Motown

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Motown Records
Parent companyUniversal Music Group
FoundedJanuary 12, 1959; 65 years ago (1959-01-12)
FounderBerry Gordy
Distributor(s)
GenreVarious
Country of originDetroit, Michigan, U.S.
LocationLos Angeles, California, U.S.[1]
Official websitemotownrecords.com

Motown is an American

portmanteau of motor and town, has become a nickname for Detroit
, where the label was originally headquartered.

Motown played an important role in the

crossover success. In the 1960s, Motown and its subsidiary labels (including Tamla Motown, the brand used outside the US) were the most of the Motown sound, a style of soul music with a mainstream pop appeal. Motown was the most successful soul music label, with a net worth of $61 million. During the 1960s, Motown achieved 79 records in the top-ten of the Billboard Hot 100
between 1960 and 1969.

Following the events of the Detroit Riots of 1967, and the loss of key songwriting/production team Holland–Dozier–Holland that year over pay disputes, Gordy moved Motown to Los Angeles, California. Motown expanded into film and television production.

It was an independent company until MCA Records bought it in 1988. PolyGram purchased the label from MCA in 1993, followed by MCA successor Universal Music Group, which acquired PolyGram in 1999.[2]

Motown spent much of the 2000s headquartered in

Rhythm and Blues Music Hall of Fame in a ceremony held at the Charles H. Wright Museum.[8]

In 2021, Motown separated from the Capitol Music Group to become a standalone label once again.[9]

On November 29, 2022, Ethiopia Habtemariam announced that she would be stepping down as chairwoman/CEO of Motown.[10]

As of 2023, the label has many acts signed such as City Girls, Diddy, Migos, Lil Baby, Lil Yachty, Smino, Vince Staples, YoungBoy Never Broke Again, and several other artists in the hip-hop and R&B genres.

History

Beginnings of Motown

Berry Gordy's interest in the record business began when he opened a record store called the 3D Record Mart, a shop where he hoped to "educate customers about the beauty of jazz", in Detroit, Michigan. (The Gordys were an entrepreneurial family.) Although the shop did not last very long, Gordy's interest in the music business did not fade. He frequented Detroit's downtown nightclubs, and in the Flame Show Bar he met bar manager Al Green (not the famed singer), who owned a music publishing company called Pearl Music and represented Detroit-based musician Jackie Wilson. Gordy soon became part of a group of songwriters—with his sister Gwen Gordy and Billy Davis—who wrote songs for Wilson. "Reet Petite" was their first major hit which appeared in November 1957.[11] During the next eighteen months, Gordy helped to write six more Wilson A-sides, including "Lonely Teardrops", a peak-popular hit of 1958. Between 1957 and 1958, Gordy wrote or produced over a hundred sides for various artists, with his siblings Anna, Gwen and Robert, and other collaborators in varying combinations.[12]

The Hitsville U.S.A. Motown building, at 2648 West Grand Boulevard in Detroit, Motown's headquarters from 1959 to 1968, which became the Motown Historical Museum in 1985[13]

In 1957, Gordy met Smokey Robinson, who at the time was a local seventeen-year-old singer fronting a vocal harmony group called the Matadors. Gordy was interested in the doo-wop style that Robinson sang. In 1958, Gordy recorded the group's song "Got a Job" (an answer song to "Get a Job" by the Silhouettes), and released it as a single by leasing the record to a larger company outside Detroit called End Records, based in New York. The practice was common at the time for a small-time producer. "Got a Job" was the first single by Robinson's group, now called the Miracles. Gordy recorded a number of other records by forging a similar arrangement, most significantly with United Artists.[14]

