Radio Wowsville 9/21/08: "Norman's Psychedelic Shack"

"So who died this week?" DJ Hummingbird Feeder asked as he entered the studio. Yeh, it does seem that way — Bo Diddley, Isaac Hayes, Jerry Wexler, Jerry Reed... seems like all we've been doing up at Wowsville these past shows is burying legends. 

But we couldn't avoid doing another tribute this week — to a musicmaker responsible for more "Wowsville Chestnuts" than just about anyone. Motown's Norman Whitfield, who died this past Tuesday, was the songwriter/producer largely responsible for the "psychedelic soul" of  Marvin Gaye, The Temptations and Undisputed Truth — not to mention "Car Wash," Edwin Starr's "War" and Yvonne Fair's classic The Bitch is Black LP. Anyone who dares put a string section over a tight funky beat owes Norman Whitfield a debt of gratitude. This is the dude that INVENTED the extended mix, y'all!

1. "Psychedelic Shack" — The Temptations

2. "End of Our Road" — Marvin Gaye

3. "Needle in a Haystack" — The Velvelettes

4. "Big John Is My Name" — Rare Earth

5. "That's The Way Love Is" — Marvin Gaye

6. "Law Of The Land" — Undisputed Truth

7. "I Heard It Through The Grapevine" — Gladys Knight & The Pips

8. "Don't Let The Joneses Get You Down" — The Temptations

9. "Ball Of Confusion" — The Temptations

10. "Message From a Black Man" — The Temptations

11. "Let Your Hair Down" — The Temptations

12. "Cloud Nine" — The Temptations

13. "Funky Music Sho 'Nuff Turns Me On" — The Temptations

14. "Ain't No Justice" — The Temptations

15. "Papa Was a Rolling Stone" — The Temptations

16. "Smiling Faces Sometimes" — Undisputed Truth

17. "UFO's" — Undisputed Truth

18. "War" — Edwin Starr

19. "Walk Out the Door If You Want To" — Yvonne Fair

20. "Keep On Keeping On" — Rose Royce

21. "High On the Boogie" — Stargard

22. "Love Ain't No Toy" — Yvonne Fair

23. "Ma" — The Temptations

Radio Wowsville... that's where it's at!

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