Motown Records, Inc.
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| Motown Records | |||
| Image:Newmotownlogo.jpg | |||
| Parent company | Universal Music Group | ||
| Founded | 1959 | ||
| Founder(s) | Berry Gordy, Jr. | ||
| Distributing label | Universal Motown Records Group (U.S.) | ||
| Genre(s) | R&B/soul, Pop Music, Hip hop | ||
| Country | United States | ||
| Web address | http://www.motown.com/ | ||
Motown Records, Inc., also known as Tamla-Motown outside of the United States, is a record label originally based out of Detroit, Michigan ("Motor City"), where it achieved widespread international success. Motown played an important role in the integration of popular music as the first record label owned by an African-American and primarily featuring African-American artists to regularly achieve crossover success and have a widespread, lasting effect on the music industry.
Incorporated on January 12 1959 by Berry Gordy, Jr. as Tamla Records, Motown has, over the course of its history, owned or distributed releases from more than 45 subsidiaries in varying genres, although it is most famous for its releases in the musical genres of R&B, pop, and soul music. Motown left Detroit for Los Angeles in 1972, and remained an independent company until 1988, when Gordy sold the company to MCA. Now headquartered in New York City, Motown Records is today a subsidiary of the Universal Motown Records Group, itself a subsidiary of Universal Music Group.
In the 1960s, Motown and its soul-based subsidiaries were the most successful proponents of what came to be known as The Motown Sound, a style of soul music with distinctive characteristics, including the use of tambourine along with drums, bass instrumentation, a distinctive melodical and chord structure, and a call and response singing style originating in gospel music.
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History
Berry Gordy, Jr. got his start as a songwriter for local Detroit acts such as Jackie Wilson and the Matadors. In 1959, he started his own record label, Tamla Records; his first signed act was The Matadors, who changed their name to The Miracles. Miracles lead singer Smokey Robinson became the vice president of the company, and many of Gordy's family members, including his sister Gwen and his father Berry Sr., had instrumental roles in the company.
Also in 1959, Gordy purchased the property that would become Motown's Hitsville U.S.A. studio. The photography studio located in the back of the property was modified into a small recording studio and the Gordys moved into the second floor living quarters. Within a few years Motown would occupy several neighboring houses with administrative offices, mixing, mastering and rehearsal studios.
Among Motown's early artists were Mabel John, Mary Wells, and Barrett Strong. The label's first hit was Barrett Strong's "Money (That's What I Want)" (1959), which made it to #2 on the Billboard R&B charts; its first #1 R&B hit was "Shop Around" by the Miracles in 1960. A year later, The Marvelettes scored the label's first US #1 pop hit, "Please Mr. Postman." By the mid-1960s, the label, with the help of songwriters and producers such as Robinson and Holland-Dozier-Holland, was a major force in the music industry.
In the 1960s (from 1961 to 1971), Motown had 110 Top 10 hits and artists such as Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Diana Ross & The Supremes, The Temptations, The Four Tops, The Jackson 5, and Gladys Knight & the Pips were all signed to Motown Records. By the late 1960s the label was billing itself as "The Sound of Young America", with its acts enjoying widespread popularity among black and white audiences alike.
After Holland-Dozier-Holland left the label in 1967 over royalty payment disputes, the quality of the Motown output began to decline, as well as the frequency with which its artists scored #1 hits. Even so, Motown still boasted a roster of successful artists during the 1970s and 1980s, including Lionel Richie and The Commodores, Rick James, Teena Marie and DeBarge. Motown relocated from Detroit to Los Angeles in 1972 and attempted to branch out into the motion picture industry, turning out films such as Lady Sings the Blues, Mahogany, The Wiz, Thank God It's Friday and The Last Dragon.
Berry Gordy sold his ownership in Motown to MCA and Boston Ventures in June 1988 for $61 million. Today a subsidiary of Universal Music, Motown is still active as a record label, and has been home to artists such as Boyz II Men, Brian McKnight, Erykah Badu, Johnny Gill (ex-New Edition) and India.Arie. Stevie Wonder and The Temptations are still signed to Motown to this day, making them the only acts from the "classic years" still on the label.
Behind the scenes
Artist development
Artist development was a major part of Motown's operations. The acts on the Motown label were fastidiously groomed, dressed and choreographed for live performances. Motown artists were told that their breakthrough into the white popular music market made them ambassadors for other African-American artists seeking broad market acceptance, and that they should think, act, walk and talk like royalty, so as to alter the less-than-dignified image (commonly held by white Americans in that era) of black musicians.
Most of these same artists often went on tour together each year in a package tour called the "Motortown Revue", which was popular first on the "chitlin circuit", and later around the world. The tours gave the younger artists a chance to hone their performance skills, and also to observe the more experienced artists.