In 1958, Gordy wrote and produced "Come to Me" for Marv Johnson. Seeing that the song had great crossover potential, Gordy leased it to United Artists for national distribution but also released it locally on his own startup imprint.[14] Needing $800 to cover his end of the deal, Gordy asked his family to borrow money from a cooperative family savings account.[15] After some debate, his family agreed, and in January 1959 "Come to Me" was released regionally on Gordy's new Tamla label.[16] Gordy originally wanted to name the label Tammy Records, after the hit song popularized by Debbie Reynolds from the 1957 film Tammy and the Bachelor, in which Reynolds also starred. When he found the name was already in use, Berry decided on Tamla instead.[citation needed] In April 1959, Gordy and his sister Gwen founded Anna Records which released about two dozen singles between 1959 and 1960. The most popular was Barrett Strong's "Money (That's What I Want)", written by Gordy and a secretary named Janie Bradford, and produced by Gordy.[16] Many of the songs distributed locally by Anna and Tamla Records were nationally distributed by Chess Records (sometimes with Anna and Tamla imprints). Gordy's relationship with Chess fostered closer dealings with Harvey Fuqua, nephew of Charlie Fuqua of the Ink Spots. Harvey Fuqua later married Gwen Gordy in 1961.[17]

Gordy looked toward creative self-sufficiency and established the publishing firm Jobete in June 1959 (incorporated in Michigan). He applied for copyrights on more than seventy songs before the end of 1959, including material used for the Miracles and Frances Burnett records, which were leased to Chess and Coral Records. The Michigan Chronicle of Detroit called Gordy an "independent producer of records", as his contributions to the city were beginning to attract notice. By that time, he was the president of Jobete, Tamla, and the music writing company Rayber.[18]

Gordy worked in various Detroit-based studios during this period to produce recordings and demos, but most prominently with United Sound Systems which was considered the best studio in town. However, producing at United Sound Systems was financially taxing and not appropriate for every job, so Gordy decided it would be more cost effective to maintain his own facility.[18] In mid-1959, he purchased a photography studio at 2648 West Grand Boulevard and converted the main floor into a recording studio and office space. Now, rather than shopping his songs to other artists or leasing his recordings to outside companies, Gordy began using the Tamla and Motown imprints to release songs that he wrote and produced. He incorporated Motown Records in April 1960.[19]

Smokey Robinson became the vice president of the company (and later named his daughter "Tamla" and his son "Berry"). Several of Gordy's family members, including his father Berry Sr., brothers Robert and George, and sister Esther, were given key roles in the company. By the middle of the decade, Gwen and Anna Gordy had joined the label in administrative positions as well. Gordy's partner at the time (and wife from 1960 to 1964), Raynoma Liles, also played a key role in the early days of Motown, leading the company's first session group, The Rayber Voices, and overseeing Jobete.[citation needed]

West Grand Boulevard

The studio that Gordy purchased in 1959 would become Motown's Hitsville U.S.A. studio. The photography studio located in the back of the property was modified into a small recording studio, and the Gordys moved into the second-floor living quarters. Within seven years, Motown would occupy seven additional neighboring houses:

  • Hitsville U.S.A., 1959 – (ground floor) administrative office, tape library, control room, Studio A; (upper floor) Gordy living quarters (1959–62), artists and repertoire (1962–72)
  • Jobete Publishing office, 1961 – sales, billing, collections, shipping, and public relations
  • Berry Gordy Jr. Enterprise, 1962 – offices for Berry Gordy Jr. and Esther Gordy Edwards
  • Finance department, 1965 – royalties and payroll
  • Artist personal development, 1966 – Harvey Fuqua (head of artist development and producer of stage performances), Maxine Powell (instructor in grooming, poise, and social graces for Motown artists), Maurice King (vocal coach, musical director and arranger), Cholly Atkins (house choreography), and rehearsal studios
  • Two houses for administrative offices, 1966 – sales and marketing, traveling and traffic, and mixing and mastering
  • ITMI (International Talent Management Inc.) office, 1966 – management

Motown had hired over 450 employees and had a gross income of $20 million by the end of 1966.

Detroit: 1959–1972

Early Tamla/Motown artists included

William "Mickey" Stevenson, Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, and Norman Whitfield
, had become a major force in the music industry.

From 1961 to 1971, Motown had 110

.

