‘Substitute’: The Who song Pete Townshend wrote as a homage to Motown
Berry Gordy Jr could never have predicted the musical phenomenon that Motown Records would become when he first established the label back in 1959. With a small loan from his parents, the budding music mogul brought mainstream attention to the sweet sounds of Detroit soul, providing a platform for stars like Diana Ross, Smokey Robinson, and Stevie Wonder in the process. Within a few short years, Motown dominated the US charts, but it struggled to achieve the same success or relevancy in the United Kingdom.
Motown achieved its first hit single in the US with Barrett Strong’s ‘Money (That’s What I Want)’ in 1959, which kicked off a decade of solid-gold hits for the label, with the iconic ‘Motown sound’ becoming virtually inseparable from the singles chart. Despite his best efforts, Gordy couldn’t seem to break that sound into the UK charts in the same way. Even when The Beatles included a handful of Motown covers on their With The Beatles album in 1963, mainstream success still proved elusive for the Detroit label.
Nevertheless, soul and R&B music, including the plethora of hits recorded by Motown, found a cult following in the mod subculture. Particularly in and around London, groups of young people dressed in sharp Italian suits and hopped up on amphetamines were dancing all night to the sounds of Black American music. So, when the mod subculture began to produce its own groups, such as The Who, Motown had an inevitable influence on their songwriting.
The Who were the proprietors of angry adolescent rock and roll during the mid-1960s, providing a voice for Britain’s post-war youth and reflecting the significant generation gap between the kids of the 1960s and their stuffy parents. As stalwarts of the mod movement, the band were well aware of the ‘Motown sound’ before it reached the musical mainstream in the UK, and songwriter Pete Townshend was particularly infatuated by its infectious tones.
Motown finally broke into the UK charts when Mary Wells’ ‘My Guy’ reached the top five in 1964, with the help of the mod subculture as well as figures like Dusty Springfield. This was also the year that The Who burst onto the scene, releasing smash-hit early singles like ‘I Can’t Explain’ and ‘My Generation’. As they progressed, Motown influences became more prevalent in Townshend’s songwriting. In fact, one of the band’s most iconic tracks came as a direct result of Motown.
In 1965, Smokey Robinson and The Miracles found transatlantic success with ‘The Tracks of My Tears’, which became a particular favourite of Townshend’s. The Who songwriter was especially drawn to the lyric, “Although she may be cute, she’s just a substitute.” After rattling around in his head for a while, Townshend decided to pen an entire song around that line as a homage to Motown and its influence on the band. The resulting song was released in 1966 as ‘Substitute’.
Reaching number five in the singles chart, the song became one of The Who’s defining moments, capturing their underdog spirit and expansive musical inspiration. Its ties to the world of soul were solidified in the US when the song was released via Atco Records – the label that hosted stars like Mary Wells, Ben E. King, and King Curtis, among others – rather than the band’s usual Decca distribution.
Although ‘Substitute’ does not stick closely to the sound of The Miracles’ original track, Townshend’s soul inspiration speaks to the expansive sound he created for The Who and their unforgettable ties to the mod subculture. What’s more, the single arrived at a time when Motown was topping the charts on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean, reflecting the all-encompassing musical power of Gordy’s label.
