History Creator / Motown

* AlbumFiller: Motown was notorious for releasing albums which were essentially hit singles surrounded by cover songs. This policy prompted Music/MarvinGaye to record the ConceptAlbum ''Music/WhatsGoingOn''

->[[FracturedFairyTale Once upon a time]] in a kingdom known as {{Detroit}}, there lived a young warrior named Berry … [who] took on the ways of the minstrel, and he began to write songs for others to sing. And a local celebrity, Sir Jackie of Wilson, heard some of the songs and put them on circular platters called “discs.” And the townspeople liked the sounds that emanated from the pressed discs, and turned them into something called “hits.” … So Berry went out on great quest, and he found Miracles and [[StevieWonder Wonders]] and [[OddNameOut Marvelettes]]. And he brought the discoveries to a secret place called Hitsville, and there he taught them wondrous things. There was young Smokey of Robinson, and Mary of Welles, and Martha of the Vandellas. [[MarvinGaye Marvin of the Gaye]] and Tammi of Terrell. And there were Pips and Knights named Gladys. And Temptations and Tops, Contours and Spinners. And before anyone realized what was happening, it happened: Hitsville became like its name.

->''[[FracturedFairyTale Once upon a time]] in a kingdom known as {{Detroit}}, there lived a young warrior named Berry … [who] took on the ways of the minstrel, and he began to write songs for others to sing. And a local celebrity, Sir Jackie of Wilson, heard some of the songs and put them on circular platters called “discs.” And the townspeople liked the sounds that emanated from the pressed discs, and turned them into something called “hits.” … So Berry went out on great quest, and he found Miracles and [[StevieWonder Wonders]] and [[OddNameOut Marvelettes]]. And he brought the discoveries to a secret place called Hitsville, and there he taught them wondrous things. There was young Smokey of Robinson, and Mary of Welles, and Martha of the Vandellas. [[MarvinGaye Marvin of the Gaye]] and Tammi of Terrell. And there were Pips and Knights named Gladys. And Temptations and Tops, Contours and Spinners. And before anyone realized what was happening, it happened: Hitsville became like its name.''

-> [[FracturedFairyTale Once upon a time]] in a kingdom known as {{Detroit}}, there lived a young warrior named Berry … [who] took on the ways of the minstrel, and he began to write songs for others to sing. And a local celebrity, Sir Jackie of Wilson, heard some of the songs and put them on circular platters called “discs.” And the townspeople liked the sounds that emanated from the pressed discs, and turned them into something called “hits.” … So Berry went out on great quest, and he found Miracles and [[StevieWonder Wonders]] and [[OddNameOut Marvelettes]]. And he brought the discoveries to a secret place called Hitsville, and there he taught them wondrous things. There was young Smokey of Robinson, and Mary of Welles, and Martha of the Vandellas. [[MarvinGaye Marvin of the Gaye]] and Tammi of Terrell. And there were Pips and Knights named Gladys. And Temptations and Tops, Contours and Spinners. And before anyone realized what was happening, it happened: Hitsville became like its name.

-> [[FracturedFairyTale Once upon a time]] in a kingdom known as {{Detroit}}, there lived a young warrior named Berry … [who] took on the ways of the minstrel, and he began to write songs for others to sing. And a local celebrity, Sir Jackie of Wilson, heard some of the songs and put them on circular platters called “discs.” And the townspeople liked the sounds that emanated from the pressed discs, and turned them into something called “hits.” … So Berry went out on great quest, and he found Miracles and [[StevieWonder Wonders]] and [[OddNameOut Marvelettes]]. And he brought the discoveries to a secret place called Hitsville, and there he taught them wondrous things. There was young Smokey of Robinson, and Mary of Welles, and Martha of the Vandellas. [[MarvinGaye Marvin of the Gaye]] and Tammi of Terrell. And there were Pips and Knights named Gladys. And Temptations and Tops, Contours and Spinners. And before anyone realized what was happening, it happened: Hitsville became like its name.''

