Teaching Music through the Discovery of Motown’s Golden Era
By Lenny Rountree
Do you have a favorite Motown tune? For me that is an impossible question to answer, because it would be a toss-up of at least a dozen tunes, half of which were probably written by Smokey Robinson. “How Long Has That Evening Train Been Gone?” by the Supremes in 1968 off of their “Love Child” album is phenomenal in every way. I also love “Still Waters Run Deep” by the Four Tops. At the end of this article I have listed several titles that may lead you into discovering or rediscovering this great music. I have delved into the subject of Motown’s emergence and initial success and the information I present here may be useful, particularly if you teach.
What role has your music education played in your perception of the world around you? As a music educator, my approach is to reflect the core areas of curriculum whenever, wherever possible through a music class. In my opinion, music education should be taught in a way that integrates the study of civics, history, religion, linguistics, physics, and math. I believe you can support students in those areas while giving them a sound education in grade-level music standards. I refer you to other articles in my blog series pertaining to the “Great American Songbook” and the Fifth Dimension’s recording of the Declaration of Independence, “We Hold These Truths…Or Do We?” These are examples of my teaching philosophy. Educators can use the Motown resources I’ve compiled here at their discretion, to tailor a set of lessons and learning targets for their students. Teaching music through the discovery of Motown can encompass lessons in reading piano-vocal scores, staging a choreographed vocal performance, the economics of royalties, points, and percentages (math), and so on. Teaching middle school or high school students about Motown’s golden era gives them a deeper sense of America’s recent past and how popular music and culture reflected what was going on. You can create learning targets that include grade-level music standards, but are taught within the context of sharing Motown’s story, exposing your students to music they have yet to discover but will probably enjoy immensely.
For those of you interested in introducing younger kids to music, my illustrated book, The Notable Characters is perfectly suitable to entertain and educate 4th, 5th, and 6th graders about basic music symbols and terms. The physical book shows musical symbols and gives definitions, but in the context of the action going on. The audio version features recordings of the songs the characters perform. The Notable Characters is a great gift for any young learner eager to know more about music. Click the Amazon button below to order a copy.
To download the audiobook version click below.
An important entertainment industry funnel for the emergence of many of our African–American recording stars of the 1960’s is Motown, mainly because of the chart dominance they exerted in the mid to late 1960’s and early 1970’s. Certainly Motown was not the only company to exert such a powerful influence on R & B and pop audiences. The legendary record producers Kenneth Gamble & Leon Huff at Philadelphia International Records came to prominence in the late 60s with a huge hit for the Intruders called “Cowboys to Girls.” From that point on, their recordings of soul/R & B acts like the O’Jays, the Spinners, Phyllis Hyman, The Three Degrees, Archie Bell, Teddy Pendergrass, The Jones Girls, and even the Jacksons, were staples of Black radio. The records coming out of Sigma Sound in the mid to late 1970’s had a distinctive quality like Motown had in the mid to late 60s. For me, the Spinners recording of “Sadie” codifies in music, the deep and lasting bond my mother has with us. A summer picnic always brings to my mind the O’Jays “Family Reunion.” With songwriters and producers like Bunny Sigler, Thom Bell, Linda Creed, Bobby Martin, Norman Harris and the fantastic songwriting team of Jefferson/Hawes/Simmons, “Philly International” had enormous market share of the airwaves. Thom Bell is an institution unto himself!
But Motown is distinct in its emergence under the Gordy guidance in Detroit. Although their doors proved to be revolving at times, like with the departure of significant performers and producers, like, Holland-Dozier-Holland, Gladys Knight & the Pips, and the Isley Brothers, you can’t deny their success in presenting to the world, would-be musical icons including but certainly not limited to: Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross, Marvin Gaye, The Temptations, and Smokey Robinson. During Motown’s golden era, from the early 1960’s through the mid-1970’s, the company would hire many brilliant but lesser known individuals. You may want to consider the work of bassist James Jamerson, producer Frank Wilson, lyricist Susaye Greene and arranger Paul Riser, among many, many others, who made musical contributions just as powerful as the famed artists most of us can recognize.
