Sample Essay On Motown

Research Question: What is the importance of the Motown sound and its influence on the music of the 21st century?

Introduction
Barry Gordy
Barry Gordy, brief biography, what prompted him to found Motown Records and the people involved in the business (Posner 2005 25-34).
The Music Market during the late 1950’s and early 1960’s, what was popular, where was there a gap in genres, who were the markets that record companies were targeting (Early 2004 15-25).

Early History of Motown

Early Musical Influences, how gospel, blues, jazz and pop standards that influenced both the sound and the aim of Motown to create a new market in the music industry (Holmes 1994).

Influence of the Early Artists

Social (McCarthy 2013)
Religious (McCarthy 2013)
The Labels, there were a few different label names that were all a part of the Motown family. Each of them focused on a particular style of music (Posner 2005, 72-76).

Tamla

Miracle/Gordy
VIP
Soul
The Early Artists
How Gordy Groomed and Prepared Artists (Nantis 2015)
Smokey Robinson and The Miracles (Nantis 2015)
Mary Wells (Nantis 2015)
Marveletts (Nantis 2015)
Songwriters, Holland, Dozier and Holland (Nantis 2015)
The 1960’s and Initial Success
Competition in the Popular Music Market: Elvis Presley, Rock and Roll, Country and Western, the British Invasion and the Beatles (Hirshey 2011)

Diana Ross and the Supremes (Posner 2005)

The Jackson 5 (Posner 2005)
Stevie Wonder (Posner 2005)
Marvin Gaye (Posner 2005)
Financial and Market Success, how and why the Motown style of music became so popular in mainstream, white America (Posner 2005).
Competition and Criticism
Competition: Atlantic Records and Stax Records (Kovach)
Criticism (Kovach)
The 1970’s and the Move to Los Angeles and Continued Success
Motown Productions and the Movie Industry (Posner 2005)
Gladys Knight and the Pips
Lionel Richie and the Commodores (Posner 2005)
Rick James (Posner 2005)
Sale to MCA Records in 1988 (Posner 2005)
Musical Influence
Motown Artists Today
Stevie Wonder
Michael Jackson
Diana Ross
Lionel Richie
Rhythm and Blues Today (Provenzano 2015)
Soul Music Today (Provenzano 2015)
Motown: The Musical
Black Music Labels in the 21st Century (Householder and Karoub 2009)
Conclusion

Works Cited

Covach, John. “An Introduction to Rock and Its History.” What’s That Sound? n.d. Web 25 Mar.
2015 <http://www.wwnorton.com/college/music/rockhistory/outlines/ch06.htm>
Early, Gerald Lyn. One Nation under Groove. United States of America: University of Michigan
Press, 2004. Print.
Hirshey, Gerri. “The Temptations.” Youblisher 11 Feb. 2011. Web 28 Mar. 2015
<http://www.youblisher.com/p/94000-The-Temptations/>
Holmes, Marian Smith. “Who Could Resist the Kind of Music They Made at Hitsville?”
Smithsonian 25.7 (1994): On line. Web 6 Mar 2015 <http://eds.a.ebscohost.com/eds/detail/detail?vid=3&sid=da3fc983-93aa-49e8-a3c4-
77c648b55f86%40sessionmgr4002&hid=4110&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzL
WxpdmUmc2NvcGU9c2l0ZQ%3d%3d#db=fth&AN=9410247543
Householder, Mike and Karoub, Jeff. “Fifty Years Later: Motown’s Influence.” The Telegram
7 Sept. 2009. Web 25 Mar 2015
http://www.telegram.com/article/20090907/news/909070364/0
McCarthy, Marie. “The Young Musicians of Motown: A Success Story of Urban Music
Education.” Music Educators Journal 99.3 (2013). N. pag. Web. 7 Mar 2015
< http://eds.a.ebscohost.com/eds/detail/detail?sid=31e6eb9d-e7e6-431f-be6c-
ae9b77bb9937%40sessionmgr4005&vid=2&hid=4111&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzL
WxpdmUmc2NvcGU9c2l0ZQ%3d%3d#db=fth&AN=85920168
Nantis, David. “That Motown Sound.” America 200.5 (2009): 22-24 Web 15 Mar 2015
<http://eds.a.ebscohost.com/eds/detail/detail?vid=15&sid=80520d8b-da99-4123-8236-
15a41812ba19%40sessionmgr4004&hid=4205&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdm
Umc2NvcGU9c2l0ZQ%3d%3d#db=fth&AN=36448658>
Posner, Gerald. Music, Money, Sex and Power. New York: Random House, 2005. Print.
Provenzano, Frank. “The Magic of Motown: Symposium Examines Label’s Cultural Impact.”
Record Update 25 Feb 10 Web. 7 Mar 2015
http://www.ur.umich.edu/update/archives/100225/motown