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Description of Motown

 
Somewhere about the same time it came to prominence as the Motor City and long before it was known as Rock City, Berry Gordy's Motown put Detroit on the map as a city, a record label, and a sound that, for most of America, was soul music in the 1960s. Gordy, a talented songwriter and producer, founded the label in 1959. From 1961 to 1971, the label produced no less than 110 Billboard Top Ten hits. The songwriting of Gordy and his team of Holland, Dozier, and Holland came to be the Motown sound: a strong backbeat, punchy three-chord pop-R&B songs that often involved a horn section, and vocal styles rooted in the traditions of soul and Doo-Wop. Like the Doo-Woppers, Motown's groups were made up of vocalists; and the label's finishing school taught them how to behave like stars. Motown's influence extended far beyond the musical realm. As the largest black-owned record label in the country, it was at the forefront of the cultural and economic dimensions of the civil rights movement.
 

Top Motown Tracks

 
Play Track Artist Price
1. ABC The Jackson 5
$1.29
2. I Want You Back The Jackson 5
$1.29
3. Let's Get It On Marvin Gaye
$1.29
4. Superstition Stevie Wonder
$1.29
5. I'll Be There The Jackson 5
$1.29
6. Sexual Healing Marvin Gaye
$1.29
7. Blame It On The Boogie The Jackson 5
$0.99
8. Never Can Say Goodbye The Jackson 5
$1.29
9. Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I'm Yours Stevie Wonder
$0.99
10. Brick House The Commodores
$1.29
11. My Girl The Temptations
$1.29
12. Just My Imagination The Temptations
$0.99
13. What's Going On Marvin Gaye
$0.99
14. My Cherie Amour Stevie Wonder
$0.99
15. The Love You Save The Jackson 5
$1.29
16. Cruisin' Smokey Robinson
$0.99
17. Isn't She Lovely Stevie Wonder
$1.29
18. Rockin' Robin The Jackson 5
$1.29
19. Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology) Marvin Gaye
$0.99
20. Who's Lovin' You (Single Version) The Jackson 5
$1.29
21. Papa Was A Rollin' Stone The Temptations
$0.99
22. Dancing Machine The Jackson 5
$1.29
23. I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch) The Four Tops
$0.99
24. Ain't No Mountain High Enough Marvin Gaye
$1.29
25. I Wish Stevie Wonder
$0.99
26. Ain't Too Proud To Beg The Temptations
$1.29
27. Higher Ground Stevie Wonder
$0.99
28. Got To Be There The Jackson 5
$1.29
29. I'm Coming Out Diana Ross
$0.99
30. Midnight Train To Georgia Gladys Knight
$0.99
31. You Are The Sunshine Of My Life Stevie Wonder
$0.99
32. Sir Duke Stevie Wonder
$0.99
33. The Tracks Of My Tears Smokey Robinson
$0.99
34. For Once In My Life Stevie Wonder
$0.99
35. Never Can Say Goodbye (Single Version) The Jackson 5
$1.29
36. I Heard It Through The Grapevine Marvin Gaye
$0.99
37. Easy The Commodores
$0.99
38. Don't You Worry About A Thing Stevie Wonder
$0.99
39. Shake Your Body (Down To The Ground) The Jackson 5
$0.99
40. As Stevie Wonder
$0.99
41. I Want You Back The Jackson 5
$1.29
42. You Can't Hurry Love The Supremes
$0.99
43. The Tears Of A Clown Smokey Robinson
$0.99
44. Baby I Need Your Loving The Four Tops
$0.69
45. I Wish It Would Rain The Temptations
$0.99
46. This Place Hotel The Jackson 5
$0.99
47. Baby Love The Supremes
$0.99
48. I Just Called To Say I Love You Stevie Wonder
$0.99
49. Got To Give It Up, Part 1 (Single Version) Marvin Gaye
$0.99
50. Distant Lover Marvin Gaye
$0.99
 

Motown Key Albums

 
ABC
$7.99
Signed, Sealed And Delivered
$9.99
The Ultimate Collection
$10.99

 

Filed Under

 
 

Motown Key Artists

 
Brenda Holloway

One of the bluesier singers
in the Motown roster,
Holloway recorded the
original version of "You've
Made Me So Very Happy."

David Ruffin

The Temptations'
best-known singer, Ruffin
found only modest solo
success outside the
confines of his band. Sing...

Diana Ross

Motown's preeminent Girl
Group, the Supremes
earned five consecutive No.
1 hits in 1964-65, bridging
Soul and Pop. Mary Wilson...

Gladys Knight

She's the robust voice
behind "Midnight Train To
Georgia" and the original "I
Heard It Through the
Grapevine." In October 19...

Junior Walker

Raw and raucous sax player
Junior Walker brought the
rocking single "Shotgun" to
the Motown table in the
'60s.

Kim Weston

Singer Weston's brightest
moment came sharing the
spotlight with Marvin Gaye
on the love ballad "It Takes
Two."

Martha and the Vandellas

Princesses among girl
groups, Martha and the
Vandellas struck gold with
"Heatwave" and "Dancing in
the Street." "Dancing In th...

Marvin Gaye

With a career that
exemplified the maturation
of romantic black pop into a
sophisticated form spanning
social and sexual politics,...

Mary Wells

One of Motown's brightest
stars of the '60s, Mary Wells'
dyanmic singing style
helped Motown take the
pop charts by storm.

Smokey Robinson

Soon after his debut with
the Miracles, Smokey
Robinson became known as
one of the premier
songwriter/singers in pop...

Stevie Wonder

Groomed from an early age
for Motown stardom, Stevie
Wonder mastered that
label's distinctive fusion of
pop and soul and then we...

Tammi Terrell

A phenomenally talented
singer who scored
numerous hit duets with
Marvin Gaye, Terrell died
tragically young in 1970....

The Commodores

These Motown stalwarts
were led by Lionel Ritchie
and dabbled in everything
from funk ("Brick House") to
sentimental ballads. The C...

The Four Tops

The Four Tops
incorporated Gospel and R&B
into their smooth pop; it
was just the musical hybrid
Motown was looking for....

The Jackson 5

The family outfit took the
U.S. by storm in the '70s,
launching scores of
imitators and solo Jacksons
in the process. Between...

The Marvelettes

Lesser-known Motown act
the Marvelettes' raft of hits
includes "Please Mr.
Postman" and "Don't Mess
With Bill."

The Miracles

From Doo Wop to Disco, the
Miracles' career spread
though three generations of
R&B.

The Supremes

Bridging soul and pop
music, the Supremes
sustained a level of success
through the '60s that rivaled
the Beatles. The Supreme...

The Temptations

The Temptations are well
known for mega-hits like
"My Girl" and "Papa Was A
Rolling Stone." Smokey
Robinson wrote the Temp...

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