Motown was founded in 1959 by a young African American Korean War veteran, former boxer, former record shop owner, and successful hit songwriter for Jackie Wilson, a man by the name of Berry Gordy. Berry came from a large family that believed in entrepreneurship and hard work. They lived in Detroit, Michigan a large city known for producing automobiles. Detroit was coined “Motor City.” After some failures in his efforts to establish his financial independence, Berry appealed to his family for a loan to start a record label. On January 12, 1959 the loan was granted by the Gordy family credit union. With that large sum of money, $800.00, and with help from the GI bill, Berry paid for his training in electronics and paid down on a two-story home at 2648 West Grand Boulevard where the Motown headquarters and studios would operate as “Hitsville.” The company would prove to be a stunning example of creativity, business acumen, studio innovation and musical ingenuity, in which many hands played vital roles. Berry Gordy was able to apply the concept of the auto assembly line production toward the production of hit records. For all my teaching friends, from this example you can point out to your students that ideas can find application in more than one area, and that is a sign of innovation. Through positive thinking, a lot of collective hard work, and sacrifice, the company garnered hit records early on. This helped the company to navigate through the obstacles of racism at various corners of the music business and in the country at large. Segregation and racial bigotry against African-Americans, were huge obstacles in distributing the records beyond the Midwest and eastern corridors. Despite many wounds, some seemingly self-inflicted, Motown would become one of the most successful Black-owned American businesses for many years.
The marketing slogan Motown employed in the 60s was “The Sound of Young America.” Their records were unabashedly born out of Black music traditions with a twist of innovation from the house band known as the “Funk Brothers,” who infused their jazz and funk sensibilities into the recordings of these well-crafted R & B/pop songs. The joys and sorrows of life are not the province of any particular group of people, so anyone who has known heartbreak would likely be touched by “What Becomes of the Broken-hearted.” Any man who delighted in his girlfriend could stick out his chest with pride as he sang along with the Temptations on “My Girl.” Motown songs were for anyone who would lend an ear, despite the segregated times. Most music lovers could relate to the songs on some level. Berry Gordy would have staff meetings to rate new submissions of songs and recordings before they were released. He saw profitability as a must, and contingent on the highest of quality in song craftsmanship, lyrics, vocal delivery, and the ability to immediately strike a visceral connection with the listener, so much so that the purchase of a particular record could take precedence over the purchase of another item.
During the golden age of Motown, a young record buyer would go to the record store to buy an album or a single known as a “45” (for 45 rpm disc), put the disc on the turntable, listen devotedly and perhaps read through the liners, credits, and lyrics, if offered. Sometimes the album jacket ended up on a teenager’s wall as a work of visual art. Back then, listening to music was worthy of the dollars spent and the time staked out to delve into the work of the album as a whole unit. It seems that today, young people are too far removed from the idea that recorded music is worthy of actually buying, and not just streaming through a subscription deal where the artist gets virtually nothing monetarily. “Millennials” often tell me that no one buys music anymore. How did we get here? When I mention “streaming” to recording artists today, they respond with something along the lines of “don’t get me started on that.” Walk in any store and you will see people making purchases for all manner of products, and yet when it comes to purchasing an audio download, there’s a pause, a reluctance or even refusal to support the artist, whose work is ironically valued to some degree. Under these conditions, Motown could not have emerged. So I am thankful people thought differently about buying music in those days. Then again, the technology of audio files and internet did not exist then either.
I cannot tell you how many times I’ve run into students who were unaware of icons you might think somebody would have told them about by the time they reach middle school or high school. How do you not know who Stevie Wonder is? Most may know of Michael Jackson, but Ashford & Simpson? I believe that Motown should be brought to the attention of students, especially music students. A song like Ashford & Simpson’s “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” probably meant the world to a front-line soldier in Vietnam in 1968. Mention this to a student and they might be curious about the Vietnam War, as well as the song. You can explain harmonic modulation, providing the example of Diana Ross version of “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough.”
I always start my Motown unit with a listening session of Motown hits and lesser known tracks. Students receive a list of Motown’s golden era hit songs and alternately each student would ask to hear an excerpt of one of the songs. I’d play the audio for them, most likely a chorus and a verse, maybe part of the bridge. This gives them a quick impression of the Motown sound and why it is so special. I remember at one point, everybody begin asking for Stevie Wonder songs as if they had struck gold (and they had!), and the Jackson Five proved very popular as well. Then we would examine the humble beginnings of Motown, where students would read alternately, one or two sentences each. I suggest you stage a Motown Revue as a culminating event to your Motown unit. Since students learn music best by being engaged in music-making, I would split the class into small groups to choose and learn a Motown hit or two, and work to perform it in the classroom. This would take a few sessions of classroom practice. It’s a fun way of breaking off a piece of Americana and making your students more knowledgeable about their country’s recent past. Rehearsing Motown songs is another way for them to expand their vocal repertoire and hone those performance skills, like vocal projection, eye contact, memory, movement, instrument care, timing, and so on.
