Which Motown artist had the most number one hits?
Ever since music became commercial, artists have pondered over how they make hits and tried to establish whether there is a secret to writing a classic. If there is, Motown came very close to uncovering it.
The year was 1959. Berry Gordy had just been handed an $800 loan, which he used to launch Tamla Records over in Detroit, Michigan. He’d clocked where the music industry was heading and knew he wanted in. A year later, the name was changed to Motown – and with that, the wheels were set in motion for what would go on to become the most iconic record label in music history.
Gordy had a unique approach to making music. He wanted his record label to be efficient, having a very specific system in place for all of those who came through the door. This applied to writing, recording, and releasing music. Things started slow at first, as Gordy had to work out what kind of songs the public would react to and fill Motown with extraordinary talent, but once things got moving, there was no stopping the label.
The first time The Marvelettes had ever been in a recording studio was in 1961 when they went to Motown to record their song ‘Please Mr Postman’. The recording session would go down in history, not just because it was The Marvelettes’ first time recording, but because it marked the creation of what would be Motown’s first number one single.
This kicked off what would become a legendary streak of number ones for the label, as just about every funk and soul artist who made waves over the next decade came up through Motown. We’re talking the likes of Diana Ross, Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson, and even Michael Jackson – all of them got their start putting out music under the Motown banner.
With so many big names, it begs the question: Which artist out of the label’s impressive roster was the most successful? There are plenty of successful artists to come out of Motown, but who achieved the most?
So, which Motown artist had the most number one singles?
Out of all the impressive artists to go through Motown, the most successful one was the formidable Diana Ross. Ross totally took over the music industry with the music she made both as a solo artist and with her band, The Supremes.
When she was working with The Supremes, the band collectively had 12 number one songs. These tracks included the likes of ‘Baby Love’, ‘Stop! In the Name of Love’, and ‘I Hear a Symphony’. Berry Gordy was a huge fan of the latter, calling it one of the greatest songs ever recorded.
“When I hear ‘Symphony’, when I think about her, it was kind of our song, together,” he said, “Whenever she would sing it, it was like she would be singing it to me.”
As a solo artist, Ross also saw a great deal of success as she released hits such as ‘I’m Still Waiting’ and ‘Chain Reaction’. Ross had a quality that the public connected with, and it led to her success as an artist both in a band and as a solo artist. When Gordy spoke about her, he said, “Managing her and developing her career was the greatest joy that I had.”
