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Even though it's ancient
history to some of the youth of today, most people
have heard about the famous Motown Records hit factory
in the 1960's. The rise to stardom of the Diana
Ross and the Supremes, beginning with Where Did Our
Love Go (1964) is common knowledge.
Superstars established by Motown like Stevie Wonder
and Smokey Robinson are common household names, even
today. It's even common for people to know of
the big producers at Motown, like Holland Dozier
Holland and know the name of the Motown studios (Hitsville,
USA). If asked,
many people would talk about the "explosion" of Motown
in the mid 1960's, yet the founding of the enterprise
really pre-dated this by 5 years or more. In
this article I'm highlighting some of this early
history.
The
3-D Record Mart
Berry Gordy first got
in the music business in 1953 by opening a Jazz
orientated record shop called The 3-D Record Mart with
the financial help of his family. Within 2 years
the store failed and Gordy went to work at a Ford
assembly line, even though music was not out of his
blood.
Jackie Wilson
Berry Gordy and
Jackie Wilson first met in 1950 in a boxing setting
where both had dropped out of high school, later
(1957) they would renew the association by the Gordy
family working with Jackie's manager at the Flame Club
in Detroit. In 1957 Berry Gordy and a partner
started writing tunes for Jackie Wilson and penned a
string of hit records for him, the most notable of
which was Lonely Teardrops (1958), which became
his biggest hit and signature tune.
The
Matadors &
Tamala
Records
Berry, dissatisfied
with his songwriting royalties from Jackie's hit
records, started his own record label, Tamala, early
1959 with his royalties and funds borrowed from his
family - The Motown Records label, would be added to
the company in within a year. The Matadors were
first to sign with the new label and would sing
Motown's first gold record, Shop Around with
their new name, The Miracles. Berry had produced
two records for the Matadors, released on other
labels, in 1958.
The
Transition
Beginning after his
failed record shop in 1955, Berry pursued music and
songwriting with a passion, even if he had to work a
Ford Motor assembly line for his livelihood the first
two years. Berry would work with many Detroit
artists being released on other labels including tiny
vanity labels. Many of the artists he worked
with wound up being instrumental in other roles in the
Motown Hit Factory.
Berry's first
association with the Holland Brothers, (Eddie and
Brian) were as artists produced by Berry Gordy and
later these brothers established the famous HDH
songwriting/producing team. Motown's first
production team Brianbert )for BRIAN Holland and
ROBERT Bateman) were responsible for Motown's first #1
Pop hit (Wait A Minute, Mr. Postman) which some
say was really the first Motoiwn record to each the
1,000,000 sales mark. With Brian, the team included
Bateman, a singer with a group called the Satintones
and with the Motown Background Group (The Rabor
Singers).
The musical
friendships and working relationships established by
Berry, pre-Motown, formed a strong creative foundation
for Berry Gordy to build his Motown Hit Factory.
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