I hope you have enjoyed this tidbit of Motown celebration. Remember that I have a book that introduces basic music concepts to kids called “The Notable Characters” with an accompanying audio version at washentree.com. I hope you will support my work. The physical book is also available at Amazon (search “Lenny Rountree”). You can listen to my music on Soundcloud.com
Here below is substantial information you might find useful in understanding Motown’s golden era better, for the purposes of sharing with learners and music lovers:
Who Were the Funk Brothers?
The house band for Motown Records called themselves the Funk Brothers. They performed the basic tracks for the majority of Motown releases during the years 1959 to 1973. During that period, they were largely unknown to the record buying public except for some of the aspiring and professional musicians who sought them out. The Funk Brothers had played on more number one hits than the Beach Boys, the Beatles, Elvis, and the Rolling Stones, combined. Their impact in terms of popularity and influence commercially and artistically was particularly massive during Motown’s golden age and even into the 80’s. In fact, the Beatles arrived in America in early 1964 performing Motown songs like “You Really Got A Hold On Me” “Please Mr. Postman” and “Money.” The Who recorded “Heatwave.” The Funk Brothers bear more than a mere mention in the course of our music study. They were accomplished jazz musicians and they tended to look down on “pop” and “R & B” styles, but their boss, Berry Gordy Jr. sought a sound that fused both styles and to temper their penchant for improvising beyond what he thought would sell, he would tell them to get back to the “funk” and to stay “in the pocket.” Listed below are the Funk Brothers:
Original Funk Brothers
James “Igor” Jamerson – Bass guitar, upright bass player (considered a musical genius)
Benny “Papa Zita” Benjamin (the human metronome, famous for his pick up drum fills)
Earl “Chunk of Funk” Van Dyke – keyboard (known for his forceful piano style)
Robert White – Guitar (famous for his guitar playing on “My Girl”)
Later Additions to the Funk Brothers (Motown House Band)
Motown Drummers:
Uriel Jones, Richard “Pistol” Allen, George McGregor, Clifford Mack, Frederick Waites and Andrew Smith
Motown Percussionists:
Jack Ashford (famous for tambourine work!), Jack Brokensha (great on vibes), Eddie “Bongo” Brown
Motown Bassists:
Clarence Isabell, Tony Newton, Bob Babbit and Eddie Watkins.
Motown Guitarists:
Joe Messina, Eddie “Chank” Willis, David Hamilton, Larry Veeder,
Marv Tarplin, Dennis Coffey, Wah Wah Watson.
Motown Keyboardists:
Johnny Griffith, Joe Hunter, Popcorn Wylie, James Gittens and Ted Sheely
Motown Saxophonists:
Thomas “Beans” Bowles, Henry “Hank” Cosby, Andrew “Mike” Terry, Kasuku Mafia, Teddy Buckner, Ronnie Wakefied, Lefty Edwards, Eli Fontaine, Ernie Rodgers, Eugene “BeeBee” Moore, William “Wild Bill” Moore, Angelo Carlisi, Dan Turner, Bernie Peacock, Larry Nozero and Lanny Austin.
Motown’s Flutist:
Dayna Hartwick.
Motown’s Trumpeters:
Herbie Williams, John “Little John” Wilson, Marcus Belgrave, Russell Conway, Johnny Trudell, Floyd Jones, Maurice Davis, Billy Horner, Russell Conway, Marcus Belgrave, Don Slaughter, Billy Horner and Eddie Jones.
Motown Trombonists:
Bob Cousar, George Bohanon, Paul Riser, Jimmy Wilkins, Don White, Carl Raetz, Patrick Lanier and Bill Johnson.
Motown’s West Coast Studio Band
Drummers:
Earl Palmer, Ed Greene, Gene Pello and Paul Humphreys
Percussionists:
Gary Coleman, Bobbye Porter, King Errisson, Joe Clayton, Sandra Crouch, Jerry Steinholtz and Emil Richards
Bassists:
Wilton Felder (who would form The Crusaders with Joe Sample), Carol Kaye, Bill Pittman and Ron Brown
Guitarists:
Arthur Wright, David T. Walker, Thomas Tedesco, Louie Shelton, Adolph Green and Weldon “Dean” Parks (session guitarist for The Crusaders, the legendary Jazz/R & B/Fusion group)
Motown’s Emergence
Motown’s founder, Berry Gordy Jr. started out as a boxer after serving two years on the front line in the Korean war. He was inspired by Duke Ellington to pursue a career in music. He and his brother Robert opened a jazz record shop in their hometown of Detroit, Michigan. He loved jazz, but his customers loved the blues and his shop was not successful. However, Berry loved to write songs and he pursued this passion. He would become known first, as the songwriter who scored a hit with famed charismatic singer and fellow former boxer Jackie Wilson. Berry wrote “Reet Petite” one of Jackie Wilson’s first big hits. Later, Berry teamed up with the much younger Smokey Robinson to record and sell records that had a great beat, a catchy melody and a story-line that grabbed at the heart of the listener.
