Motown is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on January 12, 1959, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of motor and town, has become a nickname for Detroit, where the label was originally headquartered.
Berry Gordy III, also known as Berry Gordy Jr., is an American retired record executive, record producer, songwriter, film producer and television producer. He is best known as the founder of the Motown record label and its subsidiaries, which was the highest-earning African-American business for decades.
The Funk Brothers were a group of Detroit-based session musicians who performed the backing to most Motown recordings from 1959 until the company moved to Los Angeles in 1972.
The Andantes were an American female session group for the Motown record label during the 1960s. Composed of Jackie Hicks, Marlene Barrow, and Louvain Demps, the group sang background vocals on numerous Motown recordings, including songs by Martha Reeves & the Vandellas, the Temptations, Stevie Wonder, the Four Tops, Jimmy Ruffin, Edwin Starr, the Supremes, the Marvelettes, Marvin Gaye and the Isley Brothers, among others. It is estimated they appeared on 20,000 recordings.
The Supremes A' Go-Go is the ninth studio album released by Motown singing group the Supremes. It was the first album by an all-female group to reach number-one on the Billboard 200 album charts in the United States.
Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever is a 1983 television special, produced by Suzanne de Passe for Motown, to commemorate its 25th anniversary. The program was taped before a live audience at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium in Pasadena, California on March 25, 1983, and broadcast on NBC on May 16. Among its highlights were Michael Jackson's performance of "Billie Jean", Smokey Robinson's reunion with the Miracles, a Temptations / Four Tops "battle of the bands", Marvin Gaye's inspired speech about black music history and his memorable performance of "What's Going On", a Jackson 5 reunion, and an abbreviated reunion of Diana Ross & the Supremes, who performed their final #1 hit, "Someday We'll Be Together" from 1969. The show was written by Buz Kohan, Ruth Robinson, and de Passe. The broadcast was watched by over 47 million viewers.
William "Mickey" Stevenson is an American former songwriter and record producer for the Motown group of labels from the early days of Berry Gordy's company until 1967.
Motown 1s is a collection of 25 #1 songs originally released by Motown Records, plus a newly recorded bonus track, "Ain't No Mountain High Enough," performed by Michael McDonald. It was released by Motown Records/UTV Records in 2004.
In Loving Memory is a gospel compilation released by Motown Records in September 1968. It is dedicated to the memory of Motown founder Berry Gordy's sister, Mrs. Loucye S. Gordy Wakefield, and features several popular Motown acts, including Diana Ross & the Supremes, The Temptations, The Miracles and Marvin Gaye, performing versions of popular gospel songs and spirituals.
Motown Remixed is a 2005 compilation album containing remixed versions of Motown hits, released on May 24, 2005 by Motown/Universal Records.
Edward James "Bongo" Brown was an American percussionist known for his work with The Funk Brothers, Detroit-based session musicians who performed the backing to most Motown recordings from 1959 to 1972.
Away We a Go-Go is a 1966 album by Smokey Robinson & the Miracles. The album features the singles "(Come 'Round Here) I'm the One You Need", a Billboard top 20 Pop hit, written and produced by Holland-Dozier-Holland; and "Whole Lot of Shakin' in My Heart ", written and produced by Frank Wilson. The album uses a different take of "I'm the One You Need" than what was issued on the single. A third single was planned for release from this album, the tune "More, More, More ", cataloged as Tamla T-54005, but the single was never released. It was later covered by the regional group Bob Brady and The Con Chords. Another single from this album, the Stevie Wonder/Ivy Jo Hunter composition of "Can You Love a Poor Boy", was released to radio stations as a special Disc Jockey Advanced Single, Tamla T-540, but was never given an official catalog number for general release. It too, inspired cover versions by Gil Bernal and Ronnie Walker.
Tamla Motown Gold: The Sound of Young America is a three-disc compilation album released by the Tamla Motown label in 2001. It features all the hits from the label in the 1960s, by various artists.
A Motown Christmas is a Christmas music compilation album, originally released as a 2-LP set by Motown Records on September 25, 1973. It contains various seasonal singles and album tracks recorded by some of the label's artists from the 1960s and early 1970s. Some of the music had previously been released on the 1968 compilation Merry Christmas from Motown.
Paul Riser is an American trombonist and Motown musical arranger who was responsible for co-writing and arranging dozens of top ten hit records. His legacy as one of the "Funk Brothers" is similar to that of most of the other "Brothers", as his career has been overlooked and overshadowed by the stars of Motown that became household names. Some of the Funk Brothers he worked with include: Earl Van Dyke, Johnny Griffith, Robert White, Eddie Willis, Joe Messina, Dennis Coffey, Wah Wah Watson, James Jamerson, Bob Babbitt, Eddie Watkins, Richard "Pistol" Allen, Uriel Jones, Andrew Smith, Jack Ashford, Valerie Simpson, Eddie "Bongo" Brown, Benny Benjamin, Cornelius Grant, Joe Hunter, Richard "Popcorn" Wylie, Marcus Belgrave, Teddy Buckner and Stevie Wonder.
Ewart Gladstone Abner, Jr. was a major American record company executive who was President of Motown Records from 1973 to 1975 and was personal and business manager for Stevie Wonder for 10 years. In his executive roles at Motown, he helped direct careers for Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, The Temptations, and the Jackson 5.
Classic Rock was a 31-volume series issued by Time Life during the late 1980s and early 1990s. The series spotlighted popular music played on Top 40 radio stations of the mid-to-late-1960s.
"Pops, We Love You " is a 1978 single recorded and released by Motown stars Diana Ross, Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson and Stevie Wonder, as a tribute to Berry "Pops" Gordy Sr., who had died that year from cancer.
Motown: The Musical is a jukebox musical that premiered on Broadway in April 2013. The musical is based on Berry Gordy's autobiography To Be Loved: The Music, the Magic, the Memories of Motown (1994), and on the history of his founding and running of the Motown record label, and his personal and professional relationships with Motown artists such as Diana Ross, Smokey Robinson, Marvin Gaye, and Michael Jackson. The production's music and lyrics are taken from selections from the Motown catalog. It received four nominations at the 67th Tony Awards.
The Smokey Robinson Show was a 1970 musical variety special starring Smokey Robinson & The Miracles. It aired on ABC on December 18, 1970, and featured guest stars The Supremes, The Temptations, Stevie Wonder, and Las Vegas singer/performer and actress Fran Jeffries. The program was sponsored by Faberge and was produced by Screen Gems. The director was Kip Walton.