Production process
Motown's music was crafted with the same eye towards pop appeal. Berry Gordy used weekly quality control meetings and veto power to ensure that only the very best material and performances the company came up with would be released. The test was that every new release needed to "fit" into a sequence of the top 5 selling pop singles of the week. Many of Motown's most well known songs, such as all of the early hits for The Supremes, were written by the songwriting trio Holland-Dozier-Holland. Other important producers and songwriters at Motown's Hitsville U.S.A. recording studio and headquarters included Norman Whitfield & Barrett Strong, Nickolas Ashford & Valerie Simpson, Frank Wilson, Motown artists Smokey Robinson, Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder, and Gordy himself.
The many artists and producers of Motown Records collaborated to produce numerous hit songs, although the process has been described as factory-like (such as the Brill Building). The Hitsville studios remained open and active 22 hours a day, and artists would often be on tour for weeks, come back to Detroit to record as many songs as possible, and then promptly set back out on tour again.
The Funk Brothers
In addition to the songwriting prowess of the above individuals, one of the major factors in the widespread appeal of Motown's music was Gordy's practice of using a highly select and tight-knit group of studio musicians, collectively known as "The Funk Brothers", to record the instrumental or "band" tracks of the Motown songs. Among the studio musicians responsible for the "Motown Sound" were Johnny Griffiths and Joe Hunter on piano, Joe Messina, Robert White, and Eddie Willis on guitar, Eddie "Bongo" Brown and Jack Ashford on percussion, Uriel Jones and Richard "Pistol" Allen on drums, drummer Benny Benjamin, keyboardist Earl Van Dyke, and bassist James Jamerson. The band's career and work is chronicled in the 2002 documentary Standing in the Shadows of Motown.
Notable Motown singles
Image:Motownlogo.jpg See also: List of Motown No. 1 singles in the United States
The following are examples of Motown singles which reached number-one on either the Billboard Hot 100 or the Billboard R&B singles chart.
| Year | Title | Artist | #1 pop | #1 R&B |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960 | "Shop Around" | The Miracles | - | 1 |
| 1961 | "Please Mr. Postman" | The Marvelettes | 1 | 1 |
| 1964 | "My Guy" | Mary Wells | 1 | 1 |
| 1964 | "Where Did Our Love Go" | The Supremes | 1 | 1 |
| 1965 | "My Girl" | The Temptations | 1 | 1 |
| 1965 | "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch)" | Four Tops | 1 | 1 |
| 1966 | "You Can't Hurry Love" | The Supremes | 1 | 1 |
| 1968 | "I Heard It Through The Grapevine" | Marvin Gaye | 1 | 1 |
| 1969 | "I Can't Get Next To You" | The Temptations | 1 | 1 |
| 1970 | "ABC" | The Jackson 5 | 1 | 1 |
| 1971 | "What's Going On" | Marvin Gaye | - | 1 |
| 1972 | "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone" | The Temptations | 1 | - |
| 1973 | "Let's Get It On" | Marvin Gaye | 1 | 1 |
| 1977 | "I Wish" | Stevie Wonder | 1 | 1 |
| 1981 | "Endless Love" | Diana Ross & Lionel Ritchie | 1 | 1 |
| 1985 | "Rhythm of the Night" | DeBarge | - | 1 |
| 1993 | "End of the Road" | Boyz II Men | 1 | - |
| 1994 | "I'll Make Love to You" | Boyz II Men | 1 | 1 |
| 1997 | "On & On" | Erykah Badu | - | 1 |
| 2000 | "Bag Lady" | Erykah Badu | - | 1 |
Notable Motown albums
See also: List of albums released by Motown.
| Year | Title | Artist |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | Hi, We're the Miracles | The Miracles |
| 1964 | Where Did Our Love Go | The Supremes |
| 1969 | Cloud Nine | The Temptations |
| 1971 | What's Going On | Marvin Gaye |
| 1973 | Innervisions | Stevie Wonder |
| 1973 | Let's Get It On | Marvin Gaye |
| 1976 | Songs in the Key of Life | Stevie Wonder |
| 1994 | II | Boyz II Men |
| 1997 | Baduizm | Erykah Badu |
| 1999 | Back at One | Brian McKnight |
| 2000 | Mama's Gun | Erykah Badu |
Notable Motown artists
For a full list of Motown artists, see List of Motown performers.
