What type of “school” did Motown artists have to endure as part of Motown’s public relations agenda?

Question

in the 60's through the 80's

Answer 1

The "artist development department", a kind of charm school to make young talent more acceptable for the white popular music market.

I got here an interview here with Deanie Parker, a STAX employee and founder of the "Soulsville Foundation".

"Interviewer : "At Motown they even had a kind of school where the artists learned how to behave." "

"Parker : "O yes. I even know the name of the guy in charge : Charlie Atkins. He groomed 'em. Most of our artists were simply ungroomable. (laughs)" "

"50 Jaar STAX", Geert Op de Beeck, HUMO, Sanoma Magazines Belgium nv, April 30 2007

"In this business, we were taught by a gentleman who used to be talent coordinator at Motown. His name was Charlie Atkins."

Interview with O'Jays vocalist Walter Williams in The Clarion-Ledger, March 15, 2007, in Google cache : http://66.102.9.104/search?q=cache:OpmOLsV7KhcJ:www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article%3FAID%3D/20070315/ENT07/703150306/1264/ent+%22Charlie+Atkins%22+motown&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=6

"In the early '60's, [Martha] Reeves,who is best known for the Motown hit "Heatwave", was schooled in perhaps popular music's finest establishment for developing young talent, "Motown Records", under founder Berry Gordy."

" "In the studio, they were handed chord sheets and each musician was assigned to work with a specific artist in developing their own bass lines and piano structures or guitar riffs. Each artist had a distinctive sound developed for them and this contributed to the wonderful music which was recorded in the studio. It truly was a collection of all those efforts." "

"There was much more which Reeves learned in Gordy's Motown school. Life skills which were not taught in public schools were a major part of the Motown curriculum."

" "We had an American Airlines representative come to Motown to teach us the art of fine travel," she said. "We learned how to properly pack your wardrobe so that your clothes were kept cleaned and pressed day to day while on the road. We also had private tutors who made certain the younger high school and college aged artists had a good solid formal education. We had the best private tutors, musical instructors and personal trainers that could be found. I really didn't know how valuable those instructions were until after the fact of learning them." "

"The legendary Motown stage shows,complete with the complex, in-synch dance steps in time with the music, were also a subject which Gordy had his Motown pupils tutored in and eventually master."

" "What was good was the dance choreography ," Reeves said. "The dancing and singing at the same time is actually very difficult to do. We were trained by Charlie Atkins who was a Copacabana act."

"MARTHA REEVES", interviewsofrecordingartists.com : http://mcapozzolijr.com/marthareeves.html

Answer 2

Tears of a Clown - Smokey Robinson Ain't No Mountain intense sufficient - Marvin Gaye I Heard It throughout the time of the Grapevine - Marvin Gaye I purely called to assert i like You - Stevie ask your self the place Did Our Love pass - The Supremes i won't have the ability to help Myself - 4 Tops attain Out (i'm going to be There) - 4 Tops My female - the enticements purely My mind's eye - the enticements Papa replaced into A Rolling Stone - the enticements I wish it may Rain - the enticements :-)