Motown's latest rarities release offers songs from legends such as Diana Ross and the Supremes, Gladys Knight and the Pips and Stevie Wonder.
Released Friday on digital platforms, Motown Unreleased 1969 packs 60 songs that never became hits, and in many cases, were never included on albums or B-sides. All are drawn from the pivotal year 1969:
- “I Had a Dream (Opus I),” a poignant number written and produced by Ashford and Simpson for Gladys Knight and the Pips, recorded a year after the assassination of Doctor Martin Luther King.
- Stevie Wonder’s “Mister Moon” was one of his first self-productions.
- The Jackson 5, just two months from debuting with “I Want You Back,” offer an up-tempo version of The Miracles’ early '60s classic “What’s So Good About Goodbye.”
- And a true landmark recording: Diana Ross and the Supremes deliver an achingly beautiful version of “For Once in My Life,” in the last session where Diana Ross, Mary Wilson and Cindy Birdsong were together in the studio