It's better than digging a ditch

Norman Whitfield was one of Berry Gordy's right hand men at Motown. Songwriter extraordinaire, he penned Wherever I Lay My Hat (That's My Home), Ain't Too Proud to Beg, I Heard it Through the Grapevine, Needle in a Haystack, Ball of Confusion, War, Papa Was a Rollin' Stone and many, many more. He worked with most acts on the label's roster including the Temptations, Gladys Knight and Edyyn Starr and won countless Grammys in the process. In 1976 he upped sticks, formed his own label, and wrote this rather elegant slice of disco infused funk. It shifted in excess of two million copies. 

 Rose Royce - Car Wash (1976)

Norman Whitfield (1940-2008)

It's a Northern thing

Earl Van Dyke was at the very heart of Motown: the Detroit born keyboard player and bandleader was the founder of The Funk Brothers - the label's house band; without them there wouldn't have been a Motown. It's as simple as that. Anyone who's seen Standing in the Shadows of Motown will, I'm sure, concur.

From time to time Van Dyke would slip anchor - they'd allow him to open for the names over the door. That's when he'd get to play tunes like this: it's a sure fire floor-filler that goes by the name of 6 X 6.