Preview

The Temptations and Motown Music

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
589 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The Temptations and Motown Music
The Motown Museum in Detroit is truly a motivational part of America's history; it stood for another way for African American voices to be heard on a much greater scale both national and even world wide. Motown has become America's pop soul music for anyone and everyone. The birth of Motown music came to be in a small recording studio aptly named Hitsville, U.S.A. Barry Gordy, who came from a large middle class family had borrowed money in order. The main stage of Motown music came from a small house that had been remodeled into a recording studio, the name of the company was Hitsville, U.S.A. Mr. Gordy had gathered the best jazz and blues players in and Motown was born through his genius. This small but dynamic record company has produced and help make many stars that we all know today such as Diana Ross and the Supreme, The Temptations, Stevie Wonder, and more recently the Jackson 5, Boyz II Men , and Queen Latifah. It is very surprising that both the genre of Motown and Hitsville remind unharmed by racism for the most since Detroit has been historically known for severe racism and segregation. Hitsville U.S.A. was one of the first African American owned record companies, this was just one step in popularizing and taking a step for African's Americans many talents to become well known and chart topping. In the 1960s Motown had become a musical miracle; both whites and blacks sought this new and lively form of music to escape the turmoil that had engulfed many cities. Though many whites saw Motown as another form of pop music of the time African American saw it as a way to make decent money and to let their voice and opinions become heard, it offered them unprecedented freedom. Motown helped break down some racial barriers during this era. America during this era was one of gross racial stereotypes. Motown forced America to confront its own feelings about race, community, intolerance, justice and reality. Motown coincided with the emergence of the civil

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    In the summary of the book “America Divided: The Civil War of the 1960s” Maurice Isserman and Michael Kazin say that the 60s was a bad year for America because of three reasons which were black vs white, liberal vs conservative, and old vs young. They look at the 60s as “movements and issues that arose soon after the end of World War II” (Isserman). In this summary it is stated that one of the biggest issue during the 1960s was race. Many African Americans after World War II believed that they would have better lives in the north but they soon realized that that discrimination was not restricted to the south. In the middle of the 1960s a riot broke out which ended in horror and fear so instead of pretesting calmly and getting good results the blacks did not get good results. With the Vietnam war going on there was more horror and weakness in…

    • 531 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The sixties was a time in American society where the youth from the post-war baby boom era became teenagers and the young adults. The movement from the conservative fifties continued and eventually resulted in the revolutionary ways of thinking and change in the cultural of the American way of life. With an extreme admiration of no longer being an image of their predeceasing generation, young Americans wanted and demanded change. These changes affected education, values, laws, entertainment, and the way of life for several citizens around the country. As society, it is extremely important to understand that although the valiant efforts and impact that African American’s had, particularly in the 1950’s and 1960’s, in helping restructure American culture, many of the racist views of the past still play apart in American society. The 1950’s is often described as the calm before the storm of the 1960’s. During this time period, society was very much conformed to the views of conservative living. The desire for security during this era, reinforced by McCarthyism at home and the Korean War, created was known as the cold war culture. During the post WWII period in America, the face of the nation changed greatly under President Truman and Eisenhower. Because of extreme paranoia caused by Communism following WWII, conformity in the United States became an ideal way to distinguish American culture from the rest of the world.…

    • 3006 Words
    • 13 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Counter Culture Movement

    • 1113 Words
    • 5 Pages

    It was often associated with rebellion and a rebellious period, particularly among the youth population. Rock n Roll, first attempted by artists like Elvis Presley and Jimmie Hendrix in the early 1960’s, was unusual and was one of the first influences of the rebellious life style teenagers were seeking. The introduction of drugs and swearing in music, alike TV shows, In the modern era has changed the face of our music, and just about every song nowadays would be rejected in the 50’s and previous decades, including styles just like, rap. The music of that time explored the concerns and interests of the ongoing social changes and a number of social influences changed what popular music was and gave birth to the diversity that we experience with music today. Musicians experimented with what was considered “black music” which made more and more black musicians popular throughout the decade, reflecting the social issue of civil rights. That has had an effect in our era because, most popular artist are of an african-american culture. R&B, Rock n Roll were two popular genres in the mid 60’s, they promoted freedom which helped form the hippie movement, promoting freedom, sexual liberation and drug use as well as the rebel against previous norms. Although the style of music is different to the 60’s today, their are still a…

    • 1113 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Berry Gordy Jr. was born in Detroit, Michigan on November 28, 1929. He was the seventh born out of eight siblings. His parents migrated to Detroit from Georgia during 1922. They were part of a mass exodus of African Americans who left the South in the 20's and traveled to northern cities in search of better economic futures. During that time jobs were plentiful in the factories, mainly the big four automotive plants that like, Chrysler, Ford, Chevrolet, and General Motors. <br><br>Berry and Bertha Gordy would instill in Berry Jr. and his brothers and sisters a strong work ethic and a belief that anything could be achieved through persistence. His family also had deep roots in business. Berry Sr. owned a plastering and carpentry service, a general store, and a printing business. Gordy's family believed in the philosophy of Booker T. Washington, which stressed economic independence for blacks. Gordy Sr. named his store after him. Berry Gordy Jr. was heavily influenced by the ambition of his father.<br><br>Like his father, he was also very determined and he tried many new ventures. Berry was an average student who earned decent grades. Despite this he decided to drop out of Northeastern High School to peruse a featherweight boxing career. He once even fought on the same card as the great Joe Louis. He had a brief but successful series of fights but decided to give up boxing in 1951. That same year he would then decide to try out the Army. He served for two years during the Korean War; there he earned his high school equivalency diploma. <br><br>After his short stint in the army, he decided to open a record store, which only sold jazz records. Berry always enjoyed listening to records in his basement and he had a great love of music. Berry always hung around Detroit's popular nightspots to hear the bebop jazz sounds. He was able to see the performances of famous artists like pianist Thelonious Monk and saxophonist Charlie "Bird" Parker. Unfortunately, Berry's store…