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[edit] 1950s and 1960s
(*) The Temptations recorded for Atlantic Records between 1977 and 1980 [edit] 1970s
(*) Diana Ross recorded for RCA Records between 1981 and 1989. [edit] 1980s
[edit] 1990s
[edit] 2000s
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Image:Smokey-miracles-page-display.jpg Image:Mary-wells-beat-punch.jpg Image:MarvinGayeWhat'sGoingOnalbumcover.jpg Image:TheSupremes.jpg Image:Temptations-group-pic.jpg Image:Jackson02.jpg Image:Rick-james-anthology.jpg Image:B2m-evolution.jpg Image:Erykah.jpg |
Motown subsidiary labels
| Label | Year founded | Year closed | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Motown Records | 1961 | - | The main label for mainstream R&B/soul music, also released hip hop music in later period. Numbering system combined with those of Tamla and Gordy in 1982. Purchased by MCA in 1988. Notable artists have included Mary Wells, Diana Ross & The Supremes, The Jackson 5, Boyz II Men, and Erykah Badu. |
| Tamla Records | 1959 | 1988 | A primary subsidiary for mainstream R&B/soul music. The original label; predates the incorporation of Motown Record Corporation by several months. Numbering system combined with those of Motown and Gordy in 1982. Merged with Motown in 1988. Notable artists included Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, Marvin Gaye, and Stevie Wonder. |
| Gordy Records | 1961 | 1988 | A primary subsidiary for mainstream R&B/soul music. Originally known as Miracle Records (slogan: "If It's a Hit, It's a Miracle"), the name changed in 1962 to avoid confusion with the Miracles singing group. Numbering system combined with those of Motown and Gordy in 1982. Merged with Motown in 1988. Notable artists included The Temptations, Martha Reeves & the Vandellas, Rick James, and DeBarge. Gordy Records slogan: "It's All in the Grooves!" |
| Check-Mate Records | 1961 | 1962 | Short-lived secondary R&B/soul subsidiary. Notable artists included David Ruffin and The Del-Phis (later Martha & the Vandellas). |
| Divinity Records | 1961 | 1963 | Short-lived gospel subsidiary. |
| Mel-o-dy Records | 1962 | 1965 | Originally a secondary R&B/soul music subsidiary, later focused on white country music artists. Notable artists include Dorsey Burnette. |
| Workshop Jazz Records | 1962 | 1964 | Jazz subsidiary. Notable artists included the George Bohannon Trio and Four Tops (whose recordings for the label went unissued for 30 years) |
| Soul Records | 1964 | 1978 | Secondary R&B/soul subsidiary, for releases with less of a pop feel and/or more of a blues feel. Notable artists included Jr. Walker & the All-Stars, Gladys Knight & the Pips and Jimmy Ruffin. |
| V.I.P. Records | 1964 | 1972 | Secondary R&B/soul subsidiary. Notable artists included The Spinners and The Elgins. |
| Rare Earth Records | 1969 | 1976 | Subsidiary focusing on rock music by white artists. Notable acts included Rare Earth (after whom the label was named), R. Dean Taylor, and Stoney & Meatloaf. |
| Weed Records | 1969 | 1969 | Very short-lived subsidiary. Only one release, Chris Clark's CC Rides Again album, was issued. The name Weed Records is now owned by the Tokyo-New York based Wee Drecords. |
| Chisa Records | 1968 | 1974 | Label owend by Hugh Masekela. Motown released Chisa output from 1969 to 1972. |
| Black Forum Records | 1970 | 1973 | Spoken word subsidiary, focused mainly on albums featuring progressive political and pro-civil rights speeches/poetry. Issued recordings by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Stokely Carmichael, Elaine Brown, and others. |
| Mo-west Records | 1971 | 1973 | Short-lived subsidiary for R&B/soul artists based on the West Coast. Shut down when the main Motown office moved to Los Angeles. Notable artists included G.C. Cameron and Syreeta Wright. |
| Ecology Records | 1971 | 1971 | Very short-lived label owned by Sammy Davis, Jr. and distributed by Motown. Only release: single "In My Own Lifetime"/"I'll Begin Again", by Davis. |
| Natural Resources Records | 1972 | 1979 | Active from 1972 to 1973 and in 1976 as a minor subsidiary for white artists and instrumental bands. Served as a label for Motown, Tamla, and Gordy rereleases and Motown compilation albums in 1978 and 1979. |
| Prodigal Records | 1974 | 1978 | Purchased by Motown in 1978, and used as a second rock music subsidiary; a sister to Rare Earth Records. The Rare Earth band moved over to the label following the Rare Earth label's demise. |
| CTI Records | 1967 | 1978 | Jazz label owned by Creed Taylor. Motown distributed CTI output from 1974 to 1975. CTI subsidiaries distributed by Motown included Kudu Records, Three Brothers Records and Salvation Records. |
| Hitsville Records | 1975 | 1977 | Originally founded as Melodyland Records, name was changed in 1976. Short-lived country music subsidiary. Notable artists included Pat Boone and T.G. Sheppard. |
| Gull Records | N/A | - | UK-based label still in operation. Motown released its output in the US in 1975. Gull had Judas Priest on its roster in 1975, but their LP Sad Wings of Destiny, intended for release by Motown in the US, was issued after the Motown/Gull Deal had fallen through. |
| Morocco Records | 1983 | 1984 | Short for Motown Rock Company. Rock music subsidiary for white artists, a short-lived attempt to revive the Rare Earth Records concept. |
| Motown Latino Records | 1982 | 1982 | Short-lived subsidiary for Spanish language Latin American music. |
See also
External links
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