Detroit: Central to evolution of American music
Ever since Berry Gordy founded Tamla/Motown Records in 1959, the ‘Motor Town’ has been a veritable assembly line for acts as diverse as The Four Tops, Stevie Wonder, and Martha and the Vandellas. Gordy’s idea was to put a ‘pop’ twist on black soul. His hit acts included Marvin Gaye, Diana Ross (pictured) and Smokey Robinson.
Gaye’s ‘I Heard It Through The Grapevine’ and ‘What’s Going On?’ are just two of the tracks that will be forever associated with the Motown Sound. Motown was always on the look-out for new talent. Little Stevie Wonder signed to the label when he was just 11. Michael Jackson was barely that age when his family group, the Jackson Five, signed to Motown 10 years later.