Motown was originally housed in a former photography studio at 2648 West Grand Boulevard in Detroit Michigan. This space would become known as “Hitsville USA.” Berry Gordy Jr. appealed to his family’s credit union called “Ber Berry Co-op” to loan him the seed money, $800.00, to start his recording company. He named his company after the nickname for Detroit, “Motor City.” The loan was given on January 12, 1959. In thirty years’ time, the company would be worth several millions.
Musically, the 1960’s is considered to be the golden era of Motown. The company advertised itself as “the sound of young America.” Motown was the first African-American entertainment company to reach a mass audience of Blacks and whites alike during a time of persistent racial segregation and conflict. Motown encountered violent racism on its early tours especially in the south. A major record distributor in Georgia refused to distribute Motown’s records because it was a Black-owned company. The tour bus was shot at as the artists and staff traveled from town to town. The first tours in the southern states did help to abolish the practice of segregation in performance venues simply by the sheer power and magic of the music, which attracted a large paying audience. Motown also participated in the civil rights struggle by recording and distributing Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech, which he delivered at the Lincoln Memorial in August of 1963. Motown would become the most profitable Black-owned business in America and maintain that distinction for many years. The company moved to Los Angeles in 1972 to expand into film making. The company’s first major feature film release was “Lady Sings the Blues” starring Diana Ross. Diana Ross was nominated for “best actress” at the Academy Awards in 1973 for her role in the film, portraying Billie Holiday. Motown would continue to release successful films like “Mahogany” in 1975 and “The Wiz” in 1978.
Toward the end of its golden era, Motown began hiring several “session” musicians for their recordings, some of whom would become legendary musicians and artists in their own right. Some of these musicians include Joe Sample, Wilton Felder, Dennis Coffey, David Sanborn, Maurice White (founder of Earth, Wind & Fire), Jerry Peters, Greg Phillinganes, David Williams, Deke Richards, Wah Wah Watson, Ernie Watts, Nathan East and Ed Brown.
Like the car manufacturers of Detroit, Motown’s Hitsville studio operated seven days a week at all hours, with an assembly line approach to creating their product, records. In the Motown “assembly line” process, the songwriters would deliver their songs to the Motown producers and arrangers, who in turn, would arrange the songs and consider which artists, should record them. Many times, two or three artists would record their own version of a particular song. For example, both Marvin Gaye and Gladys Knight & the Pips had great success recording the same song, “I Heard It Through the Grapevine.”
A producer oversees all aspects of bringing a song into existence as a commercial recording. Typically, a producer will work closely with an audio engineer. In the music industry it is also common for an audio engineer to double as a producer. Motown’s original engineer was Mike McLean. He took apart and rebuilt the audio equipment at Hitsville and established a class for any new engineer hired by Motown. Echo chambers today are stored on computer chips, but at the start of Motown, the echo chamber was first, the downstairs bathroom, then the attic at Hitsville!
An arranger takes a song that is written for piano and voice, or guitar and voice and recreates the song so that it can be performed with drums, bass, guitar, keyboards, percussion, and orchestral instruments. Arranging involves creating “charts” for instrumentalists, either showing standard notation or showing chord progressions. It is still common to find one person working as a songwriter, arranger and producer on one or more recordings. Also, some songwriting teams like Holland-Dozier-Holland, work as a production team as well.
The “arranged” songs would then be presented to the Funk Brothers to interpret and record. The Funk Brothers would routinely enhance the arrangements and come up with musical “hooks.” A “hook” is any sound that most listeners will remember fondly, well after the recording has ended. Once the basic tracks were recorded, the artists were scheduled to sing and record their vocal parts. If necessary, the “master tapes” were then delivered to another studio where orchestral arrangements were recorded. The string players from the Detroit Symphony were often hired to add to the recordings. Motown also employed a vocal group called the Andantes to provide background singing. They consisted of Judith Barrow, Louvain Demps, and Jacqueline Hicks. They can be heard prominently on the recordings by the Four Tops.
