Barrett Strong: Money (That's What I Want)

A couple of weeks ago the castaway on Desert Island Discs was the boxing promoter Frank Warren. Far from offering the wall-to-wall "My Way" you might have feared, his choices displayed impeccable taste in music.

One of his eight records was this: the first Motown hit and a song better known in Britain from the cover version by the Beatles. It was Strong's only major hit as a vocalist, but he later became one of Motown's most important songwriters.

I love this version, which I can't recall having heard before; certainly, it makes the Beatles sound a bit tame. I like their piano introduction, which is copied from the original, but after that it is just three lovable moptops strumming away and John Lennon proving that his was not one of the great British soul voices.

And those who think George Martin was the Beatles' greatest creative influence - not "the fifth Beatle" but the first one - will not be surprised to learn that it was he who played the piano here.

I do have a weakness for the Flying Lizards' version though.