what is motown?
Motown Records was the first Black Record Label in the United States, and also later became its own genre of music. It started as a Rhythm and Blues Label, with legendary artists such as Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, the Supremes, and Marvin Gaye. Its music reigned through the late 50's through the 80's, reaching its height during the Civil Rights Movement. Motown Music became the sound of the Civil Rights Era, and was the biggest "cultural bridge" between blacks and whites.
Motown started as Tamla Records in Detroit, Michigan, by Barry Gordy, and later changed its name to Motown, inspired by the nickname of Detroit, "Motor-Town". Motown started by recording mainstream R&B Music, but later evolved into a hybrid between Soul and R&B, and named this sound as the "Motown Sound" or "The Sound of Young America". The common Motown song consisted of an upbeat rhythm in a 2/4 shuffle or a solid 4/4 beat. The lyrics consistently contained romantic subjects, of love won and lost. Although it was considered as the sound of the Civil Rights Movement, it rarely contained lyrics involving Civil Equality, however, Motown did create recordings of many of Dr. Martin Luther King's preaches, including his March on Washington "I have a Dream" speech.
Throughout this website, you can find examples of the Motown Sound through "Click-to-Play" buttons containing examples of popular Motown Singles.
http://oldies.about.com/od/soulmotown/g/motown.htm
Motown started as Tamla Records in Detroit, Michigan, by Barry Gordy, and later changed its name to Motown, inspired by the nickname of Detroit, "Motor-Town". Motown started by recording mainstream R&B Music, but later evolved into a hybrid between Soul and R&B, and named this sound as the "Motown Sound" or "The Sound of Young America". The common Motown song consisted of an upbeat rhythm in a 2/4 shuffle or a solid 4/4 beat. The lyrics consistently contained romantic subjects, of love won and lost. Although it was considered as the sound of the Civil Rights Movement, it rarely contained lyrics involving Civil Equality, however, Motown did create recordings of many of Dr. Martin Luther King's preaches, including his March on Washington "I have a Dream" speech.
Throughout this website, you can find examples of the Motown Sound through "Click-to-Play" buttons containing examples of popular Motown Singles.
http://oldies.about.com/od/soulmotown/g/motown.htm