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Recommended: Racial tension
Rowan-Cabarrus Community College
Berry Gordy and the Rise of Motown
Nichole Crews
Mus 210-220N/spring 2015
Todd Campbell
May 10, 2015
Motown was founded by Berry Gordy Jr, in 1959; Motown had 110 top 10 hits. Motown acts were enjoying a widespread popularity among black/white audiences alike where William “Smokey” Robinson stated “Into the '60s, I was still not of a frame of mind that we were not only making music, we were making history. But I did recognize the impact because acts were going all over the world at that time. I recognized the bridges that we crossed, the racial problems and the barriers that we broke down with music. I recognized that because I lived it. I would come to the South in the early days of Motown and
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Though many whites saw Motown as another form of pop music of the time African American saw it as a way to make decent money and to let their voice and opinions become heard, it offered them some way of freedom. Motown helped break down some racial barriers during this era. Motown forced America to confront its own feelings about race, community, intolerance, justice and reality. It was another way for African American voices to be heard on a much greater scale both national and international. Motown artist could appeal to whites their image was positive and tasteful. It paved the way peaceful integration by forcing a common ground for races though music in a time of social injustice. His artist crossed over the charts in a heavily whites dominated the …show more content…
listening public and started making major headlines overseas, Gordy confidently issued a memo stating, “We will release nothing less than Top Ten product on any artist(classic.motown.com)
Motown Celebrated a quarter century, the 1983 TV special Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever featured most of Motown’s original superstars and hailed, as Gaye said during his performance, “Twenty-five years of climbing and building and opening doors and breaking old rules.” That same year, the film and soundtrack album The Big Chill connected with the generation that had grown up with the Motown Sound, boosting Motown’s catalog business to unprecedented levels. With continue success in 1972, Motown moved its headquarters to Los Angeles. This allowed for greater participation in the entertainment industry.
In 1988 Gordy sold Motown Records to MCA and Boston Partners, ending Motown’s era as an independent company. In the post-Gordy era, Motown continued to release hit music by new artists such as Boyz II Men, Johnny Gill, alongside veteran performers like Wonder, Ross, and the
Although Motown no longer dominates the charts like it once did, Gordy's impact on the music trade can't be overstated. Motown's sound influenced everybody from the rock band and the Rolling Stones to newer chart-toppers like Janet Jackson and Paula Abdul. A real pioneer, Gordy assembled nothing but the rock 'n' roll era's most outstanding list of artists, musicians, songwriters and producers, and in pursuing his dream, he brought 2 races together through music.
Back in 1951, a young blues guitarist named Riley King had his first hit song titled "3 O’clock Blues.'' The song was so great, promoters whisked the young man from his Memphis, Tennessee home to the big top of New York City, where he shortened his stage name from Beale Street Blues Boy to "B.B.''
Scott, A. "Got Their Musical Mojo Working." New York Times 05 12 2008, C1. Print. .
Memphis is considered to be a dangerous city by many around the country with not many attractions besides Martin Luther king, jr. What they do not know is that Memphis is full of rich music and history. Various genres have made an impact on people’s daily lives such as gospel, soul, funk, blues, jazz, R&B, pop, country, and rap. Stax records were found in in 1957 which was known as satellite radio at the time. Stax has made a major impact on helping the lives of people in Memphis. Stax has overlooked the obstacles of color and racism by giving many artists of different races the opportunity they dreamed of. Stax has made a major impact by helping the lives of people in Memphis, breaking color and racism barriers, and most importantly by making music. (Stax Museaum)
Record labels played a big role in bringing the black struggle to the mainstream through their artists music. In particular, two labels were the frontrunners for producing records that would continue to promote addressing the black struggle: Motown and Stax. Motown, a black-owned label, was seen as a more assimilationist and industrial record label that was successful in making hits that appealed to both black and white audiences, earning it the nickname of “Hitsville, U.S.A.” Stax, a white-owned label, was seen as being more representative of black self-reliance and an overall more authentic, black record label that appealed much more to the black audience, earning it the nickname of “Soulsville, U.S.A.” Despite their differences, both labels used their own style of music production and distribution to help surface the black struggle in very similar ways, and in turn they helped pave the way for black consciousness to emerge through soul music.
