Date of Award
2015
Type
Thesis
Major
Music Performance - Instrumental Concentration
Degree Type
Bachelor of Music in Music Performance
Department
Schwob School of Music
First Advisor
Dr. Kevin Whalen
Second Advisor
Dr. Susan Tomkiewicz
Third Advisor
Dr. Cindy Ticknor
Abstract
Motown Records produced many of the greatest musicians from the 1960s and the 1970s. During this time, songs like "Dancing in the Street" and "What's Going On?" targeted social issues in America and created a voice for African-American people through their messages. Events like the Mississippi Freedom Summer and Bloody Thursday inspired the artists at Motown to create these songs. Influenced by the cultural and social circumstances of the Civil Rights Movement, the musical output of Motown Records between 1959 and 1972 evolved from a sole focus on entertainment in popular culture to a focus on motivating social change through music.
In 1959, Berry Gordy, Jr. founded Motown Records at 2648 West Grand Boulevard in Detroit with an $800 loan from his family. Before this time Gordy worked at Ford automobile plant. From his experience at the plant, he decided to model his record label after the Fort automobile assembly line. He wanted to apply the concept that each person had his or her own part and the individual parts added to the production as a whole. Gordy began his musical career as a songwriter and wrote "Lonely Teardrops," a song sung by Jackie Wilson, and Motown's first hit record. He decided that to make a substantial profit, he had to own the publishing and produce the records. With this addition of publishing to the label, he was able to sign more artists like the Matadors, who later became the Miracles.1
Recommended Citation
Baker, Lindsey, "The Social and Cultural Changes that Affected the Music of Motown Records From 1959-1972" (2015). Theses and Dissertations. 195.
https://csuepress.columbusstate.edu/theses_dissertations/195
