Thursday 18 June 2015

MOTOWN: Beyond Baby-Mama-Drama BLUES...BLACK SOUL MUSIC To Be Loved!


















                                 Then said HE, 

                                 Unto what is the Kingdom of GOD like?

                                 And where unto shall I resemble it?


                                 It is like a grain of mustard seed,

                                 -Which A MAN took;


                                 And cast into His Garden!


                                 And it grew,

                                 -And waxed A GREAT TREE!


                                 And the fowls of the air

                                 Lodged in the BRANCHES OF IT!


                                                    ( Luke 13: v18, 19 )







Hold up!


"I AM a Song-Writer, that's what I LOVE", says Berry Gordy II.


Put on your best shoes, Mr Congressman, let's go to Detroit.


Michigan, motor-city.


Live it up! 


Mr PRESIDENT, the night's young...


Once again, the moon's a-gazin', eyeballs L-a-r-g-e on AMERICA.... Midwest.

Heavenly lights Beamin' on MOTOWN..."Music Empire".



First and foremost, K~I~S~S!

You know what? "Keep It Simple, Stupid".


The music is simple... SOUL.

Otherwise, you might make it stupid,...I mean...the SOUND.


That was "The Principle" of Tamla~MOTOWN Records.



                             

                               "And we had STORIES that we told,

                                -That could touch the heart;


                                To change things


                                To make things better

                                For everybody who LISTENED.


                                And that was the joy

                                Of being on the Motown Sound;


                               -Being with the MOTOWN SOUND.


                                                      ( Martha Reeves )





"Yester-ME, Yester-DAY" (1969);

"MUSIC of My MIND" (1972), reminds us Stevland Hardaway Judkins aka Stevie 'Wonder'.


Fellas, 'em days a miracle happen'd. 

On Wes' Groun' Boulevard!


2-6-4-8 is a numbers game,

Y'all can take a drink on me!


Motown!

"To Be Loved".


Negro Soundz!!

"Beyond Baby-Mama Drama".


"M*O*T*O*W*N"...is MORE...than the songs the DJs P-l-a-y.


Wake up y'all, and pay attention; I-i-s-t-e-n to the " Sound of Young America".


Holler! If you hear me.


"The highest form of Musicality is in the realm of THOUGHT", Albert Einstein reminds all of us. 

In other words, 'thinking' in its highest form, is not mathematical, but 'musical'. 


Music can be appreciated by logical thought or mathematical reasoning...or numbers.

You can call it the 'science' of music if you wish.


But, the h-i-g-h-e-s-t APPRECIATION of MUSIC is by r-e-f-l-e-c-t-i-o-n...how much it inspires our actions. 


This is the 'art' of music...the heart of the music.


The S*O*U*L of Music!




We are drinking from the cup of history.


It's an African-American story of achievement in Busine$$ Enterprise. 

But more than that, an appreciation of a unique Musical Expression.


Like vintage or wine connoisseurs would say:

"The older the 'Berry', the sweeter the juice"!


Welcome to Founder of Tamla~Motown, Berry Gordy II:



                             

                                 "I'm NOT looking for popularity.


                                  I've never looked for popularity;

                                  I'm just looking for Happiness and Success.


                                 And I teach that to other people;

                                 Why would I want to be on the front page?


                                 To become more popular?


                                 That doesn't thrill me;

                                 It doesn't mean anything to me.


                                 When I'm busy trying to get my picture

                                 In the papers;


                                 I could be doing

                                 SOMETHING MEANINGFUL.


                                                                ( Berry Gordy II )






2-6-4-8.

Life's a numbers game.


Universe.

The MUSE plays the numbers game.


The Sun...the Moon...the STARS.

All Sing the same song; Multitude.


God...Heaven.

The Father, the Son, the Holy Ghost; Trinity.


Man...Earth.

You and I...and everyone else. Humanity.


The MUSIC calls to us everywhere, Man or Woman, Black or White.

ALL of us.


In Multitudes!


Whether God or Man or the Universe, everything boils down to one thing:

ETERNITY! 


The Future is the end-game. 


We humans, burdened by the SPIRIT of God or the SOUL of ETERNITY, are trying to create, day

after day:


the Unlimited...the Boundless...the Timeless;


IMMORTALITY!



                                 I give YOU all of me...


                                But it still ain't enough

                                To make YOU happy.


                                I give YOU everything 

                                And still don't measure up.


                                Feel like I walked 5,000 miles

                                And didn't even come close.


                                Feels like I try to make YOU smile,

                                But YOU don't even care;


                               ? No...


                               I'll ?never be BIG enough

                               To pay YOUR dues;


                               But I keep trying...


                               YOU just keep making me

                               Jump through hoops;


                               What do I got to do?

                                      ( Jussie Smollett ) 






IN THE BEGINNING, God or the Muse conceived in numbers...great numbers:


                              

                               God blessed them 

                               And said to them:


                               Be fruitful,

                               And increase IN NUMBER;


                               Fill the Earth,

                               And subdue it.