-> ''[[FracturedFairyTale Once upon a time]] in a kingdom known as {{Detroit}}, there lived a young warrior named Berry … [who] took on the ways of the minstrel, and he began to write songs for others to sing. And a local celebrity, Sir Jackie of Wilson, heard some of the songs and put them on circular platters called “discs.” And the townspeople liked the sounds that emanated from the pressed discs, and turned them into something called “hits.” … So Berry went out on great quest, and he found Miracles and [[StevieWonder Wonders]] and [[OddNameOut Marvelettes]]. And he brought the discoveries to a secret place called Hitsville, and there he taught them wondrous things. There was young Smokey of Robinson, and Mary of Welles, and Martha of the Vandellas. [[MarvinGaye Marvin of the Gaye]] and Tammi of Terrell. And there were Pips and Knights named Gladys. And Temptations and Tops, Contours and Spinners. And before anyone realized what was happening, it happened: Hitsville became like its name.''

Finally, Motown was famous for the sheer number of hugely successful acts they signed. At one time or another, Music/MarvinGaye, Music/StevieWonder, Music/MichaelJackson, Music/LionelRichie, Music/BoyzIIMen and Music/RickJames were artists signed to one of Gordy's Motown labels, while famous acts from the glory days of the label like the Temptations, the Four Tops, the Supremes or Martha Reeves and the Vandellas quickly became household names.

-> ''Once upon a time in a kingdom known as {{Detroit}}, there lived a young warrior named Berry … [who] took on the ways of the minstrel, and he began to write songs for others to sing. And a local celebrity, Sir Jackie of Wilson, heard some of the songs and put them on circular platters called “discs.” And the townspeople liked the sounds that emanated from the pressed discs, and turned them into something called “hits.” … So Berry went out on great quest, and he found Miracles and [[StevieWonder Wonders]] and [[OddNameOut Marvelettes]]. And he brought the discoveries to a secret place called Hitsville, and there he taught them wondrous things. There was young Smokey of Robinson, and Mary of Welles, and Martha of the Vandellas. [[MarvinGaye Marvin of the Gaye]] and Tammi of Terrell. And there were Pips and Knights named Gladys. And Temptations and Tops, Contours and Spinners. And before anyone realized what was happening, it happened: Hitsville became like its name.''

While it's now defunct, this American record company had a huge impact on popular music in general and {{Soul}} in particular, and it's noted for a number of reasons. First and foremost is the "Motown sound", which was developed primarily by company session group the Funk Brothers; this was characterised by tambourine-accented percussion, melodic basslines, gospel-influenced call and response singing and lush string arrangements. The Motown sound was highly influential on subsequent artists, especially those of TheBritishInvasion.

* TheRival: Stax Records qualified stylistically, because it specialized in tougher, harder-edged soul music in contrast to the more commercial pop sound produced by Motown. Ironically, although Stax specialized in music that sounded more "black" than what Motown offered, the label was actually owned by a white businessman, Jim Stewart, and featured several white musicians, including ace guitarist Steve Cropper and bassist Donald "Duck" Dunn, on its recordings, not to mention distributing Music/BigStar through its subsidiary, Ardent. Atlantic Records (Now owned by Warner Music), a New York-based jazz and blues label, is another commonly cited rival.

* TheRival: Stax Records qualified stylistically, because it specialized in tougher, harder-edged soul music in contrast to the more commercial pop sound produced by Motown. Ironically, although Stax specialized in music that sounded more "black" than what Motown offered, the label was actually owned by a white businessman, Jim Stewart, and featured several white musicians, including ace guitarist Steve Cropper and bassist Donald "Duck" Dunn, on its recordings, not to mention distributing Music/BigStar through its subsidiary, Ardent. Atlantic Records, a New York-based jazz and blues label, is another commonly cited rival.

* AlbumFiller: Motown was notorious for releasing albums which were essentially hit singles surrounded by cover songs. This policy prompted Marvin Gaye to record the ConceptAlbum ''Music/WhatsGoingOn?''