In the early days of Motown, records were recorded “live” to tape with little or no “overdubbing.” Later, Motown became the first company to use an 8 track recording machine when companies typically used two track or four track machines. These “multi-track” machines allow sounds to be recorded individually on separate “tracks,” later to be mixed together and heard as one final “record.” Berry Gordy was passionate about mixing records. He loved to set the volume and location of each sound in the left and right speakers, adding effects as he saw fit. Motown was also the first company to plug the bass guitar directly into the mixing board when the accepted method was to place a microphone near the bass amplifier. As a result of these two innovations, the rhythm section (bass and drums) had a greater presence than what was typically heard on recordings at that time.
Barney Ales was the first person hired by Berry Gordy to lead Motown’s Sales Department. He was responsible for promoting the recordings to radio stations, distributors and retail outlets. Cholly Atkins was hired to teach the young teenage artists how to dance on stage while performing their songs. Maxine Powell was hired to teach etiquette to the young ladies. Mickey Stevenson was originally hired as the Artist & Repertoire or A & R Director. He was responsible for coordinating the creative activities of the artist with the needs of the company. Listed below are some of the individuals who were vital to the success of Motown:
Songwriters
Berry Gordy Jr. (Founder of Motown. He co-wrote “Money (That’s What I Want)” with Janie Bradford. He also co-wrote “Love Child” for the Supremes which would be their biggest selling record.)
William “Smokey” Robinson (Bob Dylan named him one of America’s greatest poets.) He wrote the first Motown hit “Got a Job” and went on to write many standards such as “My Girl” “Tracks of My Tears” “Baby Baby Don’t Cry” “The Way You Do the Things You Do” “More Love” “Quiet Storm” “Ooh Baby Baby” “Shop Around”)
Sylvia Moy (she wrote “Uptight” and “My Cherie Amour” for Stevie Wonder)
Robert Bateman (wrote “Please Mr. Postman”)
Barrett Strong (wrote “Just My Imagination”)
Ivy Joe Hunter (wrote “Dancing in the Street”)
Eddie Holland Jr., Lamont Dozier, Brian Holland (Holland-Dozier-Holland, the great songwriting team responsible for The Supremes initial success)
Nick Ashford & Valerie Simpson a. k. a. Ashford & Simpson (They were a husband & wife team who wrote and produced Diana Ross & The Supremes and the most successful duets released by Motown, notably Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell records and later those of Diana Ross & Marvin Gaye. They would become legendary recording artist unto themselves as “Ashford & Simpson”)
Marvin Gaye (one of the first Motown artists allowed to write and produce his own recordings.)
Stevie Wonder (one of the first Motown artists allowed to write and produce his own recordings.)
Pamela Sawyer, Robert Bateman, Kathy Wakefield, William Weatherspoon, James Dean, Susaye Greene, Syreeta Wright, Lee Garrett, Harvey Fuqua, Anna Gaye, Gwen Gordy, Leon Ware, Janie Bradford, William “Mickey” Stevenson, Johnny Bristol, Freddie Perren, Frank Wilson, Alphonso Mizell, Deke Richards, Hal Davis, Lula Mae Hardaway, Willie Hutch, R. Dean Taylor, Morris Broadnax, Allen Story, Ronnie White, Warren “Pete” Moore, Leonard Caston, Clarence Paul, George Gordy, Henry Cosby, Dan Hunter, Al Cleveland, Christine Yarion, Norman Whitfield (he would produce the theme to the film “Car Wash”) and Frank Wilson (who produced the Four Tops and the “post-Diana” Supremes).
Renaldo “Obie” Benson (A member of the Four Tops. He co-wrote Marvin Gaye’s classic “What’s Going On”)
Jerry Marcellino and Mel Larson (Marcellino & Larson wrote for the Jackson Five in the mid 70’s).
Producers
Berry Gordy Jr. (Produced the Jackson Five, The Contours, Jr. Walker & The All Stars and The Supremes)
William “Smokey” Robinson (Produced the Temptations, The Miracles, The Marvelettes and Mary Wells).
Norman Whitfield is praised for his work with the Temptations, The Undisputed Truth and Gladys Knight & The Pips.
Hal Davis produced most of The Jackson Five recordings after their incredible chart debut, where they racked up five number one singles in a row, unheard of at that time.
“The Corporation” was a group of musicians who came together at Berry Gordy’s request to write, produce and arrange recordings for The Jackson Five. The Corporation consisted of Berry Gordy, Deke Richards, Freddie Perren and Alphonso Mizell. Willie Hutch would also produce for The Jackson Five.
Stevie Wonder (At age 18 produced his first recording by The Spinners called “It’s A Shame.” He later went on to produce Minnie Riperton, Syreeta Wright, and Diana Ross).
