By 1963, Berry Gordy and company were fine-tuning Motown’s sound. Jumping on the charts were Martha & The Vandellas, with “Come And Get These Memories” and “Heat Wave,” signalling the emergence of the writing/production team Holland-Dozier-Holland. “Little” Stevie Wonder was No.1 with the record-breaking “Fingertips (Part 2).” Mary Wells’ “You Lost The Sweetest Boy” and “What’s Easy For Two Is So Hard For One” turned out to be a double-sided hit. The Supremes (finally!) made their Top 40 chart debut.
 

All of these songs, and so many more, are included on this third volume of The Complete Motown Singles.
 
This five-CD set captures the hits and the misses during the label’s fifth year of existence. It features the A-side and B-side of every single released by Motown and its subsidiaries during the high-growth phase of Detroit’s entertainment juggernaut. Over the course of the set’s 119 tracks, you can hear The Chuck-A-Lucks and Jack Haney & “Nikiter” Armstrong with a couple of Cold War novelties, Martha & The Vandellas following one hit natural disaster (“Heat Wave”) with another (“Quicksand”), and an outstanding Holland-Dozier-Holland production (The Marvelettes’ “Locking Up My Heart”) that should have been a much bigger hit than it was. Leaving the fold were the Workshop Jazz, Divinity and Miracle labels; new to the company was the V.I.P. imprint.
 
The set is bound in a scaled-down 78-rpm-era “album,” with cardboard sleeves to hold each of the discs, and 92 pages of rare photos, detailed annotations and scholarly – as well as personal – liner notes. It also features a reproduction 45-rpm single from its era; in this case, it’s Martha & The Vandellas’ “(Love Is Like A) Heat Wave” b/w “A Love Like Yours (Don’t Come Knockin’ Every Day).” Martha Reeves contributes a personal essay to the set detailing the artist’s-eye-view of life in the label’s early years. Also included is an historical overview by author and scholar Craig Werner, and, as in previous volumes, copious track-by-track annotations painstakingly researched by noted authors and discographers Bill Dahl and Keith Hughes.
 
 
Tracks:  
DISC 11:
1. I Found A Girl - The Valadiers
2. You’ll Be Sorry Someday - The Valadiers
3. Good Bye Cruel Love - Linda Griner
4. Envious - Linda Griner
5. I Want To Talk About You - Paula Greer
6. So In Love - Paula Greer
7. Laughing Boy - Mary Wells
8. Two Wrongs Don’t Make A Right - Mary Wells
9. Sugar Cane Curtain - The Chuck-A-Lucks
10. Dingbat Diller - The Chuck-A-Lucks
11. It Should Have Been Me - Kim Weston
12. Love Me All The Way - Kim Weston
13. Locking Up My Heart - The Marvelettes [1st pressing]
14. Forever - The Marvelettes
15. Come And Get These Memories - Martha & the Vandellas
16. Jealous Lover - Martha & the Vandellas
17. My Heart Can’t Take It No More - The Supremes
18. You Bring Back Memories - The Supremes
19. Late Freight - Dave Hamilton
20. Mellow In Coli - Dave Hamilton
21. I’mi See You Later - Johnny Griffith Trio
22. I Did - Johnny Griffith Trio

DISC 12:
1. Bobbie - George Bohannon Quartet
2. El Rig - George Bohannon Quartet
3. I Did - Paula Greer
4. Falling In Love With Love - Paula Greer
5. The Interview (Summit Chanted Meeting) - “Jack” Haney & “Nikiter” Armstrong
6. Peaceful - “Jack” Haney & “Nikiter” Armstrong
7. My Baby Gave Me Another Chance - Amos Milburn
8. I’ll Make It Up To You Somehow - Amos Milburn
9. Don’t Let Her Be Your Baby - The Contours
10. It Must Be Love - The Contours
11. Oh Freddy - Connie Van Dyke
12. It Hurt Me Too - Connie Van Dyke
13. A Love She Can Count On - The Miracles
14. I Can Take A Hint - The Miracles
15. I Want A Love I Can See - The Temptations
16. The Further You Look, The Less You See - The Temptations
17. Pride And Joy - Marvin Gaye
18. One Of These Days - Marvin Gaye
19. Your Old Stand By - Mary Wells
20. What Love Has Joined Together - Mary Wells
21. Baby Shake - Eddie Holland
22. Brenda - Eddie Holland
23. Locking Up My Heart - The Marvelettes [2nd pressing]
24. Why Go Out Of Your Way - Billy Merritt
25. I’ll Go Anywhere - Billy Merritt