** It was noted by Berry Gordy, while he worked at a local music store, [[SlobsVersusSnobs that jazz music sold far less than pop music]]. Gordy, keen to make an R&B/pop crossover style that appealed to whites and blacks, with both a sophistication and elegance not usually found in R&B, but not too sophisticated or uncommercial that it would alienate pop audiences ("[[ThreeChordsAndTheTruth Don't Bore Us, Get To The Chorus]]" was reputedly a popular motto of his when auditioning new songs) insisted that the Funk Brothers ''not'' play anything too jazzy. As the Funk Brothers were jazz musicians determined not to become too bored playing formulaic pop-R&B, and as Berry often kept the musicians interested by promising them they could make jazz music at some point and time, the musicians were limited by what they could play, but often did their best to sneak jazz into their accompaniment without Berry losing his patience with them. One might classify the "Motown Sound" as a compromise between the two worlds, to some degree. This, along with the sociopolitically charged/uncompromised lyrical content might explain Gordy's hesitance to allow concept albums like ''[[StevieWonder Music Of My Mind]]'' and ''Music/WhatsGoinOn'' to be released.

** It was noted by Berry Gordy, while he worked at a local music store, [[SlobsVersusSnobs that jazz music sold far less than pop music]]. Gordy, keen to make an R&B/pop crossover style that appealed to whites and black, with both a sophistication and elegance not usually found in R&B, but not too sophisticated or uncommercial that it would alienate pop audiences ("[[ThreeChordsAndTheTruth Don't Bore Us, Get To The Chorus]]" was reputedly a popular motto of his when auditioning new songs) insisted that the Funk Brothers ''not'' play anything too jazzy. As the Funk Brothers were jazz musicians determined not to become too bored playing formulaic pop-R&B, and as Berry often kept the musicians interested by promising them they could make jazz music at some point and time, the musicians were limited by what they could play, but often did their best to sneak jazz into their accompaniment without Berry losing his patience with them. One might classify the "Motown Sound" as a compromise between the two worlds, to some degree. This, along with the sociopolitically charged/uncompromised lyrical content might explain Gordy's hesitance to allow concept albums like ''[[StevieWonder Music Of My Mind]]'' and ''Music/WhatsGoinOn'' to be released.

* AlbumFiller: Motown was notorious for releasing albums which were essentially hit singles surrounded by cover songs. This policy prompted Marvin Gaye to record the ConceptAlbum ''What's Going On?''

** It was noted by Berry Gordy, while he worked at a local music store, [[SlobsVersusSnobs that jazz music sold far less than pop music]]. Gordy, keen to make an R&B/pop crossover style that appealed to whites and black, with both a sophistication and elegance not usually found in R&B, but not too sophisticated or uncommercial that it would alienate pop audiences ("[[ThreeChordsAndTheTruth Don't Bore Us, Get To The Chorus]]" was reputedly a popular motto of his when auditioning new songs) insisted that the Funk Brothers ''not'' play anything too jazzy. As the Funk Brothers were jazz musicians determined not to become too bored playing formulaic pop-R&B, and as Berry often kept the musicians interested by promising them they could make jazz music at some point and time, the musicians were limited by what they could play, but often did their best to sneak jazz into their accompaniment without Berry losing his patience with them. One might classify the "Motown Sound" as a compromise between the two worlds, to some degree. This, along with the sociopolitically charged/uncompromised lyrical content might explain Gordy's hesitance to allow concept albums like ''[[StevieWonder Music Of My Mind]]'' and ''[[MarvinGaye What's Going On]]'' to be released.

Finally, Motown was famous for the sheer number of hugely successful acts they signed. At one time or another, MarvinGaye, StevieWonder, MichaelJackson, LionelRichie, BoyzIIMen and RickJames were artists signed to one of Gordy's Motown labels, while famous acts from the glory days of the label like the Temptations, the Four Tops, the Supremes or Martha Reeves and the Vandellas quickly became household names.