Eddie Holland, Jr., Lamont Dozier and Brian Holland, a. k. a. Holland-Dozier-Holland Eddie Holland, the brother of Brian recorded for Motown as a vocalist in addition to his membership in the great songwriting trio. Brian and Lamont were a powerful and hugely successful production team. They wrote and produced for the Four Tops and provided The Supremes with most of their golden era hits. They would leave Motown in 1968. Nicholas Ashford and his wife Valerie Simpson would fill the void they left behind and bring a new level of musical sophistication and soulfulness to the artists they supported, particularly Diana Ross.
Nicholas Ashford & Valerie Simpson, a. k. a. Ashford & Simpson wrote and produced Gladys Knight & the Pips, Diana Ross, Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell. They are famous for the Motown duets they wrote and produced, notably the string of hits recorded by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell.
William “Mickey” Stevenson was a highly successful producer. He worked with Martha & the Vandellas, producing the 60s anthem “Dancing in the Street.” He produced many other artists on Motown’s roster.
Marvin Gaye, Frank Wilson (noted for his work with the Four Tops and Supremes), Johnny Bristol, Harvey Fuqua, Ivy Joe Hunter, Norman Whitfield, Henry Cosby, Sylvia Moy and Bobby Taylor.
Teamwork was a characteristic of the Motown style. Johnny Bristol often teamed up with Harvey Fuqua (formerly a singer with the doo wop group The Moonglows) to produce records. Norman Whitfield often wrote songs with Barrett Strong who was the original artist on “Money (That’s What I Want).” Brian Holland teamed with Lamont Dozier to produce hit record after hit record.
Arrangers
Maurice King, Paul Riser, Arthur Wright, Johnny Allen, Willie Shorter, David Van DePitte, Gene Page, Gil Askey, Henry “Hank” Cosby, Johnny Bristol, Jerry Long, Valerie Simpson, Nick Ashford, Wade Marcus, Tom Baird, Marvin Gaye, Marc Gordon, Jerry Peters and Dave Blumberg, James Carmichael (praised for his work with The Commodores).
Motown “Golden Era” Acts
Diana Ross & the Supremes (formerly the Primettes, then the Supremes. Members: Florence Ballard, Mary Wilson, Diana Ross, Betty McGlown & her replacement Barbara Martin who both left prior to the group’s success. Cindy Birdsong replaced Florence Ballard who was fired. Jean Terrell replaced Diana Ross who left the group in 1970 to become a solo act.)
The Temptations (formerly the Primes. Original members: Eddie Kendricks, Melvin Franklin, David Ruffin the lead singer who replaced Al Bryant. David was eventually fired and replaced with Dennis Edwards, Otis Williams, Paul Williams, and Elbridge “Al” Bryant who was fired before the group’s success).
The Four Tops (Members: Levi Stubbs the lead singer, Renaldo “Obie” Benson, Abdul “Duke” Fakir, and Lawrence Payton)
The Marvelettes (Members: Gladys Horton, Georgeanna Tillman, Wanda Young, Katherine Anderson and Juanita Cowart. This group sang the hit record “Please, Mr. Postman,” which became Motown’s second million seller and the company’s first #1 Pop hit. The song was covered by the Beatles, then by the Carpenters years later.)
Smokey Robinson & the Miracles (Members: William “Smokey” Robinson the lead singer, Claudette Robinson who was Smokey’s wife, Bobby Rogers, Pete Moore and Ronnie White who would bring Stevie Wonder to Motown.)
Mary Wells (Motown’s first “star”)
Brenda Holloway
Edwin Starr
The Undisputed Truth
Shorty Long
Eddie Holland
The Isley Brothers
Jimmy Ruffin
Carolyn Crawford
Kim Weston
The Velvelettes
The Monitors
The Originals
The Spinners
The Elgins
Junior Walker & the All Stars
Tammi Terrell (Marvin Gaye’s duet partner)
Rare Earth
Diana Ross (She achieved great success as a recording artist and actress)
Michael Jackson (he would achieve phenomenal success).
Martha Reeves & the Vandellas (Members: Martha Reeves the lead singer who began at Motown as an Administrative Assistant to Mickey Stevenson, Rosalind Ashford, and Annette Beard).
Syreeta Wright (an artist blessed with a phenomenal vocal tone. She was said to be Berry Gordy’s favorite vocalist. She was Stevie Wonder’s first wife. She co-wrote “I Was Made To Love Her” with Stevie Wonder.
Stevie Wonder (at age 11, he was signed as “Stephen Hardaway Judkins.” Stevie’s first hit record was “Fingertips, Part 2” recorded “live.” He was 13 years old at the time. After a dry spell and after the threat of being dropped by Motown, Sylvia Moy wrote Stevie’s next big hit record called “Uptight (Everything Is Alright)”).
