how did motown records achieve crossover success? how did motown records achieve crossover success?

Many of Motowns best-known songs, including all the early hits for the Supremes, were written by the songwriting trio of HollandDozierHolland (Lamont Dozier and brothers Brian and Eddie Holland). CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.2Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary of how key events or ideas develop over the course of the text. Gordy prided himself on having learned about producing a quality product from a brief stint on the assembly line at an auto plant. - carefully arranged harmonies CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.2Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary of the source distinct from prior knowledge or opinions. Mable John, a soul and blues singer who became one of the first female recording artists signed to the Detroit label that became Motown and who later served as the lead singer in Ray Charles's. Marvin Gaye once wryly quipped: It was a loving Gestapo because Berry is a loving cat but it was still the Gestapo. By the 1980s, many of Motowns legends had forged mega-success on other labels, yet there was also a family reunion quality when these stars regrouped in 1983 for a TV special to celebrate Motowns 25th birthday: Yesterday, Today, Forever; this live show was where Michael Jackson debuted his signature move, the moonwalk. Motown played an important role in the racial integration of popular music as an African American-owned label that achieved crossover success. Motown Records changed the face of popular music in the 1960s. The establishment and success of Motown was an intrinsically political act that served as proof to Civil Rights claims that African Americans could be just as independent and successful as whites. If you would like to comment on this story or anything else you have seen on BBC Culture, head over to ourFacebookpage or message us onTwitter. In 2018, Motown was inducted into Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame class at the Charles H. Wright Museum, and Motown legend Martha Reeves received the award for the label. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). In this clip, History Detective Eduardo Pagan provides background on Motown Records and James Jamerson, the bass player for the Funk Brothers, Motowns house band. 1 with "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch)." Read more The Supremes' debut at Copacabana The Supremes make their triumphant debut at New York's Copacabana nightclub. Motown's sound is a style of music with a distinct influence. (b) Interpret: In line 363636 of the poem, the poet mentions "another gift" that his contact with this rural scene bestowed up on him. Standard 1: The economic boom and social transformation of postwar United States, Standard 4: The struggle for racial and gender equality and the extension of civil liberties. During the 1950s it was possible for a young entrepreneur with an ear for this music to start a moderately successful independent company producing a sound that appealed to young people and inner-city African Americans. How did Motown record achieve crossover success? Explain the - BRAINLY It was wildly popular. There is something else that explains the enduring power of Motown. Berry Gordy held quality control meetings every Friday morning, and used veto power to ensure that only the very best material and performances would be released. In 1959, not long after recording Robinsons group, the Miracles, for New York-based End Records and establishing Jobete Publishing Company, Gordy began Motown Records (its name derived from Detroits nickname, Motor City). The Sixties: Hitsville USA | History Detectives | PBS Listeners thought his song "Does Your Mama Know About Me" was a black man singing about his white girlfriend, but Tommy wrote it as a white man singing about his black girlfriend, Motown Records dropped Bruno Mars in 2003 and was only resigned by Atlantic in 2009, Motown Records had a white division. https://youtu.be/g2X_t_nyYKY "Don't Let him Shop Around" In 1959 Berry Gordy Jr borrowed $800 from his . being prayed for How did Motown help the Civil Rights movement? manchester united annual turnover; what dallas city council district am i in how did motown records achieve crossover success? Motown sought to be and became the Sound of Young America.. how did motown records achieve crossover success The fact lists are intended for research in school, for college students or just to feed your brain with new realities. and Stevie Wonders Innervisions albums), although Detroits original Hitsville building remains its spiritual home today, as the Motown Museum. Which three do you like the best and why? If a black artist could "cross over" meaning attract an audience wider than their urban base they could command greater r What was the purpose of the quality control meetings at Motown? Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. 1 How did Motown achieve crossover success? On January 12, 1959, he started Tamla Records, with an $800 loan from his family and royalties earned writing for Jackie Wilson. Posted On 7, 2022. The 1960s were the decade of Motown's greatest success, with many of its artists achieving crossover success on the pop charts. How was Motown changing as the 1960s progressed? This lesson is written for grades 9-12 but could be adapted for use in grades 6-8 as well. Explain the strategies the label used to promote its artists and music. Author: steph Created Date: Chris Clark in the studio with Berry Gordy, Lamont Dozier and Stevie Wonder. Then, identify its function. It was wildly popular. During the 1960s, Motown achieved spectacular success for a small label: 79 records in the top-ten of the Billboard Hot 100 between 1960 and 1969. (1+2), 1. Who were the core Funk Brothers on keyboards, guitar, drums, and bass? From that modest wood-frame house in Detroit he built Motown Records, which in the 1960s and '70s grew to become the most successful independent record label in America, producing some of the greatest, most uplifting and most enduring popular music in history.. Provide details about its founding, the style of music, important people, etc.How did Motown Records achieve crossover success? Gordys parents, hardworking entrepreneurs, instilled in their children the gospel of hard work and religious faith. The Funk Brothers were a group of session musicians who played on virtually all Motown recordings from 1959 - 1972. All rights reserved. Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye at a Detroit nightclub in 1964 (Credit: Private Collection fromMotown: The Sound of Young Americaby Adam White with Barney Ales, Thames & Hudson). Sixty years on, Motowns classic catalogue remains ubiquitous and influential: forming a blueprint for modern soul and pop successes, from girl groups to hit singer-songwriters; sampled on countless hip hop and dance anthems and covered by acts of every genre. Serving as both recording studio and administrative headquarters, this two-story house became the home of Hitsville. Motowns roster included several successful solo acts, such as Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder (a star as both a child and an adult), and Mary Wells. How did music bridge differences and cultures in America in the 1960s? Just how successful they become is evidenced by the fact that during the 1960s Motown released 535 singles in the USA. How was Berry Gordy Jr.s approach to Motown unique? Motown is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. In the 21st Century, passions still run high for classic Motown; the Obamas hosted a star-studded Motown Gala at the White House in 2011, and the former FLOTUS also recently uploaded a Becoming Motown playlist to accompany her autobiography. Bassist Steve Fishman was excited to find a beat-up Ampeg B-15 amp with a name stenciled on the side: James Jamerson. Though Jamersons name isnt known to many outside the music industry, his bass playing was the backbone of that funky Motown sound that drove Motowns musicians into mainstream popularity in the 1960s. What was Motown Records? By 1967, Motowns success was booming; Fortune magazine ran a feature about The Motown Sound of Money, with writer Stanley H Brown highlighting Gordys ability to build and direct a highly sophisticated enterprise to release hit records almost as a matter of course, and to do the job in a firm, businesslike manner without interfering with the creative flow., Gordys production line approach was influenced by his time working in the automobile factories of Detroit. In 1950, the brothers became the sole owners of Aristocrat Records and renamed it Chess Records. 4 What was quality control for Motown Records? Why is Motown important to black history? On 12 January 1959, the music sensation that changed America and the world beyond it was set in motion. Shattering Race Barriers and Chart Records __________ One of his dreams is to visit his homeland. Alternate titles: Hitsville, Motown Record Corporation, Merle Kling Professor of Modern Letters, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.1Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources, attending to such features as the date and origin of the information. You can easily fact check it by examining the linked well-known sources. A year later, the Marvelettes scored Tamlas first US number-one pop hit, Please Mr. Postman. The move was completed in 1972, and Motown later expanded into film and television production, remaining an independent company until 1994, when it was sold to PolyGram before being sold again to MCA Records successor Universal Music Group when it acquired PolyGram in 1999. produce a consistent, distinctive sound for different Motown artists. Its name, a portmanteau of motor and town, has become a nickname for Detroit, where the label was originally headquartered. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. how did motown records achieve crossover success? The record label helped define the sound of soul music and popularized the genre in the 1960s. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. Gordys own autobiography has formed the basis of a hit theatre production, Motown the Musical, launched on Broadway and currently in Londons West End and touring the UK. (2). Motown played an important role in the racial integration of popular music as an African American -owned label that achieved crossover success. Why is Motown important? - Heimduo By this point, the labels chart domination had waned but Gordy had forged an empire that was synonymous with soul music, and also transcended it; hed faced high-profile objections from the likes of politician and civil rights activist Jesse Jackson when he first planned to sell Motown, because it evoked such an indomitable identity, achievement and pride. Top artists on the Motown label during that period included the Supremes (initially including Diana Ross), the Four Tops, and the Jackson 5, while Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, the Marvelettes, and the Miracles had hits on the Tamla label. What was the purpose of the weekly Motown meeting? Prior to founding the label, Gordy had also worked on production lines at the Lincoln-Mercury car plant. Follow us. Other important Motown producers and songwriters included Norman Whitfield, William Mickey Stevenson, Smokey Robinson, Barrett Strong, Nickolas Ashford & Valerie Simpson, Frank Wilson, Pamela Sawyer & Gloria Jones, James Dean & William Weatherspoon, Johnny Bristol, Harvey Fuqua, Gil Askey,[21] Stevie Wonder, and Gordy himself. The social change promised by the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka school desegregation decision and the new civil rights activism made this a heady time indeed to be an enterprising African Americananything seemed possible. Not only were they the second most successful singing group of the decadesurpassed only by the Beatlesbut they remain the most successful female singing group of all time. -and their similar sound