The early years of the label, and the career of the Supremes in particular, were the inspiration for the musical and movie ''{{Theatre/Dreamgirls}}''.

* CoverVersion: Songs were often covered by different artists within the company. MarvinGaye's version of "I Heard It Through the Grapevine", for example, wasn't even the first one recorded.
* ExecutiveMeddling: Berry Gordy was obsessed with quality control and tried to veto the release of successful songs like "What's Going On" and "Ain't Too Proud To Beg" because he thought they wouldn't cross over well enough. MarvinGaye and StevieWonder both ended up threatening to stop recording unless their demands were met.

While it's now defunct, this American record company had a huge impact on popular music in general and {{Music/Soul}} in particular, and it's noted for a number of reasons. First and foremost is the "Motown sound", which was developed primarily by company session group the Funk Brothers; this was characterised by tambourine-accented percussion, melodic basslines, gospel-influenced call and response singing and lush string arrangements. The Motown sound was highly influential on subsequent artists, especially those of TheBritishInvasion.

The early years of the label, and the career of the Supremes in particular, were the inspiration for the musical and movie ''{{Dreamgirls}}''.

** Equally, though Gordy identified with a strong, independent black image with the label, he established a grooming system among his artists on how to look, act, walk, talk, dance and conduct themselves properly, partly to not alienate the pre-Civil Rights movement white market or the black market he hoped to entertain. He also tried to incorporate universal themes in the lyrics and images, and was reluctant to allow blatant racial or political statements in Motown music (or overtly black subject matter or imagery) for many years.

** It was noted by Berry Gordy, while he worked at a local music store, [[SlobsVersusSnobs that jazz music sold far less than pop music]]. Gordy, keen to make an R&B/pop crossover style that appealed to whites and black, with both a sophistication and elegance not usually found in R&B, but not too sophisticated or uncommercial that it would alienate pop audiences ("[[ThreeChordsAndTheTruth Don't Bore Us, Get To The Chorus]]" was reputedly a popular motto of his when auditioning new songs) insisted that the Funk Brothers ''not'' play anything too jazzy. As the Funk Brothers were jazz musicians determined not to become too bored playing formulaic pop-R&B, and as Berry often kept the musicians interested by promising them they could make jazz music at some point and time, the musicians were limited by what they could play, but often did their best to sneak jazz into their accompaniment without Berry losing his patience with them. One might classify the "Motown Sound" as a compromise between the two worlds, to some degree.

After a successful stint writing for Jackie Wilson, Detroit-based songwriter Berry Gordy decided that there was more money to be made in the music business as a producer than as a songwriter. Taking out a loan, he founded the Tamla Records label and started signing local talent. Following up early successes with the creation of the Hitsville USA studio, Gordy started a second label to supplement Tamla. Its name was a portmanteau of the Detroit nickname, "Motor City" or "Motown". From there, Tamla Motown (along with such associated labels as Gordy, Soul, and V.I.P.) went out to conquer the world of pop.

* GirlGroup: The Supremes were the most successful, achieving nine number one hits and becoming arguably the second biggest pop group in the world next to TheBeatles during the 1960s. Others included the Marvelettes and Martha Reeves and the Vandellas.

** Jamerson's essential replacement, Bob Babbitt, also fits this trope, as he was the go-to bassist Motown producer Norman Whitfield.

** Jamerson's essential replacement, Bob Babbitt, also fits this trope, as he was Motown producer Norman Whitfield's go-to bassist.

* TheRival: Stax Records qualified stylistically, because it specialized in tougher, harder-edged soul music in contrast to the more commercial pop sound produced by Motown. Ironically, although Stax specialized in music that sounded more "black" than what Motown offered, the label was actually owned by a white businessman, Jim Stewart, and featured several white musicians (including ace guitarist Steve Cropper and bassist Donald "Duck" Dunn) on its recordings (not to mention distributing Music/BigStar through its subsidiary Ardent). Atlantic Records, a New York-based jazz and blues label, is another commonly cited rival.