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HERB JORDAN: Author Compiles Motown's Love Lyrics
Jordan has compiled the lyrics of some of the best-know Motown love songs for the book “Motown In Love: Lyrics from the Golden Era,” which he believes played a part in making Motown music so romantic.
Now fans of the legendary label can get more in-depth with the famous lines and lyrics of Motown hits such as “I’ll Be There,” “My Girl,” “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,” “Stop! In the Name of Love,” “Please Mr. Postman,” and “I Heard It Through the Grapevine.”
“I really thought it was important for people to take a look at the words as poetry… and maybe to slow it down a little bit, because Motown music is so propulsive and energetic,” Jordan said about why he decided to do the project. “I thought it made sense to separate out the lyrics, just for a moment, so people could appreciate the poetry.”
The project is a fine relief and a reminder that there are more elements to music than a great bass line. And because there probably isn’t much debate that the lyrics of yesteryear are more eloquent than those on the airwaves today, “Motown In Love” is a welcome reference.
“I don’t think there is any question that the songs are more romantic in a traditional sense than what hip-hop is doing today. I think people tend to view black culture, and in particular black men, as being hard, if not heartless. One of the things that you appreciate about Motown is the romance in the lyrics. They wrote elegantly about love and they described male/female relationships in such elevated terms that it really ranks as some as the greatest music and some of the most profound love songs ever,” Jordan said.
The book, which is already available in stores and online, is a collection of songs made popular in the ‘60s thanks to singer-songwriters including Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson, and Marvin Gaye and the super-collabos of Holland-Dozier-Holland, Ashford and Simpson, and Strong and Whitfield. As such, these lyricists do get a piece of the pie along with Jordan who wrote the poignant essays about the music, the label and the time. In addition, the book includes rarely seen photographs of the artists and songwriters.
Jordan, who has a musical and legal background, said he was compelled to do the project, clearly not for the money – but because it was important for generations that have enjoyed the music of Motown to really understand it and the legends behind the music.
“I think this is music that people need to hear and has maintained its popularity over generations. But perhaps it’s a time to get away from the concept that it was just the feel-good music of the 1960s and consider how important this music is and the reason that it’s lasted all this time is that there’s real substance to it. These kids out of the ghetto of Detroit were masters of the craft. I think sometimes people overlook how much genius went into the creation of this music,” he said. “We tend to hear the music first and the lyrics second. I think anyone who buys this book will have a different experience with this music than they ever had before. Most of the writers were young black men and I think it’s going to surprise a lot of people how brilliant these lyrics are.”
Jordan continued that he feels the songwriters were very forthcoming in showing their vulnerability and sharing their personal experiences regarding very universal issues, and that that’s what endeared the songs to all who listened to them.
“There’s a message here that transcends neighborhood, community, race and it speaks to something that ties all of us together, and that’s love,” he said.
“Motown In Love: Lyrics from the Golden Era” is available in stores now and a companion CD is expected to be released in February 2007, just in time for Valentine’s Day.
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