songs,” the guitarist revealed while speaking to The Line of Best Fit, “but Smokey was always my favourite and that was always my favourite song when I was a kid”. Smokey Robinson is among the most legendary figures to have been fostered by Motown. Reportedly, Gordy had plucked Robinson up at the age of 17, leading him down a path of doo-wop greatness that would see him become one of the most successful soul stars the US has ever seen.
Out of Robinson’s extensive discography, one track in particular stands out to The Black Keys songwriter. “‘The Tracks of My Tears’ is so catchy but musically it’s incredible too,” he said, “You don’t realise it when you’re a kid, but musically it’s so nuanced and hooky and melodic. It was very bubblegum, but at the same time it had so much depth and so much groove that it really planted the seed”
Such a description could equally be applied to the vast majority of Motown hits, as they were often very pop-centric but with much deeper meaning and nuance beneath the surface. The song was first released in 1965 and peaked at number 16 in the US singles charts. However, that chart position came over a decade prior to Auerbach’s birth, so he had to get his Motown fix from fairly unusual places.
Bizarrely, Auerbach first discovered the distinctive tones of Robinson via the soundtrack of a haunting film about the atrocities of the Vietnam War. “I think my parents had the Platoon soundtrack,” he explained, “and it was on that. I remember them playing that all the time”. ‘The Tracks of My Tears’ is a fairly melancholic effort for Motown, which probably fits the mood of Platoon better than something like ‘Do I Love You (Indeed I Do)’. “I love sad songs,” Auerbach said, “and hearing a sad song from Motown that was so hooky was like perfection to me”.
