Motown Records: A Legendary Legacy – Detroit Community-Engaged Research Program

Motown Records: A Legendary Legacy

I don’t know if this precisely counts, but this week I went to the Motown Museum for the first time ever which is kind of shocking considering I’ve lived in Detroit almost my entire life. My mom would always tell me about different historical events whenever we were driving past basically everywhere in the city because everything has a history behind it. I have always heard bits and pieces about Motown Records, but I decided to take the opportunity to actually go to the museum since I’m featuring it in my collaborative group presentation (stay tuned for that next week). Motown Records was home to some of the most legendary artists during the 60s and 70s including the Jackson 5, The Temptations, and Stevie Wonder. Berry Gordy, the label founder, applied the motor city assembly line ideology to his music business which is why it became successfully known as Hitsville U.S.A since all they put out was hits.  I learned so much about Motown on the tour including a lot of interesting facts that might not be widely known. The tour was a 10/10 and I would recommend that if you are ever in Detroit that you take the time out to go to the museum. I’ve also included a few pictures from the museum that has a little more insight into the Motown legacy if you’re interested. I wish we could have been in person this summer and experienced it together!

Some of the artists that Motown Represented in their polished form after they went through artist personal management, a human rendition of the assembly line where Gordy took regular people and turned them into stars.
Studio A: Where all the Motown hits were recorded.
Motown Records bought up most of the block and every house served a purpose for the business and you could think of each house as a part of the assembly line.

2 thoughts on “Motown Records: A Legendary Legacy”

  1. This looks really cool, I wish we were staying in Detroit this summer and could check out historical places like this. I’m intrigued about what will be in your group’s presentation now!

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