A fifth label, Soul, featured

the Originals, and Gladys Knight & the Pips (who had found success before joining Motown, as "The Pips" on Vee-Jay). Many more Motown-owned labels released recordings in other genres, including Workshop Jazz (jazz) Earl Washington Reflections and Earl Washington's All Stars, Mel-o-dy (country, although it was originally an R&B label), and Rare Earth, whose acts, including the eponymous band, explored blues-oriented and progressive rock styles.[20]
Under the slogan "The Sound of Young America", Motown's acts were enjoying widespread popularity among black and white audiences alike.

Smokey Robinson said of Motown's cultural impact:

Into the 1960s, I was still not of a frame of mind that we were not only making music, we were making history. But I did recognize the impact because acts were going all over the world at that time. I recognized the bridges that we crossed, the racial problems and the barriers that we broke down with music. I recognized that because I lived it. I would come to the South in the early days of Motown and the audiences would be segregated. Then they started to get the Motown music and we would go back and the audiences were integrated and the kids were dancing together and holding hands.[21]

Boston-Edison Historic District[22]

In 1967, Berry Gordy purchased what is now known as Motown Mansion in Detroit's

Woodward Avenue and Interstate 75, and moved Motown's Detroit offices there (the Donovan building was demolished in January 2006 to provide parking spaces for Super Bowl XL). In the same year, Gordy purchased Golden World Records
, and its recording studio became "Studio B" to Hitsville's "Studio A".

In the United Kingdom, Motown's records were released on various labels: at first

Fingertips" by Little Stevie Wonder was one of many). In 1963, Motown signed with EMI's Stateside label ("Where Did Our Love Go" by the Supremes and "My Guy" by Mary Wells were Motown's first British top-20 hits). Eventually, EMI created the Tamla Motown label ("Stop! In the Name of Love
" by the Supremes was the first Tamla Motown release in March 1965).

Los Angeles: 1972–1998

After the songwriting trio

(1973).

Motown had established branch offices in both New York City and Los Angeles during the mid-1960s, and by 1969 had begun gradually moving more of its operations to Los Angeles. The company moved all of its operations to Los Angeles in June 1972, with a number of artists, among them

Funk Brothers studio band, either staying behind in Detroit or leaving the company for other reasons. By re-locating, Motown aimed chiefly to branch out into the motion-picture industry, and Motown Productions got its start in film by turning out two hit-vehicles for Diana Ross: the Billie Holiday biographical film Lady Sings the Blues (1972), and Mahogany (1975). Other Motown films would include Scott Joplin (1977), Thank God It's Friday (1978), The Wiz (1978) and The Last Dragon (1985). Ewart Abner
, who had been associated with Motown since the 1960s, became its president in 1973.

John McClain, an A&M Records executive, opined that Motown leaving its birth city marked a decline in the label's quality. "Something happened when [Motown] left Detroit and came to [Los Angeles]," he said. "They quit being innovators and started following trends. Before, Berry had a much more hands-on approach. And maybe you lose some of your desire after you get to a certain level financially."[23]

By the 1970s, the Motown "hit factory" had become a target of a backlash from some fans of rock music. Record producer

Velvet Underground. Things don't change. Nowadays, of course, Motown is hip."[24]

Despite losing Holland–Dozier–Holland, Norman Whitfield, and some of its other hitmakers by 1975, Motown still had a number of successful artists during the 1970s and 1980s, including

de Passe Entertainment and continues to run it as of 2018.[25] Gordy continued to retain the Jobete music publishing catalog, selling it separately to EMI Music Publishing in parts between 1997 and 2004.[26] It is currently owned by Sony Music Publishing
(Sony/ATV until 2021) through the acquisition of EMI Music Publishing in 2012 (as a leader of the consortium and eventually assigned full ownership in 2018).

During the 1990s, Motown was home to successful recording artists such as Boyz II Men and Johnny Gill, although the company itself remained in a state of turmoil. MCA appointed a series of executives to run the company, beginning with Berry Gordy's immediate successor, Jheryl Busby. Busby quarreled with MCA, alleging that the company did not give Motown's product adequate attention or promotion. In 1991, Motown sued MCA to have its distribution deal with the company terminated, and began releasing its product through PolyGram. PolyGram purchased Motown from Boston Ventures three years later.

