The Golden Age of the Motown Sound By Vivian M. Baulch / The Detroit News March 1, 2000 That man, of course, was Berry Gordy Jr. Smokey Robinson saw something in Gordy, too, and urged him to start his own recording company. In 1959, Gordy borrowed $800 from his family and "Motown" was born. "It is probably true to say that Motown was as much Robinson's company as it was Gordy's, although Gordy was unquestionably the head of the company," author Sharon Davis wrote in her book, 'Motown, the History.' By 1972 Berry Gordy was the richest black man in America with an annual income in excess of $10 million. Berry Gordy Jr.: The genius behind Motown.
Berry’s friend Ira Harris taught him new guitar techniques that became the basis for the Chuck Berry sound. On a trip to Chicago, he hooked up with his idol Muddy Waters who sent him over to Chess Records to make a record. Berry had no recordings of his own and had to return to St. Louis to put some music together on tape. One of those songs was “Maybelline” which would become his first big hit. The
Greenwood housed a variety of thriving businesses that were very successful up until the Tulsa Race Riot. Although blacks wanted to support and contribute to the success of their own shops, but segregation laws prevented them from shopping elsewhere. Segregation laws, in a sense, helped this community
Kamprad got the taste of his first success when he bought a new racing bike and a typewriter from his own earning by selling garden seeds (Elen, 2004, p.30). Then, at the age of seventeen Kamprad formed IKEA (Ingvar Kamprad Elmtaryd and Agunnaryd) from the profits of his business and the amount he received from his father (Elen, 2004, p.30). IKEA also has become famous because of Kamprad’s leadership style. In spite of being one of the wealthiest individual, he is very cautious about spending the money; for example, he flies economy, drives ten year old Volvo, takes subway to work, and wears reasonably priced cloths (Nelson & Quick, 2013, p.466). Kamprad
Andrew Warhola born in 1928 came from a working class family in Forest City, Pennsylvania. His poor upbringing contributed to his future obsession with money and celebrity. In 1946, he moved to New York City where he quickly became an accomplished art designer. He was a graphic designer for Vogue and Harper's Bazaar and although successful, Warhol became disenchanted with his career and set out to be part of the new movement of pop art (Lucie-Smith 336). In the early 1960s, Andy Warhol rattled the art world with silk screens of Hollywood beauties and the now legendary, Campbell's Soup Cans.
Motown and American Culture Motown, whose name derived from the Ford Motor Company, assembled the soul and pop classics that changed America under the leadership of Berry Gordy Jr. A former boxer and automobile worker, Berry Gordy was a songwriter when at he and his friend, Smokey Robinson, a songwriter ten years younger than Gordy decided to establish Motown Records. Motown aspired to bridge the gap of racial discrimination by producing music that could appeal to all people, regardless of the color of their skin. Through the creation of a distinctive soul sound with obvious elements of pop influence, Motown produced unique music featuring artists such as The Jackson Five, The Supremes, Smokey Robinson, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye and many others. Motown was a black-owned business that gave America something they just could not get enough of, some groovy music. Social and economic class being at the heart of the Motown enterprise from the inception of the company through the mid-1980s, is vivid through their upbringing of the lower-income African American people, their devotion to making music the younger social class, and their The Motown enterprise aimed to please the African American people who were at the bottom of the social and economic class.
Florence Ballard Born in Mississippi, Florence Ballard's family relocated to Detroit during her childhood so that her father could find work in the city's then still-thriving auto industry. It was he, an amateur musician, that first instigated his daughter's interest in performing, teaching her various songs while providing accompaniment on the guitar. Florence continued developing her vocal skills through the choir and music classes provided by her school, and by her early teens her abilities had become well-established throughout the neighborhood of the Brewster Housing Project where her family resided. It was two of these neighbors, Eddie Kendricks and Paul Williams of a male vocal group called The Primes (which would later
CREEM was founded in the winter of 1969 by Barry Kramer, a Wayne State University student and entrepreneur who ran a hip Detroit record store called Full Circle, as well as Mixed Media, the city's first head shop and alternative book store. Kramer — who briefly hosted a WABX radio show — was also trying his hand at concert promotion and later managed Mitch Ryder's post-Detroit Wheels band, Detroit, among several other groups. Legend has it that when a local radical "underground" newspaper rejected a review Kramer had written of the Incredible String Band, he decided to start his own publication. Tony Reay, a British deportee who worked as a clerk in Kramer's record store, became the first editor, naming the magazine — which was originally his
Then, at age 16, he met Jeff Townes (DJ Jazzy Jeff). The pair became friends and began to collaborate, Jeff as DJ, Will as rapper (having expanded his nickname to Fresh Prince). They became so successful that Will even turned down a scholarship in order to follow his dream. Despite his parents' wishes, he didn't want to go to college anyway – he now dedicated himself to music. Will Smith’s music was rapidly becoming very popular But by this time Will was already at the top of another profession, as he was casted to be in the new series of ‘The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air’.
Hua Hsu uses the example of Sean Combs, a famous R&B artist, to express the differences in today’s world. Hua Hsu says, “Combs grew up during hip-hop’s late 1970s rise, and he belongs to the first generation that could safely make a living working in the industry” (Hus 501). Combs grew up just after a time where African Americans had really just begun to receive acceptance, and were really given a chance to succeed. Combs, before becoming successful and wealthy, did not have many people who would listen to his ideas. After gaining wealth and success, Combs is now able to spread his message to a much broader range of people, people who are more likely to listen to him than they were before.