This blogger's first love in music was Motown. Then came Eurovision song contest. This summer I will be posting Motown stuff as the summer series. A few times Eurovision has flirted with the Motown sound as Motown has influenced Western pop music like nothing else. (Listen to The Beatles debut album for example!) And all those Motown artists choreographies?! How Eurovision styled are they?
Motown sound. The Detroit sound. The Funk Brothers. Holland-Dozier-Holland. Motown - the sound of young America. Berry Gordy's love child changed the music business and became the first ever cross over label that appealed to both blacks and whites. Hitsville U.S.A. A real hit factory. Along before Stock-Aitken-Waterman created something similar with PWLin the 1980´s in UK.
The Motown legacy is nspiration to many today's artists as well the foundation of the careers of many in the past decades. If this year's Eurovision song contest winner Salvador Sobral made an appeal for real music with feelings and emotions, that's exactly what Motown sound is. Most hits were recorded basicly live after a couple of rehearsal run throughs. Real emotions, mistakes and impurity included. That sound has kept its freshness and realness over the decades, unlike the modern records that sound dated already a couple of years later; steril and cold in all their technical perfection. Motown sound lives on.
Motown scored 57 US #1 singles. Back in the day when you had to actually get out, go to the store, buy the 7" vinyl and bring it home instead of just sitting at home at your laptop and push a download button. Too easy.
Motown was a family. Everybody supported each other, sung backing vocals in each others tracks and whoever was around during the recording was called to help in: clap your hands or take the boiler lid from the kitchen and join in the rhythm. Unique sounds were made, unique feelings.
The young American dream lasted from the late 1950's til late 1960's being a real hit factory. Things started changing in the 1970's and in the 1980's artists going solo from the previous bands like Diana Ross and Lionel Ritchie kept the Motown label in the charts. In the 1990's their last success story, Boys II Men scored hits but the Motown story seemed to come to an end and the label was sold to Universal. In 2011 the brand came alive again and started operating as original Motown brand again under Capitol Records.
But for most of us Motown means those 1960's hits and artists, and that's what I will be concentrating on. I hope you will enjoy the ride as much I will when working on these posts with these evergeens and the best music in the pop history.
Enjoy the summer with the sound of young America!
Comments