The Jackson Five (Members: Jackie Jackson, Tito Jackson, Jermaine Jackson, Marlon Jackson and Michael Jackson. Their first five single releases went to # 1 on both the Pop and R & B charts!).
The Contours (Members: Billy Gordon the lead singer, Billy Hoggs, Joe Billingslea, Hubert Johnson, Sylvester Potts, Huey Davis and later Dennis Edwards before he joined the Temptations. They scored one of the earliest hits for Motown, in 1962, with a song called “Do You Love Me”).
The Spinners (they would achieve huge success in the mid to late 70.s recording for a different label. On Motown, their biggest hit would be “It’s A Shame” produced by Stevie Wonder).
The Parliaments (Members: George Clinton, Ray Davies, Fuzzy Haskins, Calvin Simon, and Grady Thomas. Motown acquired their contract when they purchased the label they were signed to. Founding member, George Clinton had previously worked for Motown as a staff writer in their New York office, contributing “I Betcha” to the Jackson Five and “Can’t Shake It Loose” to Diana Ross & The Supremes. Parliament only released one single with Motown called “I Just Wanna Testify,” before leaving the label and becoming hugely popular and influential as Parliament-Funkadelic in the mid 70’s to early 80’s. They would eventually be inducted into the Rock ‘N Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio.
Gladys Knight & the Pips (Gladys Knight, her brother Merald “Bubba” Knight, her cousins William Guest and Edward Patten.)
Marvin Gaye (Born and raised in Washington D. C., this former drummer and “doo wop” vocalist married Berry Gordy’s sister, Anna. Marvin raised the social consciousness and activism of Motown by recording “What’s Going On” at the start of 1971.)
The Isley Brothers (they achieved fame with “Shout” before joining Motown for a brief stint. Members: Ronald Isley, the lead singer, O’Kelly Isley and Rudolph Isley. Later younger brothers Ernie and Marvin joined along with their cousin Chris Jasper bringing a rock sound to the group.)
The Commodores (Members: Ronald LaPread-bass player, William King – trumpet, guitar & vocals, Walter “Clyde” Orange – drums & lead vocals, Milan Williams – keyboards, Thomas McClary – lead guitar and Lionel Richie – lead vocal, keyboards and saxophone).
Smokey Robinson (Smokey helped make Motown a huge success from it’s inception. He would achieve great success as a solo artist after many years of writing, producing and recording with The Miracles. His recording of “Quiet Storm” would inspire a popular radio format created at Howard University’s radio station. WHUR 96.3FM. The format features R& B/Jazz ballads primarily.)
Later Era Motown Stars
Rick James
Teena Marie
Staci Lattisaw
Boyz To Men
Notable Motown Releases
“Got A Job” “Going To A Go Go” “Tracks Of My Tears” “Tears of A Clown” “Shop Around” “Ooh Baby Baby” “You Really Got A Hold On Me” “I Second That Emotion” “(Come ‘Round Here) I’m The One You Need” “More Love” recorded by Smokey Robinson & the Miracles.
“My Guy” “You Beat Me To The Punch” “Two Lovers” “He’s The One I Love” “You Do Something To Me” recorded by Mary Wells.
“Standing in the Shadows of Love” “Its The Same Old Song” “Bernadette” “I Can’t Help Myself” “Reach Out” “Seven Rooms” “Baby, I Need Your Loving” “Wake Me Shake Me” “Still Waters Run Deep” “Ain’t No Woman Like The One I Got” recorded by the Four Tops.
“Baby Love” “Where Did Our Love Go” “I Hear A Symphony” “Back In My Arms Again” “You Can’t Hurry Love” “Stop In the Name of Love” “The Happening” “Love Child” “Livin’ In Shame” “Reflections” “Someday We’ll Be Together” “You Keep Me Hanging On” “What The World Needs Now” “The Composer” “Forever Came Today” “Up The Ladder To The Roof” “Shine On Me” recorded by The Supremes.
“Reach Out And Touch Somebody’s Hand” “I’m Waiting” “Surrender” “Remember Me” “Touch Me In The Morning” “Good Morning Heartache” “Love Hangover” “The Boss” “All For One” It’s My House” “Muscles” “I’m Coming Out” “Upside Down” recorded by Diana Ross (includes late 70’s and early 80’s releases).
“My Girl” “Beauty Is Only Skin Deep” Just My Imagination” “Since I Lost My Baby” “Don’t Look Back” “Papa Was A Rolling Stone” “A Song For You” “The Way You Do the Things You Do” “You’re My Everything” “Ain’t Too Proud To Beg” ”Ball of Confusion” ”Cloud Nine” “Get Ready” “I’m Losing You” recorded by the Temptations.
