Song of the Day 6/28: Martha and the Vandellas, “Heat Wave”

In meteorological terms, what we’re in just barely qualifies as a heat wave, but if you’re compiling a Global Warming soundtrack, this is the lead single. It worked magic for Motown in 1963, when it was one of Holland-Dozier-Holland’s first million-sellers and the first Top 10 record for Martha and the Vandellas, later billed as Martha Reeves and the Vandellas, who placed 26 songs on the charts between 1963 and 1972. BTW, if you’ve ever wondered what a “vandella” was, the name comes from Detroit’s Van Dyke Street and Della Reese, Reeves’ favorite singer.

Linda Ronstadt remade the song in 1975, with the studio help of Andrew Gold, who played everything except bass and drums on the finished track. Her single reached No. 5 on the Hot 100, just one spot lower than the original.

The song was revived again in the ’80s by Phil Collins, about which the less said the better.