Pressing identification
Original Motown
45s.
Motown ran five primary singles imprints in the 1960s — Tamla, Motown, Gordy, Soul, and V.I.P. — each with its own label design and roster. The Supremes, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, the Temptations, the Four Tops, Smokey Robinson, Martha and the Vandellas, and dozens of other artists released their canonical sides on these labels between 1959 and 1972. Original 1960s pressings command significant premiums over reissues, especially the early-era pre-Detroit-map Tamla and Gordy designs.
01
The five imprints and the eras
Motown's singles labels each had distinct designs that changed over the decade. Original designs vs reissue designs separate first-press from later runs across the catalog.
Tamla. The earliest Motown singles imprint (founded 1959). Pre-1962 pressings used a yellow label with the Tamla globe logo and no Detroit map. From 1962 onward, Tamla added the Detroit-map design to the label. The Detroit-map Tamla is the most collected first-press indicator for Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, and Smokey Robinson originals.
Motown. Launched 1960. Early labels used a Motown logo on a blue or purple background with a horizontal record-on-globe design. The Supremes, Four Tops, and Martha and the Vandellas released their canonical sides on the original Motown imprint.
Gordy. Launched 1962. The Temptations released most of their canonical sides on Gordy. The label is purple with a stylized G logo. Original Gordy 1960s pressings are highly collected.
Soul and V.I.P. Soul (launched 1964) and V.I.P. (launched 1964) were Motown's experimental imprints. Smaller artist rosters but some of the rarest singles in the Motown family — particularly Northern Soul-favored sides.
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Value by canonical single
Recent sold-listing ranges for original 1960s Motown 7-inch singles in NM condition. Promotional copies and Northern Soul-favored sides trade higher.
| Single (year) | Label / catalog | NM value |
|---|---|---|
| Marvin Gaye — Stubborn Kind of Fellow (1962) | Tamla 54068 (pre-map) | $80–250 |
| Stevie Wonder — Fingertips Pt. 2 (1963) | Tamla 54080 (Detroit map) | $50–150 |
| Supremes — Where Did Our Love Go (1964) | Motown 1060 | $40–120 |
| Temptations — My Girl (1964) | Gordy 7038 | $40–120 |
| Frank Wilson — Do I Love You (1965) | Soul 35019 (Northern Soul rarity) | $5,000–25,000+ |
| Marvin Gaye — I Heard It Through the Grapevine (1968) | Tamla 54176 | $25–100 |
Sources: Discogs sold listings (90-day window), Popsike.com auction archive. The Frank Wilson Soul 35019 is one of the rarest soul 45s in existence — only two copies are known to survive.
03
The Frank Wilson 45 — the rarest of them all
Frank Wilson's 1965 Soul 35019 promo single “Do I Love You (Indeed I Do)” is one of the most expensive Motown 45s in existence. Motown pressed approximately 250 promotional copies, then Wilson asked the label to pull it before commercial release because he wanted to focus on songwriting instead of performing. Most copies were destroyed.
Two confirmed copies are known to have survived. The most recent auctioned copy sold for over $25,000 at auction. The Frank Wilson 45 is the unicorn of Northern Soul collecting — its status as the rarest surviving Motown promo gives it both museum value and a real, frequently-traded auction market.
The lesson for the broader Motown catalog: original promotional pressings (DJ COPY / NOT FOR SALE on the label) consistently trade at significant multiples of their commercial-pressing equivalents — sometimes 500× or more for the rarest sides.
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If you have one
Pull the single. Identify the imprint from the label (Tamla globe, Motown record-globe, Gordy stylized G, Soul, V.I.P.). Then check whether the design is era-correct: pre-Detroit-map vs Detroit-map Tamla, early-1960s vs late-1960s Motown.
Catalog numbers run sequentially within each imprint. The catalog number on the label, combined with the era-correct design, narrows the pressing to a small window. Promotional copies have “DJ COPY,” “PROMOTIONAL,” or “NOT FOR SALE” printed on the label — check carefully, as the markings are sometimes small.
Or scan with Crown Vinyl. The app reads the label, catalog number, and matrix runout from a single photograph and returns the imprint, era, and a current value estimate. Free on the App Store.
A few questions
The ones that come up.
Frank Wilson's 1965 promotional 45 on Soul 35019, 'Do I Love You (Indeed I Do).' Motown pressed approximately 250 promotional copies, then withdrew the single before commercial release. Two confirmed surviving copies are known. The most recent auction sale exceeded $25,000. Other top-tier rarities include various early Tamla promos and certain V.I.P. label sides.
All five were Motown Records singles imprints in the 1960s, each with a distinct artist roster and label design. Tamla was the earliest (Smokey Robinson, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder). Motown housed the Supremes and the Four Tops. Gordy was for the Temptations. Soul and V.I.P. were experimental imprints. All used Motown distribution and the same Detroit studio personnel; the imprint distinction was branding.
Check the label design for era-correctness. Pre-1962 Tamla used a yellow label without the Detroit-map design; from 1962 onward, the map appeared. Pre-1964 Motown used a horizontal record-on-globe design. Reissue 45s from the 1970s and later used different label colors and designs entirely. The catalog number printed on the label is the cross-reference.
Generally no. Motown was a singles-driven label in the 1960s — most artists' canonical work was on 7-inch 45s. Original Motown LPs from the era are collectible but trade at lower prices ($30–80 for clean NM copies) than the corresponding singles for most artists. The Frank Wilson 45 has no LP equivalent; many Motown singles have no LP equivalent at all.
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