Why is motown called motown

Motown began the decade groping for a style. Through the early Sixties and out of the combined efforts of artists such as the Miracles, Martha and the Vandellas, Marvin Gaye , Mary Wells, the Marvelettes , the Contours, and producers like Smokey Robinson , Mickey Stevenson, and Berry Gordy himself, Motown records began to achieve a certain stylistic identity. In Eddie Holland and Lamont Dozier began producing the Supremes and with the unprecendented success of that group, the Motown sound came into full flower.

For the next three years Holland and Dozier defined, expanded and elaborated on that sound, their achievements towering over and affecting the work of their colleagues in both the largest and smallest of ways.

In they left the company and Motown moved into its modern phase. No one production team has been allowed to dominate the creative process the way Holland and Dozier did in the middle Sixties.

Instead a variety of men and women have emerged, each with their own special talents, each capable of consistently producing top ten records. As a result, the Motown sound today is more diversified than at any time since its earliest days, and yet, like those early records, they are all clearly Motown records.

What was the Motown sound? In its heyday, in the middle Sixties, it consisted of: 1 simply structured songs with sophisticated melodies and chord changes, 2 a relentless four-beat drum pattern, 3 a gospel use of background voices, vaguely derived from the style of the Impressions, 4 a regular and sophisticated use of both horns and strings, 5 lead singers who were half way between pop and gospel music, 6 a group of accompanying musicians who were among the most dextrous, knowledgeable, and brilliant in all of popular music Motown bassists have long been the envy of white rock bassists and 7 a trebly style of mixing that relied heavily on electronic limiting and equalizing boosting the high range frequencies to give the overall product a distinctive sound, particularly effective for broadcast over AM radio.

It is safe to say that from to ninety percent of all Motown records possessed every one of these qualities. But it is not true, as has been charged from time to time, that as a result, all Motown records sounded the same.

They only did in the sense that all Warner Brothers detective pictures looked the same in the Forties. But the beauty of the records is in the differences, subtle as they may be, that separate one from another. The nuances, the shadings, the giving and taking away of things to emphasize points: this became the area of personal creativity at Motown. And as the song writing——both melody and lyrics——became ever more beautiful and singing ever more direct, the quality of the records improved at a pace that was all but astounding.

For, like all great popular art, Motown confined itself in formal ways to liberate itself in other ways. Just as all Motown records do not really sound alike, so too must it be understood that the sound itself was not a contrivance but a style that grew out of the musical wisdom of some true rock and roll revolutionaries.

When it proved right to millions of record buyers, it only served to confirm their personal judgment, not to determine it. I say as a totality, because it is often hard to know who to call the artist on a Motown record. Diana Ross played her part so well it would be ludicrous to suggest that anyone else could have done it justice. On the other hand it is impossible to form a picture of Diana Ross as a recording artist apart from the production that gave her her musical identity and image.

With a Levi Stubbs of the Four Tops or a Martha Reeves from the Vandellas one is more tempted to give the artist the major share of the credit. They have built an identity through the production that often transcends the production. Perhaps the true relationship between Motown artist and producer is revealed by what happened to Holland and Dozier after they left the company——and to the acts they produced. Their two biggest, the Four Tops and the Supremes, have never regained the hit-making consistency they had under Holland and Dozier, and the Tops in particular have suffered a long dry spell.

However, Holland and Dozier themselves have fared far worse. Separated from their original group of artists they have yet to produce half a dozen memorable singles on their Invictus label, and not a single one that compares at all with the best of their Motown work. In fact, a great deal of their time has been spent trying to copy the styles of the groups they originally produced. All of which makes a strong case for the interdependence of producer and artist at Motown, in the first place.

The following list is intended to include some records of historical importance, some that achieved vast popularity and some of merely personal preference. Hello, Haley and George! Those are really great questions!

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If you click on the "Wonders" link at the top of every page in Wonderopolis, you can see a listing of the most recent Wonders. TJ, Sometimes it is not a question of what but a question of where : Have you discovered where Motown is?

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Follow Twitter Instagram Facebook. Where is Motown? Who started Motown Records? Who are some of the artists that worked with Motown Records? Wonder What's Next? Try It Out Ready to keep learning? Ready to listen to some classic Motown songs? Ask your friends and family members if they have any Motown favorites that they could recommend.

Postman ," " Stop! Discuss with a friend or family member. Are you interested in learning about the artists who worked with Motown? What interesting new things did you learn about these artists? Share with a friend or family member. Do you have what it takes to record music with Motown? Try writing your own song! Once you have the lyrics, add music. You could start with clapping, snapping, or beating your hands like a drum. Then, ask a friend or family member to be your backup singer.

Soon, you may have your very own band. Did you get it? If you would like to comment on this story or anything else you have seen on BBC Culture, head over to our Facebook page or message us on Twitter. And if you liked this story, sign up for the weekly bbc.

Music Pop music. Motown: The music that changed America. Share using Email. By Arwa Haider 9th January Sixty years ago, Berry Gordy set up the hit factory of Motown.