“My Whole World Ended (The Moment You Left Me)” “Walk Away From Love” “Miss You” recorded by David Ruffin (70’s releases. David was one of the lead singers in the Temptations).
“Keep On Truckin’” “Boogie Down” “Intimate Friends” “Shoeshine Boy” “Girl, You Need A Change Of Mind” recorded by Eddie Kendricks (70s releases. Eddie was one of the lead singers in the Temptations).
“Come And Get These Memories” “Heatwave” “Nowhere To Run” “Dancing In the Street” “Jimmy Mack” “Easily Persuaded” recorded by Martha Reeves & the Vandellas.
“For Once In My Life” “Uptight” “My Cherie Amour” “I Was Made To Love Her” “Superstition” “Angie Girl” Yesteryou, Yesterme, Yesterday” “Signed, Sealed, Delivered” “You And I” “Ribbon In the Sky” “Golden Lady” “All In Love Is Fair” “You Are the Sunshine Of My Life” “Higher Ground” “Isn’t She Lovely” “Sir Duke” “I Wish” “Boogie On Reggae Woman” “Knocks Me Off My Feet” “That Girl” “Rocket Love” “Send One Your Love” “Superwoman” “You’ve Got It Bad Girl” “Livin’ For the City” “Do I Do” “Pastime Paradise” ”Overjoyed” “Part-time Lover” “Skeletons” recorded by Stevie Wonder.
“Can’t Give Back The Love” “I’m Going Left” “Cause We’ve Ended Now As Lovers” “Spinnin’ and Spinnin” “I’m Born Again (Duet with Billy Preston)” “Let Me Be The One” by Syreeta Wright (includes late 70’s and early 80’s releases).
“Ain’t That Peculiar” “Pride And Joy” “I Heard It Through The Grapevine” “Stubborn Kind Of Fellow” “What’s Going On” “Lets Get It On” “Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)” “Distant Lover” “How Sweet It Is To Be Loved By You” “Hitch Hike” “Trouble Man” “After The Dance” “You’re The Man” “Got To Give It Up” “Star Spangled Banner” (from 1984 NBA All-Star game) recorded by Marvin Gaye.
“I Don’t Want To Do Wrong” “If I Were Your Woman” “I Wish It Would Rain” “The Nitty Gritty” “Didn’t You Know You Have To Cry Sometimes” “It Should Have Been Me” “The End Of Our Road” “I Heard It Through The Grapevine” recorded by Gladys Knight & the Pips.
“Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” “If This World Were Mine” “Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing” “You’re All I Need To Get By” recorded by Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell.
“ABC” “I Want You Back” “The Love You Save” “Who’s Loving You” “I’ll Be There” “Mama’s Pearl” “Sugar Daddy” “Halleluiah Day” “Rockin’ Robin” “Never Can Say Goodbye” “All I Do Is Think Of You” “Maybe Tomorrow” ”Forever Came Today” “Honey Love” “Dancing Machine” recorded by The Jackson Five.”
”My Girl” “I Wanna Be Where You Are” “Got To Be There” “Maria” recorded by Michael Jackson.
“Machine Gun” “I Feel Sanctified” “Sweet Love” “Slippery When Wet” “This Is Your Life” “Brick House” Three Times A Lady” “Still” “Sail On” “Zoom” “Fancy Dancer” “Come Inside” “Just To Be Close To You” “Jesus Is Love” “Flyin’ High” “Lucy” “Easy” “Funny Feeling” “Nightshift” “Painted Picture” recorded by The Commodores (includes late 70’s and early 80’s releases)
“Does Your Mama Know About Me” recorded by Bobby & the Vancouvers.
“Needle In A Haystack” recorded by The Velvelettes.
“My Mistake” recorded by Diana Ross & Marvin Gaye.
“Can’t It Wait” recorded by Valerie Simpson.
“Do You Love Me” “First I Look At The Purse” recorded by the Contours.
“Money (That’s What I Want)” recorded by Barrett Strong.
“Function At The Junction” recorded by Shorty Long.
“What Becomes of The Broken-hearted” recorded by Jimmy Ruffin.
“This Old Heart of Mine” “Just Ask the Lonely” recorded by the Isley Brothers.
“Please Mr. Postman” “The Hunter Gets Captured” “Don’t Mess With Bill” recorded by the Marvelettes.
“War” recorded by Edwin Starr
“Every Little Bit Hurts” recorded by Brenda Holloway.