Bradley has worked hard to be a dependable, loving man and capable automotive engineer. He much prefers debugging a new assembly line, which might help preserve a withering way of life in his Midwest industrial town than grapple with the meaning of his black identity. As if he had a choice. Though there are consequences for violating society's mores, he's hard-headed, trusting his intellect and, increasingly, his gut. It's how he romances the woman of his dreams, Abby, who is also unafraid to challenge conventions. She falls for Bradley's charms and, together, they look to build a new life in a faded factory town rife with veiled racial tension, marked uncertainty and on the edge of losing its identity. But to his younger brother, James, their relationship is a fool's errand. During an unseasonably cold week in November 1991, the true value of their bonds are revealed and hardened
Now in paperback, the definitive visual history of Motown, the Detroit-based record company that became a music powerhouse. The music of Motown defined an era. From the Jackson 5 and Diana Ross to Stevie Wonder and Smokey Robinson, Berry Gordy and his right-hand man, Barney Ales, built the most successful independent record label in the world. Not only did Motown represent the most iconic recording artists of its time and produce countless global hits—it created a cultural institution that redefined pop and gave us the vision of a new America: vibrant, innovative, and racially equal. This new paperback edition of the first official visual history of the label includes a dazzling array of images, and unprecedented access to the archives of the makers and stars of Motown. Extensive specially commissioned photography of treasures extracted from the Motown archives, as well as the personal collections of Barney Ales and Motown stars, lends new insight into the lives of the legends. Motown also draws on interviews with key players from the label’s colorful history, including Motown founder Berry Gordy; Barney Ales; Smokey Robinson; Mary Wilson, founding member of the Supremes; and many more.
The story of Motown Records and how it changed the course of American music, as told by its founder—“an African American culture hero of historic stature” (The New York Times). Berry Gordy Jr., who once considered becoming a boxer, started a record company with a family loan of $800 in 1959. Gordy’s company, Motown Records, went on to create some of the most popular music of all time. By the time he sold the company nearly thirty years later, it was worth $61 million and had produced musical legends including Jackie Wilson, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, the Temptations, Marvin Gaye, Diana Ross and the Supremes, Stevie Wonder, and the Jackson 5. Here, the revolutionary who shattered the color barrier in the American entertainment industry and forever changed the way the world hears music, shares his story of ambition and vision. From humble beginnings, Gordy amassed a fortune and became a musical kingmaker in the cultural heydays of the 1960s and ’70s. Quelling rumors and detailing his relationships with the artists he managed, Gordy pens “a vivid recreation of a great period and a seminal company in popular music” (Kirkus Reviews).
(Guitar Book). Bassist James Jamerson was the embodiment of the Motown spirit and groove the invisible entity whose playing inspired thousands. His tumultuous life and musical brilliance are explored in depth through hundreds of interviews, 49 transcribed musical scores, two hours of recorded all-star performances, and more than 50 rarely seen photos in this stellar tribute to behind-the-scenes Motown. Features a 120-minute CD! Allan Slutsky's 2002 documentary of the same name is the winner of the New York Film Critics "Best Documentary of the Year" award!
In 1959, twenty-nine-year-old Berry Gordy, who had already given up on his dream to be a champion boxer, borrowed eight hundred dollars from his family and started a record company. A run-down bungalow sandwiched between a funeral home and a beauty shop in a poor Detroit neighborhood served as his headquarters. The building’s entrance was adorned with a large sign that improbably boasted “Hitsville U.S.A.” The kitchen served as the control room, the garage became the two-track studio, the living room was reserved for bookkeeping, and sales were handled in the dining room. Soon word spread that any youngster with a streak of talent should visit the only record label that Detroit had seen in years. The company’s name was Motown. Motown cuts through decades of unsubstantiated rumors and speculation to tell the true behind-the-scenes narrative of America’s most exciting musical dynasty. It follows the company and its amazing roster of stars from the tumultuous growth years in Detroit, to the drama and intrigue of Hollywood in the 1970s, to resurgence in 2002. Set against the civil rights movement, the decay of America’s northern industrial cities, and the social upheaval of the 1960s, Motown is a tale of the incredible entrepreneurship of Berry Gordy. But it also features the moving stories of kids from Detroit’s inner-city projects who achieved remarkable success and then, in many cases, found themselves fighting the demons that so often come with stardom—drugs, jealousy, sexual indulgence, greed, and uncontrollable ambition. Motown features an extraordinary cast of characters, including Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson, and Stevie Wonder. They are presented as they lived and worked: a clan of friends, lovers, competitors, and sometimes vicious foes. Motown reveals how the hopes and dreams of each affected the lives of the others and illustrates why this singular story is a made-in-America Greek tragedy, the rise and fall of a supremely talented yet completely dysfunctional extended family. Based on numerous original interviews and extensive documentation, Motown benefits particularly from the thousands of pages of files crammed into the basement of downtown Detroit’s Wayne County Courthouse. Those court records provide the unofficial—and hitherto largely untold—history of Motown and its stars, since almost every relationship between departing singers, songwriters, producers, and the label ended up in litigation. From its peaks in the late 1960s and early 1970s, when Motown controlled the pop charts and its stars were sought after even by the Beatles, through the inexorable slide caused by their failure to handle their stardom, Motown is a riveting and troubling look inside a music label that provided the unofficial soundtrack to an entire generation.
