Motown Records
Diana Ross & the Supremes, Smokey Robinson & the Miracles, Stevie
Wonder, The Temptations, The Four Tops, Marvin Gaye, Michael Jackson & The
Jackson 5, The Marvelettes, Martha Reeves and the Vandellas, Gladys Knight &
the Pips, Lionel Richie & The Commodores, Teena Marie and many more. These
artist all have two things in common. They are from African descent and recorded
at Motown Records. Motown Records has played a large role in the crossover of
African Americans into pop music dating all the way back to 1959 when the
studio was founded. Motown Records has shaped American history by allowing
African American artist into mainstream pop music during a time of extreme
racism and creating a musical genre and style of its own widely accepted even
today.
Motown Records allowed artist to crossover into mainstream pop and R&B
despite their ethnic background during a time of segregation and racism. It all
started when the booming automotive business in Detroit caused The Great
Migration for African Americans to find work. Motown achieved this crossover
success largely in part to the owner, Berry Gordy, being African American
himself. No record label would take African Americans up until now regardless of
their talent. With the combination of Gordy finding talented musicians and
knowing hard work from working the factory line of Lincoln-Mercury he
successfully crossed over nearly every artist he recorded. Gordy assembled a
team of producers and songwriters dedicated to writing songs that would easily
crossover to mainstream pop. 79 records in the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100
record chart between 1960 and 1969 were recorded at Motown showing how
successful their recording label was.
Not only did Motown records make hits widely accepted among whites it
also created its own genre and style of music in the process. This genre of music
is simply know of as Motown. It takes influence from almost all musical genres
including blues, gospel, R&B, and pop. Merging all these genres and more
together, Gordy and his associates thought it would attract a wide audience
including white teenagers. Some of the most notable Motown hits including I
Heard it Through the Grapevine, My Girl, Never Can Say Goodbye, Stop! In the
Name of Love, Ain’t No Mountain High Enough and many more all have
influences from a wide variety of musical genres. The beat of blues and pop, the
lyrical influence from pop and gospel are some of the most noticeable crosses of
genres.
Motown Records have inspired me and many others in many ways small
and large. Its founder, Berry Gordy had a vision of how music should be and
followed it no matter what straying from the norms of the music industry
sometimes. He use to allow anybody from anywhere come in the the studio and
audition. This caused him to find talent that otherwise wouldn't have been found if
he would have stuck to the norms of the music industry. It has showed many
including me that sometimes you have to be willing to stray from the norms and
take risk in order to be successful.
Motown Records has had and still does have a large influence in the
musical industry.
Motown Records has assumed an expansive part in the crossover of African
Americans into popular music. Motown Records has molded American history by
permitting African American craftsman into standard popular music amid a period
of compelling racism and segregation and making a musical kind and style of its
own broadly acknowledged even today.