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The music of Michigan is composed of many different types. The city of Detroit has been one of the most musically influential and innovative cities for the past 50 years, whether in Michigan or anywhere else in the United States. Impressively, for 48 straight years (1959 and 2007) a greater Michigan area artist has produced a chart topping recording. Michigan is perhaps best-known for three developments: early punk rock, Motown/soul music and techno music.
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Blues
Detroit has had a thriving blues scene (see Detroit blues) for some time, including most famously John Lee Hooker.
Soul
Detroit's Motown Records dominated soul music for many years. Musicians included Stevie Wonder, The Temptations, Aretha Franklin, Diana Ross, Marvin Gaye, Martha & the Vandellas, Smokey Robinson, Mary Wells and The Supremes. The Jackson 5 who also recorded on Motown were from Gary, Indiana, just a few miles from the Michigan border. Led by Berry Gordy, Motown revolutionized soul and made Detroit one of the American centers of musical innovation. Although many who have never lived in the region incorrectly associate certain music from Michigan as being Detroit-oriented, Motown's productions were, in reality, among the limited number of recorded works actually linked to the city itself. A great many Motown recordings originated in the city, and many Motown artists were from the city of Detroit, or migrated to the immediate area.
Electronic Music
Techno was primarily developed in basement studios by "The Belleville Three", a cadre of African-American men, Derrick May, Kevin Saunderson, and Juan Atkins, who were attending college, at the time, near Detroit, Michigan. Influenced heavily by George Clinton's Parliament-Funkadelic, Germany's Kraftwerk and the house music coming out of Chicago at the time, they created a new genre of percussive, entirely synthetic electronic dance music.
In the 1990s, a fusion of Miami bass, techno, and hip-hop called ghettotech arose in Detroit. Some notable artists were DJ Assault and DJ Godfather. Since May 2000, Detroit has also been the home of the hugely popular Detroit Electronic Music Festival and related festivals.
Pop
1960s pop-rock singer Del Shannon came from Coopersville.
Singer Madonna, born Madonna Ciccone in Bay City, Michigan, later living in the Rochester MI area, rose to be considered the "Queen of Pop" by many. Her long career began in the early 1980s and she continues to top charts today.
Rock
Detroit was a center of the 1960s garage rock scene, with such legendary bands as The Amboy Dukes (featuring guitarist Ted Nugent), The Bob Seger System, ? and the Mysterians, the MC5, and Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels. In the 1970s, Bob Seger, Ted Nugent, Alice Cooper, and Grand Funk Railroad (from Flint, Michigan) were popular rock stars. However, the 'Detroit rock' label has been applied in recent years by those who have not lived in the area and know little about the music or its origins, as so many Michigan musicians—including Stevie Wonder, Del Shannon, the Rationals and others—were not from the city of Detroit or its suburbs. It is a misnomer not used by native Michigan music fans.
In the late 1960s and early 1970s], punk rock pioneers like MC5 and The Stooges (including Iggy Pop, born in Muskegon, MI) came from southeastern Michigan. These performers had incendiary lyrics and outrageous, highly physical live shows. ? and the Mysterians, who had a chart-topping 1966 hit with "96 Tears," (#1 on Billboard's chart) are widely credited as influencing many later garage-punk bands; the Mysterians' sound melded Tex-Mex influences and James Brown-style soul.
The Hideout teen clubs in the Detroit suburbs in the mid-1960s were a hotbed for such influential groups as the Fugitives, the Pleasure Seekers, and the Underdogs.
The "new wave" original rock scene of the late 1970s included vinyl record releases by the film-influenced Cinecyde, whose label Tremor Records released singles, EPs, and LPs by the group and many other local, like-minded artists. The Ann Arbor-based group Destroy All Monsters began as an art-oriented experimental group but soon evolved into a hard rock band with a psychedelic edge, prominently due to the presence of Ron Asheton (the Stooges) and Michael Davis (MC5). Vocalist Niagara, a founding group member, would also gain notoriety for her film noir-influenced graphic pop art in later years.
Romeo, MI native Kid Rock blew up in 1999 on his album "Devil Without A Cause". Although he began as a rapper over the years he's turned himself into a cross of his Detroit native heroes Bob Seger and Ted Nugent.
East Lansing band The Verve Pipe rose to brief stardom in the late 1990s with the hit "Freshmen". Recent years have seen a revival of the Detroit garage rock sound, typified by bands such as The White Stripes, The Von Bondies, and The Detroit Cobras.
Hardcore
In the 70s, Detroit had a small New Wave scene that included The Romantics and Sonic's Rendezvous Band, who played at a converted bowling alley called Bookie's. The hardcore punk scene had arrived by 1981, and included Detroit bands Negative Approach and Degenerates[1], as well as Necros (Maumee, Ohio), Violent Apathy[2] & Spite (Kalamazoo, Michigan[3] and Meatmen and Crucifucks (Lansing, Michigan). Tesco Vee, of the Meatmen, launched the first Midwest hardcore record label, Touch & Go[1]. Tesco also helped form an alliance between the Detroit scene and Minor Threat and other Washington, D.C. bands (see Music of Washington, D.C.)[4].[2]
Hip hop
The Michigan hip hop scene saw its genesis in the mid 1980s with a team of artists from Grand Rapids, Michigan such as Robert $ aka HellRazor, the first Michigan hip hop artist signed to a major recording label (Epic records), and Euro-K (Profile records). IceMan Ja recorded Michigan's first national hip hop dance hit called "Dance Transformer". Rhun Girl Run, a female trio, and The New Concept were two other early Michigan acts.[citation needed]
Awesome Dre and the Hard Core Committee along with Prince Vince and the Hip Hop Force were amongst the first wave of Detroit artists. AWOL (not to be confused with AWOL one); Smiley, a female soloist; Kaos & Mystro; and Esham followed. Undoubtedly, Michigan's most famous hip hop star is Eminem. Also from Detroit is his group D-12; an artist now under his label, Obie Trice; and a former associate,
Neighboring Flint, Michigan made significant contributions to hip hop throughout the 1990s with artists like MC Breed, Top Authority and The Dayton Family.[citation needed]
Notable artists
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See also
- Music of Detroit, Michigan
- The 100 greatest Detroit songs ever!
- The Detroit Dish:: motorcityrocks.com
References
- Blush, Steven (2001). American Hardcore: A Tribal History. Los Angeles, CA: Feral House. ISBN 0-92291-571-7.
- ^ Nelson, Jason."Degenerates (Online Band Profile / Biography)". stereokiller.com (website).
- ^ Sauter, Cale (June 20, 2007). "Michigan hardcore pioneers Violent Apathy reunite for shows". City Pulse. http://www.lansingcitypulse.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1148.
- ^ Nelson, Jason. "Spite (Online Band Profile & Biography)". stereokiller.com (website).
- ^ Rettman, Tony (2008). "Michigan hardcore pioneers Violent Apathy reunite for shows". Swindle (issue 12). http://swindlemagazine.com/issue12/detroit-hardcore/.
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