In 1994, Busby was replaced by

George Jackson
served as president.

Final years of the Motown label: 1999–2005

By 1998, Motown had added stars such as

India.Arie
.

Diana Ross, Smokey Robinson, Stevie Wonder, and the Temptations had remained with the label since its early days, although all except Wonder recorded for other labels for several years. Ross left Motown for RCA Records from 1981 to 1988, but returned in 1989 and stayed until 2002, while Robinson left Motown in 1991 (although he did return to release one more album for the label in 1999). The Temptations left for Atlantic Records in 1977, but returned in 1980 and eventually left again in 2004. Wonder finally left the label in 2020.

Universal Motown: 2005–2011

In 2005, Massenburg was replaced by

Universal Records to create the Universal Motown Records and placed under the newly created umbrella division of Universal Motown Republic Group. Notable artists on Universal Motown included Drake Bell, Ryan Leslie, Melanie Fiona, Kelly Rowland, Forever the Sickest Kids, The Veer Union and Four Year Strong. Motown celebrated its 50th anniversary on January 12, 2009, and celebrated it in Detroit on November 20, 2009, in a black-tie Gala titled "Live It Again!" The event was hosted by Sinbad and included Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson, the Temptations, Aretha Franklin and Kid Rock.[27][28]

Relaunch: 2011–present

In mid-2011, Universal Motown reverted to the Motown brand after having been separated from Universal Motown Republic Group, hired Ethiopia Habtemariam as its Senior Vice President, and operated under The Island Def Jam Music Group.[5][7] Artists from Universal Motown were transferred to the newly revitalized Motown label.[6] On January 25, 2012, it was announced that Ne-Yo would join the Motown label both as an artist as well as the new Senior Vice President of A&R.[29][30] On April 1, 2014, it was announced that Island Def Jam would no longer be running following the resignation of CEO Barry Weiss. A press release sent out by Universal Music Group announced that the label would now be reorganizing Def Jam Recordings, Island Records and Motown Records all as separate entities.[31] Motown would then begin serving as a subsidiary of Capitol Records.[32] In late 2018, Motown began celebrating its 60th anniversary by reissuing numerous albums from their catalog.

Motown UK launched in September 2020 under Universal UK's EMI Records (formerly Virgin EMI Records) division.[33]

Roster

See also: List of Motown artists

Current

Artists Year signed Releases (under the label) Notes
Erykah Badu 2000 6
Kem 2003 6
Ne-Yo 2012 5 Jointly with Compound
Lil Yachty 2016 8 Jointly with Quality Control Music and Capitol Records
Offset 2017 2 Jointly with YRN The Label (formerly with Quality Control Music and Capitol Records)
Quavo 3 Jointly with YRN The Label, Quality Control Music (formerly with Capitol Records)
Takeoff 2
Migos 2
City Girls 2018 2 Jointly with Quality Control Music and Capitol Records
Lil Baby[34] 4
Bree Runway 2019 1 Jointly with Motown UK and EMI
Layton Greene 1 Jointly with Quality Control
Emanuel[35] 2020 1 Jointly with Universal Music Canada
Joy Denalane 1
TheHxliday[36] 2
Ted When[37] 2 Jointly with Blacksmith Entertainment
Tiana Major9 3 Jointly with Zero Point Nine
Tiwa Savage 1 Jointly with Universal Music South Africa
Bankroll Freddie 2021 2 Jointly with Quality Control
Duke Deuce[38] 3
Vince Staples 2 Jointly with Blacksmith
Hd4president[39] 2 Jointly with The Affiliate Nation
Malachiii[40] 1 Jointly with You'll Find Out
DQ 1 Jointly with Puzzlepiece and Zoe Boi
Meechy Baby[41] 2 Jointly with Never Broke Again
Brandy[42] 2022 1 (singles) Jointly with Brand Nu
Diddy[43] 2 (singles) Jointly with Love Records
Lakeyah[44] 2 Jointly with Quality Control
Leon Thomas III[45] 3 (singles) Jointly with EZMNY Records
P Yungin[46] 2 Jointly with Never Broke Again
Smino[47] 2 Jointly with Zero Fatigue
YoungBoy Never Broke Again[48] 2023 3 Jointly with Never Broke Again
NOBY[49] 1 (singles)

