what is motown music? who created it? is it a style of music?

Answer 1

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 racial 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.

Berry Gordy, Jr. got his start as a songwriter for local Detroit acts such as Jackie Wilson and the Matadors. Wilson's single "Lonely Teardrops," cowritten by Gordy, became a huge success; however, Gordy did not feel he made as much money as he deserved. He realized that the "real money" of the business was made producing records and owning the royalties. Therefore, in 1959, he started his own record label, Tamla Records with an $800 loan from his family; 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 Tamla'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 Tamla's early artists were Mabel John, Mary Wells, and Barrett Strong. Tamla's first release was Marv Johnson's "Come to Me" in 1959. 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. "Shop Around" peaked at number-two on the Billboard Hot 100, and was Motown's first million-selling record. Also in 1960, Gordy launched Motown Records as a sister label. Because of the "Motown" name's association with "Motor City" Detroit, the blanket record company under which both Motown Records and Tamla Records operated was incorporated as "Motown Record Corporation". 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, William "Mickey" Stevenson, Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, and Norman Whitfield, 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.


[edit] 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 advised 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. Given that many of the talented young artists had been raised in housing projects and were short on social and dress skills, this Motown department was not only necessary, it created an elegant style of presentation long associated with the label.

Many of the young artists participated in an annual package tour called the "Motortown Revue", which was popular first on the "chitlin circuit", and later around the world. The tours gave the younger singers a chance to hone their performance and social skills and also to learn from more experienced artists. .....


[edit] Production process
Motown's music was crafted with the same ear 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 best-known songs, such as all of the early hits for The Supremes, were written by the songwriting trio of Holland-Dozier-Holland (brothers Brian & Eddie Holland and colleague Lamont Dozier). 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.


[edit] The Funk Brothers
For more details on this topic, see 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 Griffith 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.


"Hitsville West" 1972 - 1998

Answer 2

It grew out of the "doo-wop" era... Many black groups had no outlet for their talents. Many of the studios, labels, and stations at that time (late 50s into the 60s) wouldn't even consider many groups simply because they felt that their listeners and buyers only wanted to hear white, and white sounding music. Then along came Berry Gordy, the founder of Motown records ("Motown" for Detroit... the "Motor City", and his home) He started recruiting the minority artists that were being turned away from other outlets, and created virtually by accident, the Motown sound. It was an urban, upbeat type of music, that was the first black owned label, and led to the racial integartion of popular music.

The Motown sound had it's own "sound" with unique use of percussion, brass, chord structure, and a call and response style similar to Gospel music.

Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross, Micahel Jackson, Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye, and many more owe their initial success to Motown.

There was also a very small group of Motown musicians that played on A LOTof those early records, thus leeping the "sound" consistent.

Gordy sold the label to MCA in the late 80s.

Answer 3

In the 1960s, Motown Records (Detroit, Michigan) and its soul-based subsidiaries were the most successful proponents of what came to be known as The Motown Sound. Motown Records (established in 1959) played an important role in the racial integration of popular music as the first record label owned by an African-American and primarily featuring African-American artists.

The Motown Sound is 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.
Crucial to the Motown sound was the work of Motown Record's in-house band, The Funk Brothers, who performed the instrumentation on most Motown hits from 1959 to 1972.

Motown Record's current roster includes R&B singers India.Arie, Erykah Badu, Mýa, Kem, and Yummy Bingham; pop singer Lindsay Lohan; reggae singers Damian and Stephen Marley; and rappers Trick Trick and Nick Cannon. Diana Ross, Smokey Robinson, Stevie Wonder, and The Temptations have remained with the label since its early days.

Answer 4

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.

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 racial 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.

Answer 5

late 50s & 60s &70s music from Detroit(aka motown) nearly all black music,go on line type motown.

Answer 6

What is the Motown Sound