"Motown Music - The Sound that Changed America - Motown Museum Home of Hitsville U.S.A.." Motown
Motown is credited with the success of influential artists such as: Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson, Stevie Wonder, etc.
The birth of Motown music came to be in a small recording studio aptly named Hitsville, U.S.A. Barry Gordy, who came from a large middle class family had borrowed money in order. The main stage of Motown music came from a small house that had been remodeled into a recording studio, the name of the company was Hitsville, U.S.A. Mr. Gordy had gathered the best jazz and blues players in and Motown was born through his genius. This small but dynamic record company has produced and help make many stars that we all know today such as Diana Ross and the Supreme, The Temptations, Stevie Wonder, and more recently the Jackson 5, Boyz II Men , and Queen Latifah. It is very surprising that both the genre of Motown and Hitsville remind unharmed by racism for the most since Detroit has been historically known for severe racism and segregation. Hitsville U.S.A. was one of the first African American owned record companies, this was just one step in popularizing and taking a step for African’s Americans many talents to become well known and chart topping.
Berry Gordy's "Motown" had the largest impact on music on behalf of its direction and redefinition. Berry Gordy's "Motown" impact music through cutting across divisions of race, region, and class. According to Schloss, Joseph G. et al., "unlike the music of earlier black-owned record companies, Motown's music was not directed primarily at black audiences." Gordy is characterized
The beginning of the Motown legend started when Berry Gordy borrowed eight hundred dollars from family members to launch Tamla Records in 1959. By 1961, Gordy scored a million selling recording, the Miracles’ “Shop Around” (Waller 11). Within ten years, the legendary Motown had released twenty-two number one pop hits, forty-eight number one rhythm and blues hits, and had become the largest black-owned business in America (15). Actor Sidney Poitier best described Barry Gordy as a person who was set out to make music for all people regardless of race. In doing so, Berry Gordy made black music, the Motown sound, part of the mainstream popular culture in America (mackinac.org). Gordy had white teens all over America humming the catchy tunes of the Four Tops and the Temptations. After that, he promoted a flurry of black stars including Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, and Stevie Wonder. Gordy wanted their music, and that of other Motown singers, to reach the larger white audience in America (bsnpubs.com).
were the ones making the music and dictating the styles. By the early ‘90s, more
He pushed his sons including Michael into forming a group called the Jackson five. Their group quickly arose from playing local talent shows to landing a contract with the renowned Motown label at the end of 1968. During the early '70s the group became well-known, with "baby", Michael as the lead singer of the group. This talent dragged on for decades and gradually getting better and better, Michael taking the lead and as the main source of income for the family for proving and presenting his talent to many music labels and organizations throughout the years.
Rap Music, a genre of R&B that includes rhythmic poetry put over a musical background. The background consists of beats combined with digitally isolated sound bites from other recordings. The first recording of rap was made in 1979 and the genre began to take notice in the U.S. in the mid-1980s. Though the name rap is often used back and forth with hip hop. The name hip-hop comes from one of the earliest phrases used in rap on the song “Rapper’s Delight” by Sugarhill Gang. “I said a hip hop, hippie to the hippie, the hip, hip a hop, and you don't stop, a rock it to the bang bang boogie, say, up jump the boogie, to the rhythm of the boogie, the beat.”. In addition to rap music, the hip-hop subculture also formed other methods of expression like break dancing, graffiti art, a unique slang vocabulary, and fashion sense.
The single, “Stuntin' Like My Daddy” went insane. It took over the number 1 spot on the Top Rap Albums and R&B Hip-Hop Albums chart and it won the number 3 place on the Billboard 200. Not so shabby for the southerners and it didn't stop.
Girl Talk and Public Enemy are just a couple of artists that rely on the remix culture that is music today. According to Midwest Music Business, The Beastie Boys paid about $125,000, just to the composers of the 105 different songs