Thaindian News

Apr 14 (THAINDIAN NEWS) April 14th marks the 50th Anniversary of the date in which Berry Gordy Jr officially incorporated Motown Records as a company. A high school drop out, and ex boxer, Gordy started the business in a small wood house in Detroit with 800 dollars he had borrowed from his family. It had formerly been known as Tamla Records, as he had set it up on Jan 12, 1959, but was changed to Motown Record Corporation the next year. This was in 1960.

Now, it has grown to become one of the most influential record labels in American history. One of the first groups ever to sign with the record label was The Matadors, who changed their name later to The Miracles. Smokey Robinson was soon named Vice President of Motown Records, and Gwen and Anna Gordy were a part of the company as well.

The first chart hit from the record label was “Money (That’s What I Want) by Barret Strong. It made it all the way to number two on the Billboard R&B Chart. Their first hit was in 1961 by The Miracles. “Shop Around” was followed by “Please Mr. Postman” by the Marvelettes. Songwriters and producers such as Smokey Robinson, A&R chief William “Mickey” Stevenson, Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, and Norman Whitfield helped the record label to grow to huge levels in the music industry. In a ten year time span, from 1961 to 1971, Motown Records had 110 songs to make the top ten hit list. Altogether, there has been over 200 worldwide.

Other famous names which were recorded by Motown were the Supremes, the Four Tops, Gladys Knight and the Pips, the Isly Brothers, Marvin Gay, Stevie Wonder, The Jackson 5, The Temptations, The Four Tops, Mary Wells, Martha Reeves & the Vandellas, and many more. The business moved into the Donavan building on the corner of Woodward Ave and Interstate 75 in Los Angeles in 1968. Although the 70s continued to show great success for Motown, the 80’s were a setback, and Berry Gordy sold the company for 61 million dollars to Boston Ventures and Music Corporation of America, or MCA, in 1988.

Turner Classic Movie is planning to mark the Anniversary tonight, April 14th at 8 pm with a film marathon. Some of the music themed movies will be titles such as “Thank God It’s Friday,” “Standing in the Shadows of Motown” and “Lady Sings the Blues,” as well as “The Big Chill” and “Norman… Is that You?” — all of which feature Motown soundtracks. In a news release on Tuesday, TCM stated “Turner Classic Movies proudly celebrates Motown’s 50th anniversary with an all-night movie marathon slated for April 14 … exactly 50 years to the day that Berry Gordy Jr. officially incorporated the company.”