America in the early s was a country divided. Segregation and discrimination was for most people, simply a way of life — no matter if you were black or white. Naming their building, Hitsville USA, like most everything else to do with his record label it was done with a sense of pride — a sense of family pride — yet one driven by the ties of marriage and a strong sense of black unity.
It was also a business that knew its market, or rather what its market needed to be — it was young Americans, but not just young black Americans. Yet Gordy and his small team managed to make each record sound like it had been handcrafted. Hitsville very soon became a hit-factory. Gordy also wanted to craft an image for his acts, so he put his young stars through a kind of musical finishing school; he also marketed and presented them as artists to offend no one.
Mainstream success was what mattered and the respect that followed created a sense of black pride. Even biographical details of Motown artists were difficult to get hold of; all the public could do was to decide whether they liked the records or not.
For the most part they loved them. Later Gordy would boast. Twenty-one singles topped the Hot and by Motown had become the richest corporation in Black-American history. I remember the long hot summers, fire hydrants, eating crabs in the neighbors rear yards and someone playing music. Remembering when my older brother and his crew tried their hands at singing and you can guess they thought they were the second coming of the temptations.
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As an irresistible force of social and cultural change, the legendary Motown portfolio made its mark not just on the music industry, but society at large, with a signature Motown Sound that has become one of the most significant musical accomplishments and stunning success stories of the 20th century. Motown is an extended family of some of the most iconic and influential artists, musicians and songwriters of our time.
Brought together by destiny through their love for making music, they found themselves making history. When you contribute to the Motown Museum, you become part of a rich musical and cultural legacy. We are a c 3 not for profit, tax-exempt organization in Detroit. The Motown Sound jumped out of Hitsville U. Unlike anything listeners had ever heard, Motown songs married the saintly and the secular—merging the call-and-response patterns of black gospel music with the syncopation and improvisation of the bebop movement in jazz.
Producers cut and blended tracks, using equipment that can still be viewed in Hitsville U.
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