    • 2512 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The British Invasion

    • 871 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Motown started as a Detroit-based record label in the late fifties and early sixties, but it quickly turned into much more as the acts gained popularity worldwide. Motown records consisted mainly of African-American groups, singers, songwriters and management and their musical and business success proved in breaking down the barriers of segregation and granted African-American performers and musicians a chance to appropriate much of the success that had been credited to white rock 'n' rollers and pop artists who had success in singing "black music" during the previous decade. Two of the most influential groups to come out of the Motown sound were Smokey Robinson and the Miracles and Diana Ross and the Supremes, both of which had as much chart success as any of the rock groups that dominated the airwaves during the sixties. The success of Motown also paved the way for R&B singers and groups who were not necessarily a part of the movement to also enjoy mainstream…

    • 871 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Haskins, James. Black Music in America: a History through Its People. 1st ed. New York: Harper Trophy, 1993.…

    • 1375 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    The sixties were a time of revolution for the rights of individuals in America. There were many historical events that took place that made this country what it is now. From the marches, sit-ins, bus boycotts, the African Americans saw the opportunity to fight for equal rights at a time when the country was looking to change. Poverty was high, especially with African Americans, and all the tension from the Cold War and Vietnam building started movements of people. The public opinion was different all around the country mostly in the south were the segregation was at it highest. The types of movements had changed from the late fifties to the sixties making the African Americans fighting for their freedom in a new way.…

    • 928 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Aretha Franklin

    • 974 Words
    • 4 Pages

    including Smokey Robinson knew the family and in the '50s Berry Gordy Jr. tried to sign…

    • 974 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    In 1961 Gordy then created a record label named Motown, a subsidiary of Tamla, which would perform the soul music that Gordy hoped to sell to America. As well as setting up Motown Gordy set up other subsidiaries such as Miracle, Mel-O-Dy, VIP, and Divinity. Ward (1998, p. 260) states that ‘this strategy was primarily designed to protect against the possible failure of individual labels.’ (Ward, 1998) This meant that for example if Divinity collapsed Motown could continue unaffected by the collapse. Furthermore, when the labels made a profit, they could support the other labels that were financially struggling. This led to Motown…

    • 1465 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Motown Music

    • 428 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Motown acts were enjoying a widespread popularity among black/white audiences alike where William “Smokey” Robinson stated “Into the '60s, I was still not of a frame of mind that we were not only making music, we were making history. But I did recognize the impact because acts were going all over the world at that time. I recognized the bridges that we crossed, the racial problems and the barriers that we broke down with music. I recognized that because I lived it. I would come to the South in the early days of Motown and the audiences would be segregated. Then they started to get the Motown music and we would go back and the audiences were integrated and the kids were dancing together and holding hands” Thus stating Motown’s cultural impact.…

    • 428 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    While a wide range of art forms were associated with the Civil Rights movement, music certainly had the most impact on its early stages as it was a medium by which many, namely those being oppressed, could express their disdain for the status quo. The musicians involved with the movement came from a mixture of backgrounds and the music served as a source of empowerment for those who shared similar sentiments with those performing it. Being that jazz and blues were popular genres during that time, it was often played at music clubs throughout the United States.…

    • 592 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Within William G. Roy's passage ‘‘Race records’’ and ‘‘hillbilly music’’: institutional origins of racial categories in the American commercial recording industry, Roy explores the relationship between cultural segregation and race and how they are deeply intertwined and are reciprocal relationships. Roy utilizes a plethora of rhetorical devices to showcase how homology among societal structures creates racial segregation in music and in turn how racial segregation also parallels the societal structures. Roy argues that the early music industry of America has created a great divide amongst races in America through the use of marketing ploys; making relatable music genres to the differing social structures at the time. However…

    • 263 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    In the 20th century, American societal norms and culture were beginning to change. Women were beginning to achieve higher education and a broader array of occupations that previously was unavailable to them, the government began to crack down hard on unsafe and unsanitary working conditions in industrial companies, the recent development of a new, exciting genre of music called rock and roll had swept the nation. Another prevalent occurrence during this period would be the rise of the fight for Civil Rights. Across the nation, people of colour were discriminated against and held at a lower tier than their Caucasian counterpart, and seen as inferior to them. This had continued for many years, until brave advocates decided to speak out against…

    • 1305 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The 60’s were a rockin’ time. Two record companies were rivals. They were Motown and Stax records. These two companies were big for their times. The two giants were big and had a lot of artists of great music play for them.…

    • 250 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Motown

    • 452 Words
    • 2 Pages

    As we progressed through discovering the art Motown, we start to notice patterns on some aspects of the Motown artists. The way they dress being a major one, as well as their style of dance movements, hand gestures, and facial expressions. The style of these well-known artist was iconic, most of the males wore matching suits with an unbuttoned collar. Females generally wore matching dresses with what we would consider today classic 60’s women’s hairstyle, with the straight fringe covering the forehead and a big bump on top of the head.…

    • 452 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays