Motown is 50 years old

It was Motown night at American Idol last week. That means the 10 finalists performed songs from the iconic label’s catalogue. They also visited Hitsville, the Motown Museum in Detroit, Michigan where it all originated. Singer-songwriter Smokey Robinson, who with the Miracles, was the first artist signed to Motown, mentored the contestants and Motown founder Berry Gordy came to the Kodak Theater to watch the show.

Not everybody got lucky with the Motown songs like Michael Sarver who was sent home after his confusing take on the Temptation’s Ain’t Too Proud to Beg. Among those who did was a surprisingly clean-cut Adam Lambert who stood out with Smokey’s The Tracks of My Tears. The red-haired 16-year-old Allison Iraheta also did great with the Tempts’ Papa Was a Rolling Stone. So did Anoop Desai with a Smokey classic Ooh Baby, Baby.

One of them might become this season’s American Idol but whatever star quality they had, paled in comparison to the songs. They are indeed among the most beautiful and most memorable ever created. They were the music of young black America that changed cultural mores and became the music of the world. Adding to the magical effect of the evening was the fact that Motown was founded on January, 1959 and is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year.

This means that anybody in this world 50 years old and over, with access to a radio or music player has heard at least one Motown song each day of his life. That is quite a number and Motown did make a lot. Some you might instantly remember. I’ll Be There by the Jackson Five, Touch Me in the Morning by Diana Ross or Still by the Commodores or I Just Called to Say I Love You by Stevie Wonder. Others you might not even know came from Motown, I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch). Tom Jones’ was a cover. The original was by the Four Tops.

Watching those AI contestants perform their numbers proved how timeless the songs have become. They sound as new and exciting as they did 40 or more years ago. This was because although the songs were rooted in black music forms like gospel, soul and R&B, Gordy, who mixed most of the early recordings himself, gave it his own spin. He created his own sound. It was young and it sparkled. It was a scintillating blend of the sexy and the romantic performed by artists primped and dressed and styled to perfection.

The appeal of Motown led to the social integration of popular music because white America found the songs irresistible. And so did the world. This remained so even in the heat of the British Invasion in the early ‘60s. Sure you heard the Beatles chanting She Loves You yeah, yeah, yeah... everywhere in those days but there was also no stopping the most successful girl group of all time, the Supremes from sweetly crooning Baby, baby, where did our love go...

Gordy used an $800-loan from his family to form Motown and worked from his home. He bought a small photo studio and turned it into his own recording studio while his family lived on the second floor. Money That’s What I Want by Barrett Strong was the first hit. Then Shop Around by Smokey with the Miracles became the first million-seller, then Please Mr. Postman by the Marvellettes and so on through the years.

My Girl, Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me) by The Temptations; Neither One of Us Wants to be the First To Say Goodbye, I Heard It Through the Grapevine, Midnight Train to Georgia by Gladys Knight & The Pips; Baby I Need Your Loving, Reach Out I’ll Be There, Standing in the Shadows of Love, Bernadette, Walk Away Renee by the Four Tops; Where Did Our Love Go, Baby Love, Come See About Me, Stop! In the Name of Love by Diana Ross & the Supremes. The Tears of a Clown, You’ve Really Got a Hold on Me, I Second That Emotion by Smokey Robinson & the Miracles.

The hits do not come as often anymore. Motown has ceased to be the entertainment conglomerate it was during the ‘70s and ‘80s. It has, in fact, been sold to the Universal Music Group. But as the American Idol episode clearly showed, the songs, which judge Simon Cowell described as among the best in the world, will always be there.