Maddie Smith
2015 Black History Month: What Excellence Looks Like An Essay on the Importance of Motown Records
Do you know who was nominated entertainer of the century in 1976? It wasn't Elvis- It was Diana Ross! Do you know who has won over twenty-five Grammys for his work as a solo artist? It wasn't Paul McCartney- It was Stevie Wonder! Do you really like music? If you do, then listen up. I've got some news for you!
On January 12,1959, a man named Berry Gordy started a record label called Motown Records. It was created especially for African Americans because back then most record companies wouldn't serve anyone but white people. Berry gave his record label the name "Motown" because Detroit was popular for making motors for automobiles. Read on to learn more about the history of Motown music.
Berry Gordy didn't start out as the owner of a record label, he started out as a boxer, but then was drafted as a soldier in the Korean War. After the war, he got married and opened a record store. Unfortunately, it failed, so Gordy got a job at an auto plant. When he wasn't working, Gordy would spend his time listening to music and writing songs. One evening, while out at a nightclub, Gordy as lucky enough to meet Jackie Wilson, a singer who was performing. This was the start of a very important friendship. Berry Gordy helped write a song for Jackie Wilson that eventually became a hit! After he had co written a few songs with Jackie Wilson, he felt he was not getting paid a f air wage. He noticed that all the money was going to the record label executives. So Berry Gordy decided it would be a good idea to start his own record label. And that's what he did- in his basement! He stuck a sign on his home's front door that said, "Hitsville, U.S.A!" Eventually, the business became very successful and was forever known as "Motown."
Berry Gordy was responsible for the fame and fortune of many amazing artists that we know today. Some you may have heard of are The Supremes, The Jackson 5, Stevie Wonder, and Marvin Gaye. There are many more made famous by Motown.
Through Motown Records, Berry Gordy made the world a better place by showing the world that African American musicians and performing artists are talented, gifted, and deserve equal rights. Berry Gordy prepared his musicians to appeal to mainstream Americans. He insisted his clients dress in fashionable, yet professional clothing to prove to America that they were ready for fame! Berry Gordy worked tirelessly to make sure his artists were paid fairly and had every opportunity possible. This occurred around the same time Martin Luther King Jr. was promoting civil rights, so Berry Gordy was doing his part to fulfill Dr. King's dream too!
Eventually, Motown became extremely successful and Berry Gordy moved from his small home in Detroit to a nearby mansion. In the 1970's, Gordy moved his business from Detroit to Los Angeles, and Motown grew even more. He was inducted into The Rock And Roll Hall of Fame in 1998. Berry Gordy loved his job, his clients, and Motown with all of his heart. He had succeeded in making his clients mainstream! Americans LOVED them and bought millions of Motown's records!
Motown has positively influenced my life and many others. It has also influenced the music world today. If Motown didn't exist, a lot of singers, musicians, and performers wouldn't be here today. In fact, I'm in a show choir called Syncopation and Hip Hop class and I get to sing and dance with other kids from Asia, the Caribbean, Latin America, and many more places. In my show choir, we dance and sing to a lot of songs from all over the globe, including, "Joyful, Joyful" from Sister Act, "Rhythm of the Night" by Gloria Estefan, "Change Your Life" by Little Mix, various Bollywood songs and global dances, as well as many others! None of this would have happened if Berry Gordy didn't pave the way for African American musicians during the civil rights era.
Without Berry Gordy's efforts, who knows what our music scene would be today? I'm glad I live in a world where all of our music can be enjoyed together. I hope you have enjoyed my essay on Motown and Berry Gordy and have learned something new. Motown truly has impacted today's music and has made the world a much kinder, richer, more inclusive place to live!
Bibliography:
Aretha, David; Awesome African-American Rock and Soul Musicians Pages 68-87 Bergamini, Andrea; Masters of Music: The History of Rock Music-2000- Pages 30-31 Hubbard, Ben; The History of Pop- 2009- pages 8-11 Woog, Adam; The History of Rock and Roll- 1999- pages 52-53 www.worldbookonline.com