| rdfs:comment | - Motown
* Roosevelt Sullivan
* Rory Sandoval (possible related to Sandoval a fixer from Privateer)
- Headquarters: Detroit, MI Founded: 1959
* R&B
* Soul
* Funk
* Rap
* Rock
* Country
- Motown was the nickname of a survivor of the 2002 global T-virus pandemic.
- Motown played an important role in the racial integration of popular music, as it was the first record label owned by an African American to primarily feature African-American artists who achieved crossover success. In the 1960s, Motown and its soul-based subsidiaries were the most successful proponents of what came to be known as The Motown Sound, a style of soul music with a distinct pop influence.
- Motown is a record label that originated in Detroit (hence the name, a contraction of Motortown) in 1959 and moved to Los Angeles in 1972. The founder, Berry Gordy Jr., had started his career writing the successful Lonely Teardrops for Jackie Wilson, but decided that his own label would be more profitable. At first, he set up two labels (Tamla and Motown) in order to avoid the kind of payola accusations (i.e. playing too many records released by the same company) that had destroyed the career of Alan Freed. Its first hit was Barrett Strong's Money (later successfully covered by the Flying Lizards), although they often had to issue records under subsidiary labels for reasons already stated (for example, the Supremes' first releases in the UK were on Stateside).
|
| abstract | - Motown played an important role in the racial integration of popular music, as it was the first record label owned by an African American to primarily feature African-American artists who achieved crossover success. In the 1960s, Motown and its soul-based subsidiaries were the most successful proponents of what came to be known as The Motown Sound, a style of soul music with a distinct pop influence. Motown has owned or distributed releases from more than 45 subsidiaries in varying genres, although it is most famous for its releases in the music genres of rhythm and blues, soul, hip hop and pop. Motown Records left Detroit for Los Angeles in 1972, and remained an independent company until June 28, 1988, when Gordy sold the company to MCA and Boston Ventures (which took over full ownership of Motown in 1991), then to PolyGram in 1994.
- Motown is a record label that originated in Detroit (hence the name, a contraction of Motortown) in 1959 and moved to Los Angeles in 1972. The founder, Berry Gordy Jr., had started his career writing the successful Lonely Teardrops for Jackie Wilson, but decided that his own label would be more profitable. At first, he set up two labels (Tamla and Motown) in order to avoid the kind of payola accusations (i.e. playing too many records released by the same company) that had destroyed the career of Alan Freed. Its first hit was Barrett Strong's Money (later successfully covered by the Flying Lizards), although they often had to issue records under subsidiary labels for reasons already stated (for example, the Supremes' first releases in the UK were on Stateside). The label name was also used generically to refer to its distinctive sound: soul with a leaning to pop, complex basslines, a tambourine to accentuate the beat, and stratospheric vocal lines underpinned by backing singers, a technique that owed more than a little to gospel. The management worked their signings hard, and mixed lengthy recording sessions with gruelling tours, but emphasised the family aspect of the organisation and made household names of its acts (many of whom had been plucked from poverty to be groomed for stardom). on both sides of the Atlantic. The 60s saw a constant string of classic singles that were profitably issued, reissued and compiled onto the long-running Motown Chartbusters LP series. The move to California alienated some on its roster, who elected to stay in Detroit: this also lost Motown its winning songwriting team of Holland-Dozier-Holland. However, on the move to the West Coast, the company branched out into the film industry: its premier diva Diana Ross made highly lucrative soundtrack tie-ins in Lady Sings The Blues, Mahogany and The Wiz. It was only in the 80s that Motown started losing money and was sold and re-sold to a succession of labels. Nevertheless, its peerless back catalogue has ensured a continuous stream of funds and it has recently been reactivated with new names. Only Stevie Wonder remains from its heyday in the 60s.
- Motown
* Roosevelt Sullivan
* Rory Sandoval (possible related to Sandoval a fixer from Privateer)
- Headquarters: Detroit, MI Founded: 1959
* R&B
* Soul
* Funk
* Rap
* Rock
* Country
- Motown was the nickname of a survivor of the 2002 global T-virus pandemic.
|
