Certifying Motown’s Hits, Part 2

GOLD, PLATINUM, MULTI-PLATINUM — AND DIAMOND

Lionel Richie’s Can’t Slow Down and Stevie Wonder’s Songs In The Key of Life are the all-time giants of Motown Records. Both albums have sold 10 million copies apiece, as certified by the Recording Industry Association of America, to earn the organisation’s “diamond” distinction.

The Temptations, too, have earned an impressive amount of official gold and platinum awards, with their RIAA-authenticated U.S. sales approaching 20 million across 20 album releases.

And yet, by the same RIAA accounting, Marvin Gaye’s monumental What’s Going On has earned no more than gold, for certified sales of 500,000 copies.

Huh?

Welcome to the second part of West Grand Blog’s analysis of the gold and platinum (and more) awards earned by Motown acts during Berry Gordy’s ownership of the company. This overview covers all the albums whose over-the-counter U.S. sales were audited – at Motown’s request – by the RIAA, and then certified gold, platinum, multi-platinum and diamond. (The first part covered gold and platinum singles.)

From 1958, the trade organisation’s criteria for awarding gold to an album was $1 million in sales at manufacturer wholesale prices, based on one-third of the list price for each record. In 1975, this criteria was amended for gold albums, to require a minimum sale of 500,000 copies, as well as the $1 million in wholesale value. The following year, the RIAA officially launched the platinum era, with awards based on authenticated sales of one million albums (and $2 million in wholesale value).

The multi-platinum award was introduced in 1984. Michael Jackson’s Thriller (on Epic) was among the first to be certified thus (for 20 million in sales), and 14 months later, Can’t Slow Down went ten times platinum. Over the next 15 years, the number of multi-platinum awards increased, and in 1999, the association designated sales of ten million as diamond.

(Are you still with us?)

From the beginning of these awards, it’s been up to the individual record company to decide which of its hits should be certified, then apply to the RIAA to have it done, for a fee. (An independent accounting firm conducts the audit.)

For most of the 1960s and ’70s, Motown chose to have nothing to do with this, largely because of an incident in 1964, when an RIAA official admitted it had prior awareness of the bootlegging of Mary Wells’ “My Guy,” but declined to notify the company. As a result, Motown’s sales chief at the time, Barney Ales, refused to deal with the RIAA from then on, but happily handed out its own (non-certified) gold records for artist-relations and publicity purposes, knowing that in some cases, the hits didn’t reach the magic million.

Motown’s attitude changed in 1978 – the year when Ales left. That August, the firm submitted Rick James’ Come Get It and the Commodores’ Natural High to the RIAA auditors, and the result was official gold album awards for both. When Jay Lasker joined as Motown president in 1980, he stepped up the practice, and the following year, there were gold and platinum RIAA honours for Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross, Smokey Robinson, Teena Marie and, again, Rick James and the Commodores.

Lasker continued the habit throughout his ’80s presidency, with multi-platinum patronage for albums by Lionel Richie and gold for DeBarge, the Commodores, Robinson and The Big Chill soundtrack, which later went six times platinum. In his newly published autobiography, Richie remembers Can’t Slow Down as the record industry’s first ten-times-platinum release, in 1985. “Earlier albums by other artists surely reached the same sales threshold,” he writes, “but somehow it was my luck to have been officially certified before them.”

For his part, Stevie Wonder would have been able to display platinum plaques for 1984’s The Woman in Red and the following year’s In Square Circle – although Lasker must have seen no merit in securing retrospective certification for milestones like Talking Book, Innervisions and Fulfillingness’ First Finale.

UNINTERESTED IN THE PROCESS?

Soon after Lasker’s exit, Gordy sold Motown to MCA Records and Boston Ventures in 1988. No further RIAA audits were sought for three years, and when the label resumed the practice, its focus was on greatest hits titles. Such albums by the Temptations, Marvin Gaye and the Four Tops were granted gold in 1991.

Motown’s ownership changed hands once again in 1993, and new proprietor PolyGram seemed uninterested in the gold and platinum process. That year, only three titles were so credited, including gold for What’s Going On — more than two decades after its original release.

Is it possible that PolyGram wasn’t able to access prior sales data for the Gaye classic, however hard that is to believe? Then again, Motown’s owner since 1998, Universal Music Group, doesn’t appear inclined to seek multi-platinum status for What’s Going On, either. What Universal Music did do during the early months of its Motown ownership was have the RIAA validate gold and platinum status for 16 albums by the Temptations (as well as 14 singles by the group) in one batch.

Since then, UMG has been selective – or perhaps it’s without access to some decades-old sales figures. In the 21st century, the company has sought certification for a total of 21 different catalogue albums. Most are hits compilations by the label’s best-known acts, plus Songs In The Key of Life, accredited in 2005 for the RIAA’s diamond award.

In May this year, Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell’s 1967 album, United, was awarded gold – perhaps fuelled by the ongoing digital popularity of its lead track, “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough.”