Motown sound

Motown specialized in a type of soul music it referred to with the

back beat, prominent and often melodic electric bass-guitar lines, distinctive melodic and chord structures, and a call-and-response singing style that originated in gospel music. In 1971, Jon Landau wrote in Rolling Stone that the sound consisted of songs with simple structures but sophisticated melodies, along with a four-beat drum pattern, regular use of horns and strings, and "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".[51] Pop production techniques such as the use of orchestral string sections, charted horn sections, and carefully arranged background vocals were also used. Complex arrangements and elaborate, melismatic vocal riffs were avoided.[52] Motown producers believed steadfastly in the "KISS principle" (keep it simple, stupid).[53]

The Motown production process has been described as factory-like. The Hitsville studios remained open and active 22 hours a day, and artists would often go on tour for weeks, come back to Detroit to record as many songs as possible, and then promptly go on tour again. Berry Gordy held quality control meetings every Friday morning, and used veto power to ensure that only the very best material and performances would be released. The test was that every new release needed to fit into a sequence of the top five selling pop singles of the week. Several tracks that later became critical and commercial favorites were initially rejected by Gordy, the two most notable being the Marvin Gaye songs "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" and "What's Going On". In several cases, producers would rework tracks in hopes of eventually getting them approved at a later Friday morning meeting, as producer Norman Whitfield did with "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" and the Temptations' "Ain't Too Proud to Beg".

Many of Motown's best-known songs, including all the early hits for

, and Gordy himself.

The style created by the Motown musicians was a major influence on several non-Motown artists of the mid-1960s, such as Dusty Springfield and the Foundations. In the United Kingdom, the Motown sound became the basis of the northern soul movement. Smokey Robinson said the Motown sound had little to do with Detroit:

People would listen to it, and they'd say, 'Aha, they use more bass. Or they use more drums.' Bullshit. When we were first successful with it, people were coming from Germany, France, Italy, Mobile, Alabama. From New York, Chicago, California. From everywhere. Just to record in Detroit. They figured it was in the air, that if they came to Detroit and recorded on the freeway, they'd get the Motown sound. Listen, the Motown sound to me is not an audible sound. It's spiritual, and it comes from the people that make it happen. What other people didn't realize is that we just had one studio there, but we recorded in Chicago, Nashville, New York, L.A.—almost every big city. And we still got the sound.[55]

The Funk Brothers

In addition to the songwriting process of the writers and producers, one of the major factors in the widespread appeal of Motown's music was Gordy's practice of using a highly-select and tight-knit group of studio musicians, collectively known as

Standing in the Shadows of Motown, which publicised the fact that these musicians "played on more number-one records than The Beatles, Elvis, The Rolling Stones, and The Beach Boys combined".[56] Ashford later played on Raphael Saadiq's 2008 album The Way I See It, whose recording and production were modelled after the Motown sound.[57]

Much of the Motown sound came from the use of overdubbed and duplicated instrumentation. Motown songs regularly featured two drummers instead of one (either overdubbed or in unison), as well as three or four guitar lines.[56] Bassist James Jamerson often played his instrument with only the index finger of his right hand, and created many of the basslines apparent on Motown songs such as "Up the Ladder to the Roof" by the Supremes.[56]

Artist development

Artist development was a major part of Motown's operations instituted by Berry Gordy. The acts on the Motown label were fastidiously groomed, dressed and choreographed for live performances. Motown artists were advised that their breakthrough into the white popular music market made them ambassadors for other African-American artists seeking broad market acceptance, and that they should think, act, walk and talk like royalty, so as to alter the less-than-dignified image commonly held of black musicians by white Americans in that era.

Jr. Walker and Marvin Gaye
were exempt from artist-development classes.

Many of the young artists participated in an annual package tour called the "Motortown Revue", which was popular, first, on the "Chitlin' Circuit", and, later, around the world. The tours gave the younger artists a chance to hone their performance and social skills and learn from the more experienced artists.

