Berry Gordy Jr. was the founder of the legendary Motown Record Company. Before he discovered his passion for music Berry tried a number of other careers. He tried boxing, owning a record store, working in an assembly line, and even touring for the United States in the Korean War. After trying all of these careers, Berry finally found his love for music and entertainment. He pursued his passion with song writing, and also by eventually opening Motown Records in 1960. Directly after opening the record company, Berry began searching for talented artists to record at his company. He found many artists who were all very talented, and he was inducted into the rock and roll hall of fame in 1988. He was inducted for being the founder and heisman of the Motown musical empire.
The birth of Motown was in April, 1960. The birthplace of Motown is Detroit, Michigan. Berry Gordy Jr. was given only $800 to make his dream come to life. When the time came to name the building, he named it “Hitsville USA”. He also needed to name his record company. Berry came up with the name Motown through a popular nickname for the city of Detroit, “motor city”. Motor city has been a popular nickname for Detroit for quite a long time. Also, as a tribute to the kind people he grew up with who called a city a “town”, Berry decided to contract “Motor City” and “town”. After putting them together, he got “Motown”. Motown Records is still around today.
The distinct sound of jazz, blues, and gospel music is the Motown sound. Each genre brings strong, powerful music that can tell countless numbers of stories. All of the Motown artists had their stories to tell and share with the nation. Their songs became the catchiest stories! The memorable song Ain’t No Mountain High Enough, by Marvin Gaye comes with a message. The message is only clear to the audience if they think about the lyrics. The artist is saying that there is nothing in the world that could keep him away from his love. A story could also be referred to as a message. In this case it is more of a story because it is his own experience. Artists like Marvin Gaye brought their own experience into these songs. Their songs are personal to the artist, and more relatable to the audience.
In over 50 years of motown being around the United States, there have been countless numbers of successful musicians. This includes Diana Ross, Marvin Gaye, The Temptations, Jackson 5, Smokey Robinson, Stevie Wonder, and many others. Those people are only some of the wonderful musicians that recorded at Motown records. Each artist would put their own spin on their music by adding a blues, jazz, or gospel swing to their songs. Motown stars were known all over the United States for their powerful voices, and inspirational lyrics. Without these artists bring the songs to life, Motown would be very different today.
The beautiful sound that Motown provides to us truly helps us people through any time. In 1966 Motown has had over 125 employees, and made over $20 million. Throughout the Civil Rights Movement these songs and artists distracted people of what was really happening in the United States. They gave them the precious gift of song. Motown was well respected and acknowledged by Americans no matter the race. Without Motown there could still be a racial divide between the entertainment industry.
Motown is still a huge phenomenon today, but it is not as popular. There are still many artists that are recording with Motown records.This includes Anita Wilson, Brian Courtney Wilson, Charles Jenkins & Fellowship Chicago, Janice Gaines, Kierra Sheard, Micah Stampley, Myron Butler, Paul Porter, Thalles Roberto, Smokie Norful, Tasha Cobbs, Tye Tribbett, and VaShawn Mitchell. The new stars all have their own take on Motown, and present it quite well. These artists are keeping Motown fresh and alive.