                                           ( Genesis 1; 26 )




Multitudes!



Likewise, in the beginning, 2-6-4-8.

Berry Gordy...had A D-r-e-a-m.


Like God, he conceived in numbers...great numbers:


                         

                               "I was in Detroit. The time and place were important.

                                I tried writing Songs...and I worked on the assembly line.


                                I'd see the cars come in one door, a bare metal frame;

                                And go out another door, a brand new car.


                                Everybody was buying new cars 

                                - Black people, White people...


                                I wanted the same concept for my company,

                                Only with ARTISTS and SONGS and RECORDS.


                                I got the IDEA to do the MUSIC business,

                                And have it LIKE AN ASSEMBLY LINE...


                                Where ARTISTS would come in one door,

                                An unknown kid off the street;

                          

                                And go out another door A BIG STAR."


                                                                 ( Berry Gordy II )





Berry set out to create like the Detroit motor-lines:

A multitude of Hit Records, and Hitmakers.


Masterpieces!


Incase y'all have forgotten, 2-6-4-8 is "Hitsville, USA", the original address of Tamla~Motown Records.

Home to mega-hits: gold and multi-platinum records.


"Listen, the MOTOWN SOUND to me is 'not an audible sound'. It's SPIRITUAL, and it comes from the people that make it happen. What other people didn't realize is that we just had a studio there, but we recorded in Chicago, Nashville, New York, Los Angeles - almost every big city. And we still got the sound", says Berry Gordy.


He was the first African-American to own a major record label. His genius, with the support of Providence, made him nurture the grand vision that guided Black Music, out of the ghetto and into the mainstream.


Berry used Music to 'tell the truth' about LIFE, to people in AMERICA and the DIASPORA.


Indeed, he became the foremost black music entrepreneur to achieve the similitude of what former President, Lyndon Baines Johnson styled, "The Great Society"...and what the American Dream aspires to create: 


"A MORE PERFECT UNION".


For Berry Gordy, Tamla~Motown, especially in the race-troubled era of the '50s, '60s and '70s; achieved "A Cross-Over D-r-e-a-m!

                            

"I'd come to the South in the early days of Motown and the audiences would be segregated. Then they'd go back and the audiences were INTEGRATED", says Berry. 


"And the kids were DANCING TOGETHER and HOLDING Hands". 




                                It's a combination of 

                                EVERYTHING I HEARD

                                In MY LIFE;


                                That makes you feel good.

                              

                                Whether it be Gospel, Blues, Jazz;

                                SOUL, whatever.


                                I don't like labels.


                                When people ask me,

                                I just say POP;


                                That means popular (music) -

                                It sells over a million records.


                                That's what it was. 

                                                   ( Berry Gordy II ) 







THE SOUND was born in 1958, with the release of the Robinson-Gordy hit, "I Got A Job".


"There aren't enough people who care about the FUTURE. They're too busy worrying about TODAY and what they can grab now", Gordy observes.


"We had a vision. We wanted to make music for ALL PEOPLE. This music was for people, ALL OVER THE WORLD....We wanted to spread music that had A LOT OF LOVE in it."


It was built on TRUTH, he tells us.


"Baby Love" was a '64 Motown number, another hit. But before "Baby Love" made the news, Berry Gordy was involved in all of that he-said she-said motha-f*ckin' crap. Chaotic life. Baby-mama drama stuff, characteristic of the black stereotype.


"At the time, I was broke. And I had a girlfriend or two who were telling me how much they loved me. But it meant nothing to me...", he recalls.


"InnerVisions" was a  '73 Stevie Wonder number, classic Motown. Like they say, 'deep calleth unto deep'! 


In the Year 1959, Berry Gordy wasn't feelin' the 'ordinary' sort-a "Baby Love". Instead, he was feelin' like Tamla~MOTOWN; mind-over-matter, thinkin' about an extra-ordinary kind-a love...A LEGACY.


The Black Eagle was set to spread Music on its wings; let America Fly! 


"I ALWAYS believed that if I made logic the boss, I would win. I was in charge, but LOGIC was the BOSS", emphasizes Gordy.


Love had always been a great theme...especially love of the romantic type. This is the kind of lovin' where you can indulge your sexual fantasy, and hand your beloved two or three stems of roses.

                              

But greater the love, that sees beyond sex, and can leave you a dream; like a garden-ful of roses, and a swell feelin' that would leave you young...forever!


Berry Gordy logically chose the latter; to give us...a love...that will last us a lifetime. Songs for one generation...and the next...and the next...and the next...


Love Un-limited!




"Come To Me" made its debut in '59. It was the first song released by Tamla~MOTOWN.

Berry Gordy was extending his soul to...the World.


This kind of love etched on vinyl; music records wrapped up as your 'd-r-e-a-m gift', required MORE THAN two nickels or a dime to set it loose...upon the world. 


