Post by ClassicSoul on Jan 23, 2006 19:44:20 GMT -5
Glories of Motown sound still echo at Hitsville USA
May 11, 1988
BY MIKE DUFFY
Free Press staff writer
Achilly wind is whipping around. The sky is gray.
Not exactly the sort of day to be standing around outdoors on a lawn on West Grand Blvd. But here I am, next door to the James H. Cole Home for Funerals, staring with dizzy delight at the imposing green and gold marker for Michigan Registered Historic Site No. 592.
"MOTOWN," says the single magic word at the top of the historic marker.
The marker sits on the lawn in front of the bright blue-and- white house with the Hitsville U.S.A. logo across the front, the original offices and studios for Berry Gordy's Motown Records.
There is a slap-happy grin on my face, and it won't go away. And the music in my head keeps getting sweeter.
"What key, what key?!"
Little Stevie Wonder is at full woogum boogum tilt inside my bop noggin doing "Fingertips Part II." And then the Contours ("Do you luvvvve me, now that I can dance? Watch me now, hey ...). And Martha and the Vandellas ("Jimmy Mack, ohhhhh Jimmmmay ..."). And the Temptations ("Your smile's so bright, you could've been a candle.").
Whoa. Slow down. Drifting through time, I almost float all the way back to my first joyous meeting with "Please Mr. Postman," the Marvelettes' tune to which I perfected my best mashed potato moves.
Earth to Mike, earth to Mike. Let's get back to present reality.
This is great: An imposing historic site marker that actually mentions "Shop Around" and "Money (That's What I Want)," while also supplying bits of elemental Motown history.
Like the fact Berry Gordy started the company that got the whole world dancing with an $800 loan from his parents back in 1959.
Inside Hitsville USA, which is now officially known as the Motown Historical Museum, you can even see Gordy's $800 promissory note on the family loan deal. Obviously, for any card-carrying baby boomer, a pilgrimage to Hitsville USA is a holy mojo experience.
I feel chills as I walk into the legendary Studio A in the back of Hitsville, the place where all of the classic first generation Motown hits were recorded.
And the chills are magnified as I look at the grand piano off to one side, the piano that was played by Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson, Marvin Gaye and so many others. Ooh, baby, baby.
True, the Motown Museum is a decidedly modest affair. Even disappointing.
So far, millions have not exactly been lavished upon preserving the Motown heritage and memorabilia. That's most unfortunate.
Money, that's what they need, Berry Gordy.
Easier said than done. Motown Records and Gordy himself have no official link to the museum, which is a wholly separate entity operated by the non-profit Motown Museum Historical Foundation.
But museum founder and President Esther Gordy Edwards, Berry Gordy's sister, remains dedicated to honoring that Hitsville USA heritage.
"People from around the world show up here, and they treat the ground like holy ground," Edwards said. "It's a living history ...It's Detroit history, and it's Michigan history. The Motown sound really had an impact around the world."
There are plans for expanding the museum and its staff. An application to the city for a $75,000 Neighborhood Opportunity Grant has been made. And there is the hope that some of Motown's greatest stars from the past -- including Michael Jackson -- will eventually make significant contributions to the museum.
Walking through the halls of Hitsville, looking at the gold records, album covers and photos that line the walls, you can feel a loving sense of this precious Detroit chapter in musical history.
Frankly, I am in a sublime Motown trance.
And just as I gaze in wonderment at the gold record Marvin Gaye received in 1968 for "I Heard It Through the Grapevine," the sounds of that Big Chill anthem emeritus echo up from downstairs. At the souvenir counter, I make the pilgrimage official with the purchase of an old Martha and the Vandellas fan club button.
It's still chilly outside. But Motown love, as always, is like a heat wave in my heart.
May 11, 1988
BY MIKE DUFFY
Free Press staff writer
Achilly wind is whipping around. The sky is gray.
Not exactly the sort of day to be standing around outdoors on a lawn on West Grand Blvd. But here I am, next door to the James H. Cole Home for Funerals, staring with dizzy delight at the imposing green and gold marker for Michigan Registered Historic Site No. 592.
"MOTOWN," says the single magic word at the top of the historic marker.
The marker sits on the lawn in front of the bright blue-and- white house with the Hitsville U.S.A. logo across the front, the original offices and studios for Berry Gordy's Motown Records.
There is a slap-happy grin on my face, and it won't go away. And the music in my head keeps getting sweeter.
"What key, what key?!"
Little Stevie Wonder is at full woogum boogum tilt inside my bop noggin doing "Fingertips Part II." And then the Contours ("Do you luvvvve me, now that I can dance? Watch me now, hey ...). And Martha and the Vandellas ("Jimmy Mack, ohhhhh Jimmmmay ..."). And the Temptations ("Your smile's so bright, you could've been a candle.").
Whoa. Slow down. Drifting through time, I almost float all the way back to my first joyous meeting with "Please Mr. Postman," the Marvelettes' tune to which I perfected my best mashed potato moves.
Earth to Mike, earth to Mike. Let's get back to present reality.
This is great: An imposing historic site marker that actually mentions "Shop Around" and "Money (That's What I Want)," while also supplying bits of elemental Motown history.
Like the fact Berry Gordy started the company that got the whole world dancing with an $800 loan from his parents back in 1959.
Inside Hitsville USA, which is now officially known as the Motown Historical Museum, you can even see Gordy's $800 promissory note on the family loan deal. Obviously, for any card-carrying baby boomer, a pilgrimage to Hitsville USA is a holy mojo experience.
I feel chills as I walk into the legendary Studio A in the back of Hitsville, the place where all of the classic first generation Motown hits were recorded.
And the chills are magnified as I look at the grand piano off to one side, the piano that was played by Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson, Marvin Gaye and so many others. Ooh, baby, baby.
True, the Motown Museum is a decidedly modest affair. Even disappointing.
So far, millions have not exactly been lavished upon preserving the Motown heritage and memorabilia. That's most unfortunate.
Money, that's what they need, Berry Gordy.
Easier said than done. Motown Records and Gordy himself have no official link to the museum, which is a wholly separate entity operated by the non-profit Motown Museum Historical Foundation.
But museum founder and President Esther Gordy Edwards, Berry Gordy's sister, remains dedicated to honoring that Hitsville USA heritage.
"People from around the world show up here, and they treat the ground like holy ground," Edwards said. "It's a living history ...It's Detroit history, and it's Michigan history. The Motown sound really had an impact around the world."
There are plans for expanding the museum and its staff. An application to the city for a $75,000 Neighborhood Opportunity Grant has been made. And there is the hope that some of Motown's greatest stars from the past -- including Michael Jackson -- will eventually make significant contributions to the museum.
Walking through the halls of Hitsville, looking at the gold records, album covers and photos that line the walls, you can feel a loving sense of this precious Detroit chapter in musical history.
Frankly, I am in a sublime Motown trance.
And just as I gaze in wonderment at the gold record Marvin Gaye received in 1968 for "I Heard It Through the Grapevine," the sounds of that Big Chill anthem emeritus echo up from downstairs. At the souvenir counter, I make the pilgrimage official with the purchase of an old Martha and the Vandellas fan club button.
It's still chilly outside. But Motown love, as always, is like a heat wave in my heart.