Now, the in-depth detail. It’s important to note that the following data does not include albums by artists signed to Motown after Berry Gordy sold the business. A number of those have done well over the years, including India.Arie, Boyz II Men (their second album was certified for 12 million sales in 1996) and Brian McKnight, as has the company’s modern roster of R&B and hip-hop talent.

The Motown titles listed below are in order of the artists with the most certifications, with the dates in the left column being when each album was recognised as gold, platinum or multi-platinum. Some albums were gold- and platinum-certified on the same date, while other such credits were separated by time. The same applies to multi-platinum, as the sales of hit albums continued to grow – and grow (The Big Chill soundtrack is a good example.) Also, the two albums combining Diana Ross & the Supremes with the Temptations are shown below under both acts.

MOTOWN, NOT EPIC

The RIAA’s own website has one or two anomalies. The album entitled The Jacksons is shown as on Epic Records and gold-certified on April 5, 1977, but its release date is noted as January 1, 1970 – a period when the group (as the Jackson 5) was signed to Motown. Also, it’s not entirely clear whether Hitsville Volume 1, the various-artists album which was gold-accredited on February 8, 1993, is the four-CD set fully titled Hitsville USA: The Motown Singles Collection 1959-1971 Volume One, which was released in 1992.

Finally, please note that the dates shown below are in the British sequence – that is, day/month/year. And don’t forget the footnote below.

THE TEMPTATIONS (26 certifications, 19 albums)

14/11/1991: The Temptations, Give Love At Christmas (G)

24/12/1991: The Temptations, All The Million Sellers (G)

7/12/1998: The Temptations, Phoenix Rising (G)

12/10/1999: Diana Ross & The Supremes with The Temptations, Diana Ross & The Supremes Join The Temptations (G)

12/10/1999: Diana Ross & The Supremes with The Temptations, TCB (G)

12/10/1999: The Temptations, Cloud Nine (G)

12/10/1999: The Temptations, Psychedelic Shack (G)

12/10/1999: The Temptations, Puzzle People (G)

12/10/1999: The Temptations, Christmas Card (G)

12/10/1999: The Temptations, Greatest Hits II (G)

12/10/1999: The Temptations, Sky’s The Limit (G)

12/10/1999: The Temptations, All Directions (G)

12/10/1999: The Temptations: Masterpiece (G)

12/10/1999: The Temptations, Anthology (G) (P)

12/10/1999: The Temptations, A Song For You (G)

12/10/1999: The Temptations, Great Songs and Performances That Inspired The Motown 25th Anniversary Television Special (G)

12/10/1999: The Temptations, Phoenix Rising (P)

12/10/1999: The Temptations, All The Million-Sellers (P)

15/10/1999: The Temptations, Greatest Hits (G) (P) (2xP)

15/10/1999: The Temptations, Give Love At Christmas (P)

24/3/2003: The Temptations, The Best Of The Temptations: Volume 1 The ‘60s (G)

27/6/2005: The Temptations, The Ultimate Collection (G)

24/8/2005: The Temptations, The Best Of The Temptations: Volume 1 The ‘60s (P)

STEVIE WONDER (22 certifications 12 albums)

3/2/1981: Stevie Wonder, Hotter Than July (G) (P)

9/7/1982: Stevie Wonder, Stevie Wonder’s Original Musiquarium I (G)

8/11/1984: Stevie Wonder (Soundtrack), The Woman in Red (G) (P)

13/11/1985: Stevie Wonder, In Square Circle (G) (P)

4/12/1985: Stevie Wonder, In Square Circle (2xP)

8/1/1988: Stevie Wonder, Characters (G) (P)

10/7/1991: Stevie Wonder (Soundtrack), Music From The Movie Jungle Fever (G)

14/6/1995: Stevie Wonder, Conversation Peace (G)

24/3/2003: Stevie Wonder, Song Review: A Greatest Hits Collection (G) (P)

19/4/2004: Stevie Wonder, At The Close Of The Century (G)

15/11/2004: Stevie Wonder, The Definitive Collection (G)

29/3/2005: Stevie Wonder, Songs In The Key of Life (G) (P) (10xP)

22/6/2005: Stevie Wonder: The Definitive Collection (P)

***Dancing on a multi-million ceiling***

15/12/2005: Stevie Wonder, A Time To Love (G)

6/12/2024: Stevie Wonder, The Definitive Collection (4xP)

LIONEL RICHIE (16 certifications, 6 albums)

9/12/1982: Lionel Richie, Lionel Richie (G) (P)

12/12/1983: Lionel Richie, Can’t Slow Down (G) (P)

19/10/1984: Lionel Richie, Lionel Richie (4xP)

19/10/1984: Lionel Richie, Can’t Slow Down (8xP)

19/12/1985: Lionel Richie, Can’t Slow Down (10xP)

16/10/1986: Lionel Richie, Dancing On The Ceiling (G) (P) (3xP)

21/5/1987: Lionel Richie, Dancing On The Ceiling (4xP)

15/7/1992: Lionel Richie, Back To Front (G)

20/10/1992: Lionel Richie, Back To Front (P)

30/7/2002: Lionel Richie, Truly: The Love Songs (G)