DISC 13:
1. Fingertips (Part 1) - Little Stevie Wonder [1st pressing]
2. Fingertips (Part 2) - Little Stevie Wonder [1st pressing]
3. First, You’ve Got To Recognize God - The Burnadettes
4. I’m Going Home - The Burnadettes
5. Fingertips (Part 2) - Little Stevie Wonder [2nd pressing]
6. Fingertips (Part 1) - Little Stevie Wonder [2nd pressing]
7. I’m Hooked - Bunny Paul
8. We’re Only Young Once - Bunny Paul
9. Going Steady Anniversary - The Stylers
10. Pushing Up Daisies - The Stylers
11. Ninety-Nine And A Half Won’t Do - The Wright Specials
12. I Won’t Go Back - The Wright Specials
13. Pa (I Need A Car) - The Contours
14. You Get Ugly - The Contours
15. My Daily Prayer - Amos Milburn
16. A Breath Taking Guy - The Supremes
17. (The Man With The) Rock And Roll Banjo Band - The Supremes
18. What Goes Up Must Come Down - Holland & Dozier
19. Come On Home - Holland & Dozier
20. Who Wouldn’t Love A Man Like That - Mable John
21. Say You’ll Never Let Me Go - Mable John
22. Farewell My Love - The Temptations
23. May I Have This Dance - The Temptations
24. My Daddy Knows Best - The Marvelettes
25. Tie A String Around Your Finger - The Marvelettes

DISC 14:
1. Heat Wave - Martha & The Vandellas
2. A Love Like Yours (Don’t Come Knocking Everyday) - Martha & The Vandellas
3. Give God A Chance - The Gospel Stars
4. Have You Any Time For Jesus - The Gospel Stars
5. Mickey’s Monkey - The Miracles
6. Whatever Makes You Happy - The Miracles
7. There He Goes - The Velvelettes
8. That’s The Reason Why - The Velvelettes
9. I Call It Pretty Music But The Old People Call It The Blues (Part 1)
- Little Stevie Wonder [2nd pressing]
10. Back To School Again - The Morrocco Muzik Makers
11. Pig Knuckles - The Morrocco Muzik Makers
12. Just Be Yourself - LaBrenda Ben
13. I Can’t Help It, I Gotta Dance - LaBrenda Ben
14. You Lost The Sweetest Boy - Mary Wells
15. What’s Easy For Two Is Hard For One - Mary Wells
16. Work Out Stevie, Work Out - Little Stevie Wonder
17. Monkey Talk - Little Stevie Wonder
18. Can I Get A Witness - Marvin Gaye
19. I’m Crazy ’Bout My Baby - Marvin Gaye
20. We Shall Overcome - Liz Lands & The Voices of Salvation
21. Trouble In This Land - Liz Lands
22. As Long As I Know He’s Mine - The Marvelettes
23. He Won’t Be True (Little Girl Blue) - The Marvelettes
24. I’m On The Outside Looking In - Eddie Holland
25. I Couldn’t Cry If I Wanted To - Eddie Holland

DISC 15:
1. Just Loving You - Kim Weston
2. l Another Train Coming - Kim Weston
3. Too Hurt To Cry, Too Much In Love To Say Goodbye - The Darnells
4. Come On Home - The Darnells
5. The Big Wheel - Howard Crockett
6. That Silver Haired Daddy Of Mine - Howard Crockett
7. Forget About Me - Carolyn Crawford
8. Devil In His Heart - Carolyn Crawford
9. When The Lovelight Starts Shining Through His Eyes - The Supremes
10. Standing At The Crossroads Of Love - The Supremes
11. I Gotta Dance To Keep From Crying - The Miracles
12. Such Is Love, Such Is Life - The Miracles
13. Quicksand - Martha & the Vandellas [1st pressing]
14. Darling, I Hum Our Song - Martha & the Vandellas
15. Quicksand - Martha & the Vandellas [2nd pressing]
16. The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire) - The Miracles
17. Christmas Everyday - The Miracles
18. May What He Lived For Live - Liz Lands
19. He’s Got The Whole World In His Hands - Liz Lands
20. Leaving Here - Eddie Holland
21. Stevie - Patrice Holloway
22. (He Is) The Boy Of My Dreams - Patrice Holloway