In the opening minutes of my work day this Friday, "I Can't Get Next to You" came on the radio. Having just had a cup of tea, all jazzed up on caffeine, I exclaimed to my work partner, "Ed, listen. It's the Temptations, and tonight is Motown night at the ukulele jam!" A good beginning to the day.

The morning DJ at WFUV, the Bronx's Jesuit station (Catholicism pops up everywhere, doesn't it? Try as I might to shake it loose, it does seem to cling.) then proceeded to talk about Led Zeppelin, WFUV's "Essential Artist of the Week." He launched into "Misty Mountain Hop" and "That's The Way", on his way to over an hour of stuff from these wonderful guys. I had an enjoyable ride down Sunrise Highway and Peninsula Blvd., and even my soul-deadening task of replacing traffic restrictions (30 minute parking 8AM to 5PM) didn't seem so depressing after that.

Led Zeppelin songs might be difficult to do on a ukulele, and perhaps many would be unfamiliar with their songs, but we mustn't rule it out. What has this to do with Motown? Well, not much, except in the broad sense that good songs, no matter what genre, plus a cup of tea, can be a joy-producing event. My morning experience got me excited for the evening jam where Ken, Jen, Arlene, Jacquie, Jerry, Larry, Jack, Scott, Sam, Bonnie, Nathan, Bill and WendySue performed the hits from that Detroit jewel, the MOTOWN label.

1. Walk Away Renee, Left Banke, 1966 (Ken)

This pretty number (not a Motown record) was a holdover from the last session. Ken transcribed an excellent chord sheet and we had at it once more.

2. Shop Around, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, 1960 (Arlene)

We got through three-quarters of it before sputtering near the end when Smokey ad-libs. It's always tough to mimic that. The Captain and Tennille had a hit with this in 1976.

3. You Are the Sunshine of My Life, Stevie Wonder, 1973 (Arlene)

4. Do You Love Me, Contours, 1962 (Arlene)

Also a hit for the Dave Clark Five in 1964.

5. Then He Kissed Me, Crystals, 1963 (Ken)

Our best effort of the young evening.

6. Will You Love Me Tomorrow, Shirelles, 1960 (Arlene)

The first time around they sing, ".....but will you love me tomorrow?" Every time after that it's, "Will you still love me tomorrow?" and that's what 98% of the population calls it, though in the Billboard book and on Carole King's Tapestry album, it's as I wrote it, without the "still." Carole King should officially rename the song to make it in line with what really comes off of people's lips. This was a nice one to play.

7. My Girl, Temptations, 1965 (Jen)

I do love the Temptations, my favorite Motown act with my favorite Motown singer, David Ruffin.

8. Be My Baby, Ronettes, 1963 (Ken)

We attempted taking parts: the eastern half of the table sang the lead and the western half sang backup, or all the words on the page in parentheses. Sam coined the term "The Parentheses" to denote those people assigned to backup duties. What an excellent coinage. How is it in the vast history of singing groups (Buddy Holly and the Crickets, Tony Orlando and Dawn, etc.) no one ever called their backup singers The Parentheses? It seems an obvious name now that it's been said.

9. Just My Imagination, Temptations, 1971 (Dan)

A grand failure! I was champing at the bit to do this because on paper it looked like a sure thing, C to F being most of the song. I led the group in much too fast a tempo. (The Rolling Stones did a version in 1978 on their Some Girls album, a little faster than the original, but they made it sound good.) I tried it again when I got home at a slower, EVEN tempo, and it was an improvement. The key thing was to play it that way throughout, never varying (as it is probably with most songs.) I often have a problem with that, mixing speeds depending on how the vocal is going. Twenty-five years ago, while learning piano chords, I was playing Patti Smith's "Because the Night" with another guy on guitar, and I was messing him up because the phrasing was making me change chords off time. I don't think I'd make a good drummer or bassist since keeping steady time is the name of the game with them. I predict this will be a lifelong struggle for me since I much more relate to the lead vocals rather than the rhythm. This song was deceptively hard.

10. You Really Got A Hold On Me, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, 1963 (Dan)

They left out a few interesting things on this chord sheet where "The Parentheses" would have come into play. There's a "Hold me (please.) Hold me (squeeze)," and a few others which are fun in a singalong.

11. Earth Angel, Penguins, 1954 (Sam)

Shame on the people who posted this atrocious chord sheet. They ruined a nice ballad. Didn't they play it to themselves to see how it sounded? We've done this before. It's quite simple and usually sounds fine.

It's a good time to note, in order to assuage the wrath of the purists, that not all the bands we're doing tonight were produced by Berry Gordy's Motown or Tamla label. The Penguins, Ronettes, Shirelles and the Crystals were on different labels. But being the broad-minded New Yorkers that we are, we have charitably let them all in under the umbrella of the Motown "sound."

12. Da Doo Ron Ron, Crystals, 1963 (WendySue)

It always sounded to me like they were singing, "They do run run," so an appropriate flipside might be They Don't Walk Walk. This was a C F and G7, and there were no mistakes. Pat yourselves on the back, everyone. Well done.

13. Dancing in the Streets, Martha and the Vandellas, 1964 (WendySue)

Here was another with awful chords. They didn't even get all the lyrics right. It was a mess.

14. How Sweet It Is to Be Loved By You, Marvin Gaye, 1964 (WendySue)

I didn't know this one until James Taylor re-did it in 1975. (Listen for his Mrs. in the background.)

15. Please Mr. Postman, Marvelettes, 1961 (WendySue)

We had another opportunity for The Parentheses as we took parts. This is a fabulous C Am F G7 record. The Beatles did it, too.

16. I'll Be There, Jackson Five, 1970 (Nathan)

17. ABC, Jackson Five, 1970 (Nathan)

We couldn't do the verse at all, tried the chorus, and even that was rough.

18. Runaway, Del Shannon, 1961 (Ken)

At 9:30 we had our discussion about what to do for next time. After ten minutes of negotiations and voting, we squeezed in this last one which sent us off on a high note. The last song of the night turned out to be the best played. I've always loved this one, since childhood, but as an adult found it tough to play on the piano. I see now I was using unnecessarily complicated chords. This verse of Am G F E7 couldn't have been easier. We all knew the song and many of us actually tried to hit the falsetto notes of "Wah-wah-wah-wah wonder," in the chorus. That's spunk.

For the next time it will be NIGHT/KNIGHT Night, suggested by Sam. One may pick the songs of Sir Elton John (KBE) or Sir Paul McCartney (KBE), both Knights of the British Empire, OR any song with "night" in the title. Please stick to records from McCartney's solo career since we just recently did a whole night of the Beatles.

Sir Isaac Newton was knighted by Queen Anne in 1705, but none of his stuff ever made the Top 40.

-- Dan.