Post by ClassicSoul on Dec 26, 2005 16:36:09 GMT -5
This is an older article, but it's very nice.
Motown Memories
Chicago Sun-Times, Sep 30, 2001 by
Dave Hoekstra
DETROIT--What's going on? Several weeks before the terrorist attacks on America I drove to Detroit to see the Motown Historical Museum. Motown was and always will be "The Sound of Young America." The pure polish and general innocence of the Motown sound has given it the power of reinvention, from "The Big Chill" soundtrack to the perennial Michael Jackson specials.
Suddenly America isn't so young anymore.
Smokey Robinson's "The Tracks of My Tears" cuts deeper. Marvin Gaye's "What's Goin' On" is more profound than when it was released 30 years ago this year. Who would have thought that could happen? The Temptations' "Get Ready" has become a battle cry.
The great thing about driving around America is how it gives you time to reflect. I rolled out of Chicago on I-94 past the blueberry crops near St. Joseph, the speckled dairy fields outside Kalamazoo and the deep green forests near Ted Nugent's Concord. Truck-stop coffee kicked in. Smokey and the Miracles sang "I Gotta Dance To Keep From Crying'" on the cassette player. Like a magic carpet, the country was spinning under the tires of my car.
Motown founder Berry Gordy's dream was shaped by ideas he learned on the Lincoln-Mercury assembly line in Detroit. He started Tamla Records in 1959 with an $800 loan from his family savings club, the Ber-Berry Co-op.
Gordy began making money in music by co-writing the 1957 Jackie Wilson hit "Reet Petite" and Wilson's "Lonely Teardrops" in 1958. He first took out the loan to start a production company. In 1960 Gordy changed the Tamla company name to Motown, a word he created by combining "motor" with "town." When asked about starting Motown Records, Gordy answered, "They thought the Wright Brothers had a stupid idea, so I say, 'Bring on stupid ideas.' "
As the case with Stax Records in Memphis and the old Cobra Records buildings at 2854 and 3346 W. Roosevelt in Chicago, the 1968 riots obliterated most of the Motown neighborhood, east of downtown. By 1972 Gordy relocated Motown Records (and motion picture and television production) to Los Angeles. He sold the company in 1988.
But Gordy's sister, Esther Gordy Edwards, never left. Edwards didn't mind visiting Los Angeles, but she never wanted to live there. Edwards was personal manager for early Motown artists such as Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye and the Supremes--when they were teenagers.
Edwards is also founder of the Motown Museum, 2648 W. Grand Blvd. The museum was doing good business before the terrorist attacks, and now domestic tourism may pick up even more as people look for reasonable driving trips.
The museum is just part of Detroit's renaissance.
Detroit celebrates its 300th anniversary this year. The city was founded as a fur trading post on July 24, 1701, by Antonine de la Mothe Cadillac, who pegged it Ville D'etroit (City of the Strait).
It is an invigorating road trip. Detroit is coming straight back atcha'. Stevie Wonder visited Hitsville U.S.A. in mid-July when he was in town for a 300th anniversary homecoming concert. Ain't nothing like the real thing.
The Motown Museum is actually part of a district of seven Motown related homes that runs from 2648 W. Grand to 2457 Woodward. The museum is housed in the brick two-flat at 2648 W. Grand that Gordy purchased in 1959. Gordy lived upstairs.
Early records were made in a converted photography studio attached to the house. Gordy's apartment has been restored to its 1959-60 era, right down to the original master bedroom set and living room couch. Gordy confidently erected a huge blue and white sign on the front of the house. The sign read, "Hitsville U.S.A." By 1971 Motown was the largest grossing black-owned company in the United States.
The highlight of the museum is the Studio A, which features original Motown recording equipment. Only the carpeting on the steps which leads from a foyer into the studio has been replaced. The cigarette machine outside the studio still sells smokes for 35 cents.
The intimacy of the space creates uncanny accessibility. A half- dozen microphones stand at attention on an old oak floor. A three- piece drum set is encompassed by windowed plywood wall that created an echo effect. You can stand in the middle of the studio and imagine you're Marvin Gaye and/or Tammi Terrell singing "You're All I Need To Get By."