Motown subsidiary labels

In order to avoid accusations of payola should DJs play too many records from the original Tamla label, Gordy formed Motown Records as a second label in 1960. The two labels featured the same writers, producers and artists.

Many more subsidiary labels were established later under the umbrella of the Motown parent company, including Gordy Records, Soul Records and VIP Records; in reality the Motown Record Corporation controlled all of these labels. Most of the distinctions between Motown labels were largely arbitrary, with the same writers, producers and musicians working on all the major subsidiaries, and artists were often shuffled between labels for internal marketing reasons. All of these records are usually considered to be "Motown" records, regardless of whether they actually appeared on the Motown Records label itself.

Major divisions

One of Tamla Motown logos
  • Tamla Motown Records: Motown's non-
    US label, established in March 1965 and folded into the regular Motown label in 1976. Distributed by EMI, Tamla Motown issued the releases on the American Motown labels, using its own numbering system. In some cases, Tamla Motown would issue singles and albums not released in the United States (for example, the singles "I Second That Emotion" and "Why (Must We Fall in Love)" by Diana Ross & the Supremes with the Temptations, as well as the successful Motown Chartbusters
    series of albums).

Secondary R&B labels

Additional genre labels

Country

  • Mel-o-dy Records.: Established in 1962 as a secondary R&B/soul music subsidiary, Mel-o-dy later focused on white country music artists. Notable Mel-o-dy artists include Dorsey Burnette. The label was dissolved in 1965.
  • Hitsville Records.: Founded as Melodyland Records in 1974. After the Melodyland Christian Center threatened legal action, the name was changed to Hitsville in 1976. Like Mel-o-dy before it, Hitsville focused on country music. Run by Mike Curb and Ray Ruff, Hitsville's notable artists included Ronnie Dove, Pat Boone, T. G. Sheppard and Jud Strunk. The label was dissolved in 1977.[64] In the UK, Melodyland/Hitsville material was released on MoWest.
  • M.C. Records: Operated 1977 to 1978 as a continuation of the Hitsville label. A joint venture between Gordy and Mike Curb.[65] The Mel-o-dy, Hitsville, and M.C. catalogs are now managed by Mercury Nashville Records.

Hip hop/rap

Jazz

  • Workshop Jazz Records.: Motown's jazz subsidiary, active from 1962 to 1964. Notable Workshop Jazz artists included the George Bohannon Trio, Earl Washington All Stars, and Four Tops (whose recordings for the label went unissued for 30 years). The Workshop Jazz catalog is currently managed by Verve Records.
  • Blaze Records.: A short-lived label featuring a Jack Ashford instrumental released in September 1969, "Do The Choo-Choo" with b-side "Do The Choo-Choo Pt II" written by L. Chandler, E. Willis, J. Ashford, with label number 1107.
  • Mo Jazz Records.: Another jazz label created in the 1990s, this was Motown's most successful jazz imprint. Notable artists included Norman Brown, Foley, Norman Connors, and J. Spencer. It also reissued instrumental albums like Stevie Wonder's 1968 album Eivets Rednow and Grover Washington Jr.'s CTI/Kudu albums under the Classic Mo Jazz subsidiary. This label (including its roster and catalog) was folded into Verve Records after the PolyGram/Universal merger.

Rock

  • Rare Earth Records.: Established in 1969 after the signing of
    the Rustix
    .
  • Prodigal Records.: Purchased by Motown in 1976, Motown used Prodigal Records as a second rock music subsidiary; a successor label to Rare Earth Records.
    I've Never Been To Me
    was originally released and charted on this label in 1977 (#97). Prodigal was dissolved in 1978.
  • Morocco Records.: Acronym for "MOtown ROCk COmpany". As the name suggests, Morocco was a rock music subsidiary. Active from 1983 to 1984, it was a short-lived attempt to revive the Rare Earth Records concept. Only seven albums were released on the label. Its two most promising acts,
    black new wave trio Tiggi Clay (via their lead singer, Fizzy Qwick
    ) eventually moved to the parent label.

