"The Motown Song" is a song performed by British singer

Rod Stewart Sir Roderick David Stewart (born 10 January 1945) is a British rock and pop singer and songwriter. Born and raised in London, he is of Scottish and English ancestry. With his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart is among the best-selling ...

featuring American vocal group

the Temptations The Temptations are an American vocal group from Detroit, Michigan, who released a series of successful singles and albums with Motown Records during the 1960s and 1970s. The group's work with producer Norman Whitfield, beginning with the Top ...

. The song is from Stewart's 16th studio album, ''

Vagabond Heart ''Vagabond Heart'' is the sixteenth studio album by British recording artist Rod Stewart, released on 26 March 1991 by Warner Bros. Records. The album reached No. 10 in the US, and reached No. 2 in the UK. The album features five singles, among ...

'' (1991). It was written by Larry John McNally and was originally recorded by McNally for the

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrac ...

to the film '' Quicksilver'' in 1986. McNally recorded a new version 2015 for the compilation ''I. C. Independent Celebration, Vol. 1'' for the German label Birdstone Records. Released on 3 June 1991, the single peaked at number 10 on both the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

and the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100. In Canada, the song number one on the '' RPM'' Top Singles chart on 5 October 1991. It also reached number three on the ''Billboard''

Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...

chart and number one on the ''RPM'' Adult Contemporary chart.

Music video

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing devic ...

for the song was produced by Animation City, an animation company in

London, England London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major se ...

, directed by Derek Hayes. It followed the success of the

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

video "

Dear Jessie "Dear Jessie" is a song by American singer Madonna from her fourth studio album '' Like a Prayer'' (1989). It was released as the fifth single from the album on December 4, 1989, by Sire Records. Written and produced by Madonna and Patrick Leon ...

", and

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

's "

Club at the End of the Street "Club at the End of the Street" is an upbeat pop rock song composed by English musician Elton John with lyrics by Bernie Taupin. It was included on John's album ''Sleeping with the Past'' in 1989 and released as its third single in 1990. The son ...

", by the same company. The video, set in an unnamed city, depicts live-action and animated versions of Stewart gathering neighbors together for a party on the rooftop of an apartment building. It paid tribute to

Motown Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''moto ...

(featuring animated versions of

the Supremes The Supremes were an American girl group and a premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s. Founded as the Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, the Supremes were the most commercially successful of Motown's acts and the most successf ...

and former Motown artist

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the " King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over ...

) and featured other headline-making stars of the time, including animated versions of rapper

Vanilla Ice Robert Matthew Van Winkle (born October 31, 1967), known professionally as Vanilla Ice, is an American rapper, actor, and television host. Born in South Dallas, and raised in Texas and South Florida, Ice released his debut album, ''Hooked'', ...

, and singers

Sinéad O'Connor Shuhada Sadaqat (born Sinéad Marie Bernadette O'Connor on 8 December 1966; ) is an Irish singer-songwriter. Her debut album, '' The Lion and the Cobra'', was released in 1987 and charted internationally. Her second album, ''I Do Not Want Wha ...

and

. Several comical mishaps befall these artists; Vanilla Ice gets buried under a truckload of ice cubes, O'Connor slips while shaving her head and has to wear bandages over the resulting nicks, Madonna gets her dress ripped off in a car door and shows up for the party in her underwear, and Jackson falls into an open manhole while doing the moonwalk. At the end of the video, the animation is crumpled up as a sheet of paper by the live-action Stewart, who has been drawing the scene in an art studio. He kicks the paper ball into a trash can, picks up his jacket, and leaves with a smile. * Director: Derek Hayes * Producer: Maddy Sparrow * Animators: Jimmy Farrington, Andy Goff, Malcolm Hartley, Derek Hayes, Ric Machin, Gaston Marzio, Paul (Robert) Stone. * Additional Animation: 'A' For Animation * Production Company: Animation City

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

Rod Stewart songs 1986 songs 1991 singles Animated music videos RPM Top Singles number-one singles Song recordings produced by Richard Perry Songs written for films The Temptations songs {{1990s-rock-song-stub