A presentation at Buchclub in in Berlin, Germany by Gunnar Bittersmann
THE SOUL OF MOTOWN
[comment from @ChipMiller] Being the co-creator and producer of The Commodore’s music video for “Nightshift”, I just have to say how honored I am to see this version by an artist I greatly admire, and a fellow New Jersey native (I’m from Paterson and saw you in Asbury Park numerous times). An obvious homage and tribute to both The Commodores and our music video, right down to the lightbulb microphone, the fade ups, certain cuts to the keyboard player and background vocalist. Gave me chills, Bruce. And to date, I have directed and produced a 160 plus music videos for major and indie artists, from Linkin Park and LL Cool J to Squeeze and The Black Crowes. But “Nightshift” was my very first and it skyrocketed to the top of MTV rotation for a year. And the story behind the video is not one I’m sure Bruce knows. In short, Motown was about to let band go post Lionel Ritchie’s departure, but the band believed in their new album and this classic song. They were introduced to me by a mutual friend, and when I heard the track I was blown away. They had no money and literally had to dig into their own pockets to fund the video. Because it was my first, I agreed to produce it for less than $19,000, hence the simplicity of the concept and shoot. I brought in a TV commercial director who never did a music video before, but we made it work, even though the director referred to them several times during the shoot as The Temptations. None of us expected to be the iconic video it would become. We almost did a sequel version with The Commodores the year after Michael Jackson died, where the guys wrote an additional verse about Michael. They could never get the budget together so it never happened but they do it till this day in their live concerts. In conclusion, thank you again Bruce. Incredible video and rendition. And thanks for the visual tributes. Now if only someday, I could direct a music video for the boss himself. Congrats, sir. Cheers, Chip Miller (original “Nightshift” producer)
„The Soul of Motown – eine Labelgeschichte in 15 Songs“ von Torsten Groß (Texte), Alexandra Kardinar und Volker Schlecht (Illustrationen), präsentiert von Gunnar Bittersmann
Zuvor: ein Typografie-Quiz
The following resources were mentioned during the presentation or are useful additional information.
Motown Review, Fox Theater, Detroit 1963
on The Ed Sullivan Show
Offene Liederbühne, Zimmer 16, 2026-03-16
from Live 1975–85
from Only the Strong Survive
see also the comment by Chip Miller, the co-creator and producer of The Commodore’s music video for “Nightshift”