to bill withers and other artists. Log In to Canvas Motown had done something that hadn't been done before. In the early 1970s, the corporation also shifted its HQ to LA (and began to produce some of its most innovative classics, including Marvin Gayes Whats Going On? (Most early Motown singles were released through other labels, such as End, Fury, Gone and Chess.). (D) suggested for consideration. The audiences were segregated. From 1961 to 1971, Motown had 110 top 10 hits. Although he could not read music, he demonstrated an unerring ability to gauge whether a song had the elements of popular appeal. C. True, Different makes of synthesizers are compatible with each other. Afterwards, use the following questions to assess comprehension and prompt discussion: After showing the clip from the History Detectives episode Motown Amp, explain to the class that they will work in small jigsaw groups to research Motown Records and its role in the Civil Rights Movement. What was Barry Gordy Jr.'s first signed act? Its first hit was Barrett Strongs Money (Thats What I Want) (1959), which made it to number 2 on the Billboard R&B charts (released nationally on Anna Records). Before forming Motown, Gordy tried to make it as an independent songwriter and record producer, cowriting hit songs for Jackie Wilson, another former boxer and Detroiter, and Marv Johnson. In several cases, producers would re-work tracks in hopes of eventually getting them approved at a later Friday morning meeting, as producer Norman Whitfield did with I Heard It Through the Grapevine and The Temptations Aint Too Proud to Beg. At 60, the sound of young America retains its vitality and its iridescent power. Explanation: Though the songs were not overtly political, Motowns popularity contributed to the Civil Rights Movement by achieving crossover success. A. Yes, Motown was very popular in the 1960s. In my opinion, it is useful to put together a list of the most interesting details from trusted sources that I've come across answering who recorded at motown records. No one has quite been able to reproduce the classic Motown sound. Motown would deliver more explicitly political anthems, too: notably Edwin Starrs fiery 1970 classic War; its songwriters, Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong, would also make an evocative statement on The Temptations 1970 hit: Ball of Confusion (Thats what the World is Today): Segregation, determination, demonstration, integration/ Aggravation, humiliation, obligation to our nation. Third, by the late 1950s two other Black-owned independent record companies that specialized in rhythm and blues and rock and roll had been enjoying considerable success for nearly a decadePeacock Records, formed in Houston, Texas, by Don Robey, and Vee Jay Records, formed in Chicago by Vivian Carter Bracken, James Bracken, and Calvin Carter. -Motown's records began to deal more directly with issues facing black America, 1. 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. It had taken the gospel-soaked soul and beauty of Black American music and created crossover hit after crossover hit, scorching the . False, different makes of synthesizers are only compatible with modular synthesizer Motown Flashcards | Quizlet -Hip Hug-Her use of tambourine along w/ drums, distinctive melodic and chord structure, call and response singing style, classical orchestrations, rhythms were upbeat and fun that brought together pop and soul. -Although mostly the same personnel, the house band was called The Mar-Keys. My boss tried to coerce me into attending the company picnic by (a) In the chart, record an example of each rhetorical device as it appears in the speech. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.6-12.8 Gather relevant information from multiple authoritative print and digital sources, using advanced searches effectively; assess the strengths and limitations of each source in terms of the specific task, purpose, and audience; integrate information into the text selectively to maintain the flow of ideas, avoiding plagiarism and overreliance on any one source and following a standard format for citation. Motown had an extraordinary house band (known as the Funk Brothers) made up of some of the best nightclub and bar musicians in Black Detroit, including Earl Van Dyke on keyboards, Benny Benjamin and Uriel Jones on drums, and James Jamerson on bass. Motown brought together rhythm-and-blues, gospel, and pop influences as it sought to cross over (i.e., move beyond single-genre listeners) to reach a wide audience that included white teenagers. Enter your Username and we'll send you a link to change your password. Jazz had been taken over by a new group of Young Turk stylists; calling themselves beboppers, they were inclined to play music for listening rather than dancing. He interviews Tim Hewitt and Ufuoma Wallace, Motown experts who explain how the Motown Sound, in part generated by Jamersons bass style, made history. Then theyd vote if the song got an A+ it would get released, anything else and it went in the vault. It was Tamlas first million-selling record. -Time is Tight The particular musical sound, which consisted solely of tambourines, pounding bass lines, and gospel-inspired vocal harmonies, came to be associated with both the Detroit recording studio where the songs were made and the celebrities who sang them. How did Motown achieve crossover success? - Sage-Advices Moving from Georgia to Detroit, Gordys family was part of the massive migration of hundreds of thousands of African Americans from the South during and after World War I, lured largely by the promise of work in Northern manufacturing industries such as Detroits auto plants. What did the Matadors change their name to? Eduardo talks to James Jamerson Jr about his father prominent base playing. (2), -would see a song's potential success; provide detailed commentary, 1. PDF Motown and the Civil Rights Movement - PBS A fourth, V.I.P., released recordings by the Velvelettes, the Spinners, the Monitors, and Chris Clark.