208 Motown Chart-Toppers Showcased in 11 CD Collectors Box Set with Exclusive Book
Motown’s 60th Anniversary celebration is in full swing, with a host of special commemorative initiatives taking place throughout the year. Motown/UMe is pleased to announce global release plans for a newly-expanded edition of the collectible Motown: The Complete No. 1’s box set. The special 11 CD and digital anniversary edition will be released everywhere around the world on June 28th.
Motown: The Complete No. 1’s features 208 chart-topping Motown hits in one must-have 11 CD box set and digital collection. Showcasing the iconic American label’s universal cultural significance, the collection includes classics that topped U.S. and international charts. The Four Tops’ “I Can’t Help Myself,” Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On,” The Jackson 5’s “ABC,” Martha & the Vandellas’ “Dancing In The Street,” The Marvelettes’ “Please Mr. Postman,” Diana Ross’ “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,” Smokey Robinson & the Miracles’ “I Second That Emotion,” The Supremes’ “Where Did Our Love Go,” The Temptations’ “Ain’t Too Proud To Beg,” and Stevie Wonder’s “Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I’m Yours)” are just a few of the timeless masterpieces featured in the essential collection.
The box set’s new edition peppers ten bonus tracks across its first ten discs – all Motown classics that had cover versions by other artists that went to No. 1, from David Bowie and Mick Jagger’s chart-topping turn on Martha & the Vandellas’ “Dancing In The Street” to Coolio featuring L.V.’s re-working of Stevie Wonder’s original “Pastime Paradise” for the smash hit “Gangsta’s Paradise.” The set’s newly-added Disc 11 adds six more Motown No. 1’s, including two that were not included in the set’s original release and two Diana Ross remixes that have more recently topped the Billboard Dance/Club chart: “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough (2017 Remix) and “ I’m Coming Out”/“Upside Down” (2018 Mix).
Housed in a lovely replica of Motown’s original Hitsville U.S.A. headquarters in Detroit, Michigan (now home to the Motown Museum), the box set also includes an exclusive 100-page book with rare and classic photos, detailed track annotations, and an introduction by Smokey Robinson, who is himself responsible for 20 Motown No. 1’s, both with his group The Miracles and as a solo artist.
On April 13th, the LBJ Presidential Library opened a new exhibition, “Motown: The Sound of Young America.” Curated by the GRAMMY Museum, the exhibition traces the evolution of the label, focusing on its legendary artists and musical achievements, and explores how the sound of Motown continues to influence some of pop music’s most important artists today. This is the first time many of the exhibition’s artifacts have been seen in in a museum setting.
