The Story of Motown - by Peter Benjaminson (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

In January 1959 Berry Gordy borrowed $800 from his family and founded the Detroit-based record company that in less than a decade was to become the largest black-owned business in the United States. It also became one of the most productive and influential producers of popular music anywhere in the world, mainly by combining the best features of black and white American popular music.

Even a short list of the recording and performing talent that Gordy recruited, trained and produced for his company is awesome: Diana Ross, The Supremes, Stevie Wonder, The Temptations, The Four Tops, Smokey Robinson, Marvin Gaye and Mary Wells.

The Story of Motown is the story of Berry Gordy's triumph over powerful, established financial interests, entrenched popular taste, bigotry and racism. By inventing a sound that appealed to whites as well as blacks, and that was immediately identifiable to an entire generation of listeners, Gordy demonstrated his genius as a producer; by breaking the exploitive practice of "cover" records, he helped black artists control their own music and share in the proceeds of hits; and by the sheer force of his will, courage, and intelligence, he demonstrated that a black man from the urban ghetto could aspire to and conquer the heights of traditional American business, including the movie business.

Unfortunately, while doing all of this, he also found new ways to exploit his talented artists and eventually lost many of them to companies that paid them more.

The Story of Motown is the story of the rise and fall of one of the most important cultural touchstones in American history

Review Quotes

"...well-written and credible..."
-Library Journal

"Recommended reading."
-Steve Holsey, Michigan Chronicle

"...Invaluable as a capsulization of the spirit of the single greatest force in the growth and spreading of black talent. Benjaminson holds back nothing, sharing with the reader the thoughts and moods of the various figures who cane and went during the early years. He reflects both their enthusiasm and their disillusionment, their talents and their failings, their beginnings and their fates fulfilled."
-Soul Magazine

"Fascinating."
-Pacific Sun

"...thorough and honest."
-Daily Collegian

"... a fascinating account..."
-The Courier-Gazette

"...goes a long way in documenting and explaining the inherent racism in the music business-even showing how Gordy used it to his advantage in forging the immortal Motown Sound, the 'sound of young America.'"
-The Syracuse New Times

"...a well-researched and very enjoyable look at our own Motown records."
-Metro Times Blogs

"A very interesting story of a phase of modern music that had a bearing on lives both white and black."
-Chattanooga News Free Press

"Takes a clear yet affectionate look at one of the major musical institutions in this country. He presents Motown's faults without flinching and acknowledges the company's and Gordy's accomplishments... a great Christmas gift for music fans."
-Maine Sunday Telegram

"...a cohesive history of how Berry Gordy's vision of assembly-line recording evolved into a major cultural force."
-Memphis Commercial Appeal

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