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Motown Record History

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Michigan, the heart of urban industrialization, undertook a blend of progressing experimental music with the persistent oppression of African Americans socially and culturally. Because Michigan was at its height of economic profits from technologically advanced products, such as car motors, positions for blacks were difficult to achieve. As for entertainment in the music industry, the “history of black owned record labels had been marked by frustration, cynicism, and unfulfilled potential” (George 52). Berry Gordy, inspired by these influences, decided to introduce a new perspective on African American’s capabilities of creating music that would connect with troubling conflicts, locally and globally. Additionally, the existence of civil right movements influenced blacks to further strive for justice. Establishing Motown Records as an independent black label challenged the doubt existing throughout the community, yet appealed to audiences of different backgrounds, thus uniting Michigan into a society more inclined to give underrepresented groups a change to express their beliefs. (Ca. 1960-1970) By living in a dominantly white, conservative environment, Motown Records initiated a foundation for socio-cultural acceptance in the Michigan music industry which clashed with ongoing racial divisions within and outside of the company, yet followed …show more content…

Because Civil Rights Movements played a vital role in empowering the African Americans, Motown Records advocated for such actions and became equally as involved in hopes of strengthening the impacts of Civil Rights. Motown Records were highly accepting towards any aspiring individual who felt as if he/she desired to speak their mind and introduce a new perspective. However, there are numerous advantages and disadvantages to

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Although Motown did not start the civil rights movement or resolve any major problems in America, it definitely drew attention to the movement itself. For the first time in America, black artists were beating white artists in the charts and popularity. It was then that it became a lot harder for white people to justify their hatred towards the black population when they were listening to their music and watching them on tv. Although the lyrics of Motown were not dominated by pro-civil rights imagery, there were several songs such as Aretha Franklin's RESPECT that did help bring some attention to the cause (Motown: It’s True

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The artists attracted white people to their music which was only a step in the movement of whites starting to accept blacks in their communities. Berry Gordy made sure his artists were presentable and that their music would sell to the majority of the population. Whites started listening to Motown’s artists in their homes which helped with the acceptance because whites wanted to see these artists and actually listen to them even though they were black. “Gordy’s self-made ‘rags to riches’ story is a positive example among the usual bleak and unjust stories of African-Americans”(Motown). Berry Gordy used his label for not only music but for his community, he didn’t only care about the money he cared about others.

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Style File Preparation So for the styles exam we were given two options and they were Motown and Singer Songwriter, after listening to both tracks numerous times I felt that the Motown track was definitely the better one for me, typically I love the style of classic rock and the motown track was much closer to my comfort zone than the singer songwriter track I thought. The first time I listened to the motown track I could hear certain songs that I know such as "The Ronettes be my baby" in the intro and they would have been classed as R&B, Pop and Rock and Roll which is why I thought it was quite close to home for me. To get ready for the motown track I did some research on some of the artists in the genre such as Marvin Gaye, The Supremes and the Jackson Five, and what I mean by research is their vocal traits and how some differed from others, just listening to some of their vocals I could get an idea of how I

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