The Official Top 100 Motown songs of the Millennium

Founded 60 years ago in Detroit, Michigan, Motown was the label that launched a musical revolution. Its impact still reverberates across music today: songs like Ain’t No Mountain High Enough, My Girl and Stop! In The Name of Love are timeless classics that remain as popular today as when they were first released.

Motown was founded in 1959 by Berry Gordy, an unknown record producer who borrowed $800 from his family to start up the label. It went on to revolutionise pop with its distinctive brand of R&B-soul with a pop influence – and helped pushed black artists into the mainstream.

To celebrate Motown’s 60^th anniversary, Official Charts have teamed up with BBC Radio 2 to reveal the UK’s Official Top 100 Motown Chart, combining digital download sales and streams. The Top 100 will be counted down on August 26 between 12pm and 6pm, presented in two sections, by first by Craig Charles followed by Trevor Nelson. The chart is part of a weekend of Radio 2 shows about Motown, all of which can be listened to on BBC Sounds.

Number 1 on the chart goes to Superstition by music legend Stevie Wonder. Despite being far from his highest charting single - peaking at Number 11 in 1973 - the track's popularity has endured over the years to earn its place at the top of the chart with 1.1 million chart sales. 

Celebrating the news, Stevie told us: "Motown is one of the all time great labels, and I’ve been associated with it all my life. Many of the artists have been my friends and family. I am proud to have been chosen at the top of such an incredibly talented group of artists."

Discussing the Top 100 chart, Trevor Nelson said: "The Top 3 are three of the most timeless songs of all time, true classics which appeal to music lovers of all ages. Stevie is my favourite artist of all time so for me, the right song is at Number One - Superstition is perfection!  I'm pleased that this chart features streams and downloads as it proves that the music of Motown is as popular as ever."

Below are 10 key facts about the Top 100. The Top 10 appears at the bottom of the page - the full Top 100 will be posted at 6pm.

1. The Top 100 features ten UK Number 1 singles and 55 Top 10 hits.
   
   
2. The Top 100 is made up of 7 million permanent downloads and 1.1 billion audio streams.
   
   
3. Stevie Wonder's Superstition is Number 1 overall, with 1.1 million charts sales, made up of  460,000 downloads and 65 million audio streams. 
   
   
4. Stevie Wonder is also the biggest artist overall in the Top 100 and has the most chart entries, with 20 tracks. Stevie accounts for nearly 10% of all downloads (1.8m) and just over 20% of all streams in the chart (254m). The graph below shows the acts with multiple entries on the chart.
   
   
   
   
   
   
5. The second most popular artist in the chart based on sales and streams is Michael Jackson and The Jackson 5, followed by Marvin Gaye (including his duets with Tammi Terrell).
   
   
6. The newest track in the Top 10 is Ne-Yo’s Let Me Love You (Until You Learn To Love Yourself). The track was a Number 1 hit in 2012 and was co-written by Sia.
   
   
7. Rick James’ Super Freak is the highest charting song in the Top 100 that wasn’t originally released as a single in the UK. It was a Top 20 in America’s Billboard Hot 100, reaching Number 16.
   
   
8. The second highest track not originally released as a single in the UK is Frank Wilson’s Do I Love You (Indeed I Do). It was scheduled for release in 1965, but Berry Gordy wasn't a fan of the track and shelved it. Wilson was more focused on his production and song writing career and went on to produce many of Motown's greatest hits.
   
   
9. The third highest track not released as a single in the UK is Martha Reeves and the Vandellas’ Love is Like A Heatwave. The song peaked at Number 4 in the US and is considered to be one of the first tracks to exemplify the 'Motown Sound'.
   
   
10. The impact of streaming on Christmas tracks is evident here with four entries for festive classics that receive a boost every year from November onwards: Michael Jackson & Jackson Five's Santa Claus Is Coming To Town (27), Stevie Wonder's What Christmas Means To Me (65), and Jackson Five's I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus (86) and Frosty The Snowman (96).  

The UK's Official Top 10 Motown songs 

Note: The full Top 100 will be posted on Monday, August 26 at 8pm GMT. 

©2019 Official Charts Company . All rights reserved.

This chart is compiled taking in permanent downloads and streaming equivalent sales. 

Listen to the Official Top 100 Motown Songs of the Millennium playlist on Spotify and Deezer.

To mark 60 years of Motown, a new greatest hits album by the label has been released. The CD features a 60-song tracklist, while the 2x vinyl includes 27 tracks. We have four copies to give away (2 on CD and 2 on vinyl) - enter our competition and select your preferred format below: