The Contours

The Contours are widely remembered for their 1962 smash "Do You Love Me?," one of the early hits that helped put Motown on the map. Yet they aren't always associated with the label; their sound simply didn't resemble the smooth, sophisticated blueprint that later became Motown's trademark. The Contours were all wild, irrepressible energy, leaping and sliding all over the stage and even doing the splits. As a result, they fell out of favor once Motown got its crossover-friendly hit factory up and running, and never duplicated their first hit's success, although songs like 1963's "Shake Sherrie," 1964's "Can You Jerk Like Me?" and "The Day When She Needed Me," and 1965's Smokey Robinson-penned "First I Look at the Purse" all hit the Hot 100. They later enjoyed a resurgence on the oldies circuit thanks to "Do You Love Me?" being featured in the wildly popular 1988 film Dirty Dancing.