Motown was part of growing up in the 1960's and 70's. An amazing number of well-known stars worked for Motown: Diana Ross and the Supremes, Martha Reeves and the Vandellas, Gladys Knight and the Pips, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, Jr Walker and the All Stars, Mary Wells, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Tammi Terrell, Edwin Starr, David Ruffin, Eddie Kendricks, Lamont Dozier, Shorty Long, the Temptations, the Four Tops, the Fifth dimension, the Marvelettes, the Contours, the Isley Brothers, the Spinners, the Originals, the Jackson Five, the Commodores, Rare Earth, Rick James, and many others. Most were Motown stars. Many started and ended with Motown. Motown is important for other reasons. A black company, Motown made black music popular among Americans of all ages.
This is the book for lovers of Motown! Author and Motown historian Bill Dahl has expertly compiled this comprehensive guide to the musical combination of pop and gospel, known as Motown. This new compilation features an A-to-Z listing and biography of nearly every Motown group since its beginning in 1959. Also included are never-before-published photos from former Motown promotions guru Weldon A. McDougal III. Enthusiasts will now have a chance to own a complete encyclopedia of groups and artists, along with information about their music, including a discography and price guide. • 32-page color section containing many never-before-published photos • Complete encyclopedia of groups, artists, plus discography and price guide for all Motown acts
David Ritz presents his uniquely candid and and intimate account of the tumultuous life of the Prince of Soul music, Marvin Gaye. Author Ritz has assembled years of conversations and interviews from his life as a close friend and lyricist to the gifted Soul sensation, and tells the Marvin Gaye story with fly-on-the-wall accuracy and detail. From his early years as an abused child in the slums of Washington DC, through his rise to the very peaks of the Motown phenomenon, his fall from grace and subsequent comeback, to his untimely death at the hands of his father, Marvin's story is the stuff of legends. The cast of characters includes the Jacksons, Smokey Robinson, Diana Ross and countless other icons of the world of soul music.The definitive biography of an enormously gifted and sensitive musician.
Motown music emerged in the United States in the 1960s. It launched the careers of many African American musicians. Motown music shaped culture and society during the American civil rights movement. The Making of Motown explores the history and legacy of Motown. Aligned to Common Core Standards and correlated to state standards. Core Library is an imprint of Abdo Publishing, a division of ABDO.
Motown means different things to different people. The mere mention of perhaps the most iconic record label in history is often enough to invoke memories and mental images of Marvin Gaye, Diana Ross, Stevie Wonder, The Temptations, The Jackson 5, The Supremes and numerous others. With each group recalled, there is an accompanying piece of music of the mind, from Baby Love, My Girl, Signed Sealed Delivered, I Heard It Through The Grapevine, ABC and Tears Of A Clown and countless more. Quite often, you can ask people what kind of music they like and they will simply answer ‘Motown’, and both they, and you, know exactly what is meant. Or rather, what is implied. The Motown they are invariably thinking of is the label that dominated the charts in the mid 1960s with a succession of radio friendly, dance orientated hits, most of which were written and produced by the trio of Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier and Eddie Holland. This period is referred to, naturally enough, as the Golden Era, when Motown was not only the dominant force in its home city of Detroit but carried The Sound of Young America all around the world. The kind of music that had them Dancing In the Street from Los Angeles to London, Miami to Munich and San Francisco to Sydney. It was the kind of music that attracted scores of imitators; some good, some not so good. The kind of music that appealed to the public and presidents alike, and still does. It was that Motown that this book was intended to be about. However, when you start digging deeper into the Motown story, you realise that throughout its life (which, for the purposes of this book, is its formation in 1959 through to its sale in 1988) it was constantly trying other musical genres, looking to grab hits out of jazz, country, pop, rock, middle of the road and whatever else might be happening at the time. Of course it wasn’t particularly successful at some of the other genres, although those who claim Motown never did much in the rock market conveniently overlook the healthy sales figures achieved by Rare Earth, the group, and focus instead on the total sales achieved on Rare Earth, the label. This book, therefore, contains biographies of all 684 artists who had releases on Motown and their various imprints, as well as biographies of 16 musicians, 23 producers, 19 writers and 13 executives. There are also details of the 50 or so labels that Motown owned, licensed to or licensed from. All nine films and the 17 soundtracks are also featured. Every Motown single and album and EP that made the Top Ten of the pop charts in either the US or UK also have their own entries, with 222 singles, 84 albums and five EPs being featured. Finally, there are 36 other entries, covering such topics as the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the Motortown Revues, Grammy Awards and the most played Motown songs on radio. The 1,178 entries cover every aspect of Motown and more – of the link between Granny in The Beverly Hillbillies and Wonder Woman, of the artists from Abbey Tavern Singers to Zulema, and the hits from ABC to You Really Got A Hold On Me. The Motown Encyclopedia is the story of Motown Records; Yesterday, Today, Forever.