30/6/2003: Lionel Richie, The Definitive Collection (G)

20/6/2005: Lionel Richie, The Definitive Collection (P)

THE COMMODORES (10 certifications, 7 albums)

22/8/1978: The Commodores, Natural High (G) (P)

3/2/1981: The Commodores, Heroes (G) (P)

21/8/1981: The Commodores, In The Pocket (G)

16/12/1981: The Commodores, In The Pocket (P)

13/3/1985: The Commodores, All The Great Hits (G)

8/5/1985: The Commodores, Nightshift (G)

24/12/1991: The Commodores, Lionel Richie/The Composer (G)

29/10/2004: The Commodores, The Best Of The Commodores (G)

MARVIN GAYE (8 certifications, 6 albums)

24/12/1991: Marvin Gaye, Marvin Gaye’s Greatest Hits (G)

20/12/1993: Marvin Gaye, Marvin Gaye’s Greatest Hits (P)

20/12/1993: Marvin Gaye, What’s Going On (G)

18/10/1996: Marvin Gaye, Every Great Motown Hit Of Marvin Gaye (G) (P)

21/2/2003: Marvin Gaye, The Very Best Of Marvin Gaye (G)

24/3/2003: Marvin Gaye, The Best Of Marvin Gaye: Volume 1 The ‘60s (G)

2/5/2025: Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell, United (G)

MOVIE SOUNDTRACKS (7 certifications, 2 albums)

12/12/1983: Soundtrack, The Big Chill (G)

29/3/1984: Soundtrack, The Big Chill (P)

20/6/1985: Soundtrack, More Songs From The Big Chill (G)

27/9/1985: Soundtrack, The Big Chill (2xP)

20/7/1998: Soundtrack, The Big Chill (4xP)

6/8/1998: Soundtrack, More Songs From The Big Chill (P)

15/10/1998: Soundtrack, The Big Chill (6xP)

RICK JAMES (5 certifications, 4 albums)

22/8/1978: Rick James, Come Get It! (G)

7/7/1981: Rick James, Street Songs (G) (P)

19/7/1982: Rick James, Throwin’ Down (G)

12/12/1983: Rick James, Cold Blooded (G)

DIANA ROSS (4 certifications, 3 albums)

17/7/1980: Diana Ross, The Boss (G)

3/2/1981: Diana Ross, Diana (G) (P)

15/3/1983: Diana Ross, All The Great Hits (G)

RARE EARTH (4 certifications, 3 albums)

30/10/2000: Rare Earth, Get Ready (G) (P)

30/10/2000: Rare Earth, Ecology (G)

30/10/2000: Rare Earth, Rare Earth In Concert (G)

DeBARGE (3 certifications, 3 albums)

19/7/1983: DeBarge, All This Love (G)

4/2/1984: DeBarge, In A Special Way (G)

8/5/1985: DeBarge, Rhythm Of The Night (G)

DIANA ROSS & THE SUPREMES (3 certifications, 3 albums)

12/10/1999: Diana Ross & The Supremes with The Temptations, Diana Ross & The Supremes Join The Temptations (G)

12/10/1999: Diana Ross & The Supremes with The Temptations, TCB (G)

21/1/1986: Diana Ross & The Supremes, Anthology (G)

SMOKEY ROBINSON (2 certifications, 2 albums)

7/7/1981: Smokey Robinson, Being With You (G)

8/9/1987: Smokey Robinson, One Heartbeat (G)

INDIVIDUAL ACTS (9 certifications, 9 albums)

9/3/1981: Jermaine Jackson, Let’s Get Serious (G)

6/8/1981: Teena Marie, It Must Be Magic (G)

29/3/1984: Rockwell, Somebody’s Watching Me (G)

20/6/1985: The Mary Jane Girls, Only Four You (G)

11/9/1986: El DeBarge, El DeBarge (G)

24/3/1987: Bruce Willis, The Return Of Bruno (G)

***A quarter-century of Hitsville U.S.A.***

24/12/1991: The Four Tops, Greatest Hits (G)

2/8/2013: Michael Jackson, Got To Be There (G)

9/10/2024: The Jackson 5, The Best Of The Jackson 5 (G)

VARIOUS ARTISTS

24/12/1991: Various, 25 #1 Hits From 25 Years/Volume 1 (G)

8/2/1993: Various, Hitsville Volume 1 (G)

24/4/2006: Various, Motown Legends Volume 1 (G) (P)

24/4/2006: Various, Motown Legends Volume 2 (G)

9/5/2006: Various, Motown Love Songs (G)

Corrective notes: as much as possible, West Grand Blog tries to be objective in documenting the highs and lows, the successes and failures, the merits and shortcomings of the unique institution that was 20th century Motown Records. But here’s a subjective view: surely What’s Going On today deserves more than the casual recognition that its RIAA gold disc implies? Marvin Gaye’s masterwork remains one of the most revered and influential albums of all time. That its physical sales (to say nothing of its digital presence) are officially recognised as no more than half a million feels like an insult, all these decades later. Come on, Universal Music — make it right.