Motown turns 50

Jackson 5, Smokey Robinson and more discuss Berry Gordy’s legacy

12 January 2009 - Today marks the 50^th anniversary of influential record label Motown Records.

Songwriter and entrepreneur, Berry Gordy, founded the label which was initially called Tamla Records back in Detroit in 1959.

Originally a car upholstery trimmer it inspired him to create a hit factory based on the principles he learned on the Lincoln-Mercury assembly line.

With 200 Number One hit songs across the world, Motown produced the likes of Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, The Temptations and The Supremes; helping catapult artists such as Diana Ross, Smokey Robinson and Michael Jackson into the limelight.

The label originated in Gordy's cellar, with a small loan, and went on to play a significant role in developing black musical talent at a time of racial segregation.

Gordy’s vision

One of the acts that helped establish the distinctive Motown sound was the Four Tops.

The group formed in 1954 and the last surviving member of the original line-up, Duke Fakir, told the BBC what Berry Gordy envisioned for his artists.

"Thanks to Berry Gordy’s ingenuity we have not only been good in the business but we were also trained and prepared for the future."
Martha Reeves

“Berry wanted to be sure that everybody dressed well, had artist development,” Fakir explained. “He wanted to be sure that everybody could talk well because he was building stars and changing the face of the black entertainer.”

Motown’s nurture

One of the label's most successful acts was the Jackson 5, who had four consecutive No. 1's, after initially proving themselves to Berry Gordy at an audition.

Marlon Jackson said Motown was much more than a label: “They would take their artists and you would become family and then they’d put a team around you and work with you, from how to do interviews, how to handle yourself in public, your music, from A-Z.”

Uniting people

Berry Gordy once said that Motown's mission statement was centred on, “unity, about people getting together,” and the Motown legend Smokey Robinson remembered how it helped to racially integrate people.

He recalled playing to segregated crowds: “Many times the stage would be in the centre and white people would be on one side and black people would be on the other side.

“That’s how it was. I feel like we bridged that gap because a year or so later we’d be going down the same places and the kids were not only in the same area but they were dancing together, partying and sharing.”

Coming up

As for 2009 celebrations there will be a huge show, Once In a Lifetime - Motown Legends Live, at venues including Wembley Arena from 25 June.

It's set to feature legendary artists like Martha Reeves and the Vandellas, Mary Wilson Of The Supremes, The Miracles, The Commodores and Jr Walker All Stars.

Motown records is now a subsidiary of Universal Music Group, called Universal Motown Record Group and although Berry Gordy no longer runs the label, Martha Reeves told us that working with the founder of the Motown label is something she will never forget: “Berry was a great task master, a perfectionist, a hands-on producer and he was also a great manager.

“For the first three years of our careers, he would come to our shows and hired people to work with us. Thanks to Berry Gordy’s ingenuity we have not only been good in the business but we were also trained and prepared for the future.”

In recent years, the label has looked after artists including Erykah Badu, India Arie, reggae artists Damian and Stephen Marley and the rapper Q-Tip.

There are rumoured to be 5,000 unreleased songs from Motown's Golden Era.

A timeline of Motown

Nov 1657 - Young songwriter Berry Gordy has his first hit with Jackie Wilson's Reet Petite
Jan 1959 - Gordy launches Tamla Record Company on a loan of US $800, its first single being Mary Johnson's Come To Me
1960 - A year later the company name changes to Motown and settles at 26-48 West Grand Boulevard in Detroit. A sign is hung outside saying Hitsville USA
June 1961 - Motown releases first two albums The Soulful Moods Of Marvin Gaye and Hi We're The Miracles
Dec 1961 - First Number One single with The Marvellettes, Please Mr Postman
June 1962 - Songwriters Lamont Dozier and brothers Brian and Edward Holland start working together
Aug 1963 - Little Stevie Wonder scores Motown's first number one pop album, The 12 Year Old Genius
Oct 1964 - The Supremes Baby Love is released and gets a huge response, later ranking 324 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time
Jan 1967 – Marvin Gaye’s Heard It Through The Grapevine spends seven weeks in the charts at Number One
Jan 1970 - The first Jacksons single, Want You Back, is released
Dec 1970 – This was Motown's most successful year with 17 Top 10 hits
Jan 1971 – Marvin Gaye’s What's Going On is released
Dec 1971 - Michael Jackson's first solo hit, I'll Be There, is released
Mar 1972 - Stevie Wonder kicks off a stunning run of albums, Music Of My Mind, followed soon after by Talking Book, and ending with the legendary, Songs In The Key Of Life, in 1976
Nov 1972 - The Commodores, fronted by Lionel Richie, sign to Motown and quickly become its biggest selling act
Jan 1973 - Berry Gordy steps down as head of Motown Records to become boss of Motown Industries, and moves Los Angeles. This move prompted fans to view it as the end of the 'Golden Era'
April 1977 - Thelma Houston's Don't Leave Me This Way, marks a transition to disco
April 1981 - Rick James’Street Songs album comes out, his best selling album ever
Feb 1988 - Berry Gordy is inducted into the Rock N Roll Hall Of Fame. Over the next nine years, he is joined by Holland-Dozier-Holland and 10 classic Motown acts including Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson, Gladys Knight And The Pips and The Supremes
June 1988 - Berry Gordy sells Motown for 61m dollars
Jan 2009 - Now headquartered in New York City, Motown begins its year-long 50th anniversary celebration, including the Motown: The Complete No.1’s 10 CD boxed set, which was released on 9 December 2008

To hear more from the Music Week show on the 50th Anniversary, check out our Music Week podcast.

Georgie Rogers