Other

Independent labels distributed by Motown

  • 702
    .
  • Chisa Records: Motown released output for Chisa, a label owned by Hugh Masekela, from 1969 to 1972 (prior to that, the label was distributed by Vault Records).
  • Sony Music Entertainment
    .
  • Ecology Records: A very short-lived label owned by Sammy Davis Jr. and distributed by Motown. Only release: single "In My Own Lifetime"/"I'll Begin Again", by Davis in 1971.
  • Gull Records: A UK-based label still in operation, Motown released Gull's output in the US in 1975. Gull had Judas Priest on its roster in 1975, but their LP Sad Wings of Destiny, intended for release by Motown in the US, was issued after the Motown/Gull Deal had fallen through.
  • Manticore Records: A record label created by the members of the rock group Emerson, Lake & Palmer. Manticore released albums by ELP and various other Progressive rock artists. Manticore was originally distributed in the U.S. by Atlantic Records from 1973 to 1975 but switched to Motown distribution until the label folded in 1977.
  • Never Broke Again: A record label founded by YoungBoy Never Broke Again. The label releases compilation albums and has its own artists signed to the Motown/NBA imprint.

Miscellaneous labels associated with Motown

British (pre-Tamla Motown) labels

  • London American Records
    issued the releases for Motown from 1960 to 1961.
  • Fontana Records issued the releases for Motown from 1961 to 1962.
  • Oriole American Records issued the releases for Motown from 1962 to 1963.
  • Stateside Records issued the releases for Motown from 1963 to 1965, when the Tamla Motown label was created.

See also

References

Citations

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  2. ^ a b Cruz, Gilbert (January 12, 2009). "A Brief History of Motown". Time. Archived from the original on February 5, 2021. Retrieved October 15, 2016.
  3. ^ "History – Classic Motown". Motown Records. Archived from the original on January 11, 2017. Retrieved October 15, 2016.
  4. .
  5. ^ a b "Ethiopia Habtemariam Named Senior Vice President of Motown Records". Billboard.biz. August 10, 2011. Archived from the original on January 4, 2013. Retrieved December 12, 2011.
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  9. ^ Millman, Ethan (March 8, 2021). "Ethiopia Habtemariam, Motown Records' New CEO, on Recentering Black Music in Culture". Rolling Stone.
  10. Variety
    .
  11. ^ Flory, p. 24.
  12. ^ Flory, p. 25.
  13. ^ "Motown Museum". Motown Museum. August 24, 2011. Archived from the original on October 18, 2012. Retrieved December 12, 2011.
  14. ^ a b Flory, p. 26.
  15. ^ .
  16. ^ a b Flory, p. 27.
  17. ^ Flory, p. 28.
  18. ^ a b Flory, p. 29.
  19. ^ Flory, p. 31.
  20. ^ . Retrieved July 28, 2023. Many of Rare Earth's groups, including a popular band called Rare Earth, explored heavy blues-oriented and progressive rock styles.
  21. ^ Ron Thibodeaux, "My Smokey Valentine", The Times-Picayune (New Orleans, La.), February 14, 2009.
  22. ^ a b "The Motown Mansion!". Motownmansion.com. Archived from the original on August 22, 2011. Retrieved December 12, 2011.
  23. The Los Angeles Times
    . Retrieved January 29, 2023.
  24. from the original on December 14, 2021. Retrieved March 9, 2019 – via Google Books.
  25. ^ "Company – De Passe Jones Entertainment". Home – De Passe Jones Entertainment. Archived from the original on May 8, 2019. Retrieved March 9, 2019.
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  29. ^ Williams, Brennan (January 25, 2012). "Ne-Yo Leaves Def Jam For Motown Records". Huffington Post. Archived from the original on February 7, 2012. Retrieved March 2, 2012.
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  34. ^ "Drip Harder" – via music.apple.com.
  35. ^ "Need You" – via music.apple.com.
  36. ^ "Broken Halls" – via music.apple.com.
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Print sources

  • Flory, Andrew (2017). I Hear a Symphony: Motown and Crossover R&B. University of Michigan Press. .

Further reading

External links