Continues in next post--
Motown Memories
Chicago Sun-Times, Sep 30, 2001 by
Dave Hoekstra
DETROIT--What's going on? Several weeks before the terrorist attacks on America I drove to Detroit to see the Motown Historical Museum. Motown was and always will be "The Sound of Young America." The pure polish and general innocence of the Motown sound has given it the power of reinvention, from "The Big Chill" soundtrack to the perennial Michael Jackson specials.
Suddenly America isn't so young anymore.
Smokey Robinson's "The Tracks of My Tears" cuts deeper. Marvin Gaye's "What's Goin' On" is more profound than when it was released 30 years ago this year. Who would have thought that could happen? The Temptations' "Get Ready" has become a battle cry.
The great thing about driving around America is how it gives you time to reflect. I rolled out of Chicago on I-94 past the blueberry crops near St. Joseph, the speckled dairy fields outside Kalamazoo and the deep green forests near Ted Nugent's Concord. Truck-stop coffee kicked in. Smokey and the Miracles sang "I Gotta Dance To Keep From Crying'" on the cassette player. Like a magic carpet, the country was spinning under the tires of my car.
Motown founder Berry Gordy's dream was shaped by ideas he learned on the Lincoln-Mercury assembly line in Detroit. He started Tamla Records in 1959 with an $800 loan from his family savings club, the Ber-Berry Co-op.
Gordy began making money in music by co-writing the 1957 Jackie Wilson hit "Reet Petite" and Wilson's "Lonely Teardrops" in 1958. He first took out the loan to start a production company. In 1960 Gordy changed the Tamla company name to Motown, a word he created by combining "motor" with "town." When asked about starting Motown Records, Gordy answered, "They thought the Wright Brothers had a stupid idea, so I say, 'Bring on stupid ideas.' "
As the case with Stax Records in Memphis and the old Cobra Records buildings at 2854 and 3346 W. Roosevelt in Chicago, the 1968 riots obliterated most of the Motown neighborhood, east of downtown. By 1972 Gordy relocated Motown Records (and motion picture and television production) to Los Angeles. He sold the company in 1988.
But Gordy's sister, Esther Gordy Edwards, never left. Edwards didn't mind visiting Los Angeles, but she never wanted to live there. Edwards was personal manager for early Motown artists such as Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye and the Supremes--when they were teenagers.
Edwards is also founder of the Motown Museum, 2648 W. Grand Blvd. The museum was doing good business before the terrorist attacks, and now domestic tourism may pick up even more as people look for reasonable driving trips.
The museum is just part of Detroit's renaissance.
Detroit celebrates its 300th anniversary this year. The city was founded as a fur trading post on July 24, 1701, by Antonine de la Mothe Cadillac, who pegged it Ville D'etroit (City of the Strait).
It is an invigorating road trip. Detroit is coming straight back atcha'. Stevie Wonder visited Hitsville U.S.A. in mid-July when he was in town for a 300th anniversary homecoming concert. Ain't nothing like the real thing.
The Motown Museum is actually part of a district of seven Motown related homes that runs from 2648 W. Grand to 2457 Woodward. The museum is housed in the brick two-flat at 2648 W. Grand that Gordy purchased in 1959. Gordy lived upstairs.
Early records were made in a converted photography studio attached to the house. Gordy's apartment has been restored to its 1959-60 era, right down to the original master bedroom set and living room couch. Gordy confidently erected a huge blue and white sign on the front of the house. The sign read, "Hitsville U.S.A." By 1971 Motown was the largest grossing black-owned company in the United States.
The highlight of the museum is the Studio A, which features original Motown recording equipment. Only the carpeting on the steps which leads from a foyer into the studio has been replaced. The cigarette machine outside the studio still sells smokes for 35 cents.
The intimacy of the space creates uncanny accessibility. A half- dozen microphones stand at attention on an old oak floor. A three- piece drum set is encompassed by windowed plywood wall that created an echo effect. You can stand in the middle of the studio and imagine you're Marvin Gaye and/or Tammi Terrell singing "You're All I Need To Get By."
Continues in next post--