Motown Records

Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: Motown

U.S. recording company that gave its name to the hugely popular style of soul music that it created in the 1960s. It was founded in Detroit, Mich., in 1959 by the songwriter Berry Gordy, Jr. (b. 1929). (Motown, a contraction of "Motor Town," refers to Detroit's automotive industry.) It scored its first nationwide hits with "Shop Around" (1960) by the Miracles (see Smokey Robinson) and "Please Mr. Postman" (1961) by the Marvelettes. Its roster soon included the Temptations, the Four Tops, the Supremes, Marvin Gaye, and Stevie Wonder. The songwriting team Holland-Dozier-Holland (see Brian and Eddie Holland) helped create the "Motown sound," which typically featured lyrical ballads sung to an infectiously rhythmic accompaniment. Motown became one of the most successful black-owned businesses and one of the most influential independent record companies in U.S. history. Later Motown names included the Isley Brothers, Gladys Knight and the Pips, and, in 1969, the Jackson 5 (see Michael Jackson). Motown continued to produce best-selling recordings by new artists such as Lionel Richie into the 1980s. Gordy moved the company headquarters to Los Angeles in 1971, and he finally sold the label to MCA in 1988.

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Hoover's Profile: Motown Records

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Contact Information

Motown Records
1755 Broadway
New York, NY 10019
NY Tel. 212-373-0750
Fax 212-489-9096

Type: Business Segment
On the web: http://www.motown.com

This label once made the Motor City a music Mecca. No longer located in Detroit, Motown Records (which also does business as Universal Motown Records Group) is one of the best known R&B record labels in the world, with a back catalog that includes such legends as the Commodores, the Four Tops, Marvin Gaye, the Jackson 5, Smokey Robinson, and the Supremes. The label continues charting new R&B territory with such current artists as Erykah Badu, Brian McKnight, Kem, Q-Tip, and Stevie Wonder. Founded in 1959 as Tamla Records by Berry Gordy Jr., Motown operates today as part of Universal Music Group.

Officers:
Chairman and CEO: Mel Lewinter
President: Sylvia Rhone
Director Publicity: Kimberly Harris

Competitors:
Atlantic Records
Columbia Records
Tommy Boy

Music Encyclopedia: Motown

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A style of recorded soul music originated by the Motown Corporation of Detroit in the early 1960s. It made black popular music acceptable to white audiences for the first time through sophisticated arrangements and a muting of the more vigorous characteristics of African-American music and performing practices.

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motown records

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	Gordy, Berry, Jr. (American music producer)
	Blinky (Rhythm & Blues Artist, '60s)
	Blake & Hines (Rhythm & Blues Band, '80s)

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		Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 2006 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more
		Hoover's Profile. ©2008 Hoover's, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more
		Music Encyclopedia. The Concise Grove Dictionary of Music. Copyright © 1994 by Oxford University Press, Inc.. All rights reserved. Read more