It was NOT intended for one or two people, like a lover, or a cousin, or a neighbor next-door.


 It was meant to serve the white collar officer and the blue collar worker; the black man or white woman; the American and the non-American. 


Berry's Gift of Song was boundless...to serve billions of people; to reach out to the Soul of Humanity.



                                 The best things in life are free.


                                 But you can give them 

                                 To the birds and bees;


                                 I need money

                                That's what I want.                           



                                 Your lovin' gives me a thrill,

                                 But your lovin' don't pay my bills.


                                 I need money,

                                That's what I want. 


                                                      ( Barrett Strong )





"Money ( That's What I Want )" by Barrett Strong, was a 1960 Number. It was released under the Tamla~MOTOWN label, as its first hit song. It starred at #2 on the billboard R & B chart.


That song reminds one of the urgency...of trying to make a heart-felt dream come true; the necessity...of money! 


Berry Gordy in 1959, had become overwhelmed by the boredom of working the auto-assembly line. 


Therefore, he secured 'money' ( $800 ), most of it from the family fund -  in order to actualize his dream and pursue his passion, 'music'.


He bought a house on West Grand Boulevard with living quarters and a photography studio, and converted the latter into a recording studio. 


On January 12, he began a long and arduous journey, to nourish the souls of men and women, with music.


In place of the noise emanating from the projects, and all that discordant baby-mama blues, Motown produced "smooch music" or "love ballads"... a more harmonious sound.


By so-doing, Berry Gordy plucked on the harp-string in the hearts of millions of American folk...as well as denizens of the Diaspora.


At "Hitsville, USA", they had succeeded in creating more than a slogan; they created "the Sound that makes the World go round"!


"It's a labour of LOVE, everything I've done", says Gordy.


"In those days people would say you can't do that, it was impossible then to do that, because no one had ever done that before. I say that's no reason not to do it. That's the more reason likely you should do it; because no one else has ever done it before.


"So why not do it and be special?"


That was the way MOTOWN happened in Detroit, and they re-invented MUSIC.


The notes transcended the old "weary blues", like Langston Hughes would call it; this new songs had a special rhythm, all their own.  


They sounded like unique R & B...the blues with a special jazz riff, add to it a lot of tambourine and bass-guitar, laced with funky beats and hand-claps like 'church'.


If you wish, call it S-O-U-L!

The Motown Sound rang 'true' to the immortal soul in Man. 


In his own special way,Berry Gordy brought us close to the music of eternity; unlimited...boundless...timeless.


 And he became 'a god' in the aftermath.


Like God Himself would have all of us believe, "E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G is SOUL".



                              "He had songwriters use

                                - SPIRITUAL SONGS -


                               So that they had a sense

                               - Of the Sound of Thought -


                               To make the records

                               - Stand Out.


                               Gordy made sure

                               That Motown Records 


                               Had all the polish

                               And slickness of pop music;


                               But retained the underlying

                               Grit and funkiness


                               - Of SOUL -


                                             ( Sean Higgins )






Whether you are Black or White or Latino, it doesn't matter.


Berry stepped out of the band-wagon, to make music that appealed to all people, irrespective of skin color or place of origin or domicile.


Motown is a "cross-over" narrative; it's 2-6-4-8 with a multitude-nal Sound...in the numbers.

Men...in the numbers; women...in the numbers; maybe too, the children... in the numbers, yet unborn.


The Legacy is about...Love-makers...Hit-makers...History-makers!


2-6-4-8, West Grand Boulevard, Detroit; let's go if heaven's your dream. 

We would re-visit the night clubs, pop a bottle, and re-live Motown - with a toast to Berry Gordy, 


And Holland-Dozier-Holland ( H-D-H ), the Funk Brothers...and the rest of them.


Hold up! 


Dem Boyz in the house; ain't no ho's but ladies here present...and of course no drama.


Hear the Supremes, theTemptations, the Miracles, the Commodores, Gladys Knight and the Pips. 


Martha Reeves and The Vandellas, Michael and the Jackson Five, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder.


Boyz II Men, Rick James, Treena Marie, Dazz Band, DeBarge, Johnny Gill, Brian McKnight, Erykah Badu, India-Arie  ( and Q-Tip, first hip-hop soul artist to sign with Motown ).


Classic Motown! All. 


M-E-L-O-D-Y.

"It's what's in the groove that counts".


"The Renaissance", as Q-Tip aptly named his second album ( 2008 ), that's the Motown Sound we're talking about.


It's about "Gettin' Up"..."Move"..."Life Is Better".




                                 Life's filled with gray

                                 But now, it comes c-l-e-a-n...


                                 Don't stop this feeling I feel

                                 I just wanna lay around all day

                                 And feel the breeze upon my knees.


                                 I'm so into your r-i-c-h history

                                 Tell me a story to take me away...


                                 Come and take me, ooh

                                 Come and take me with you.


                                 Life is better

                                 Now that, now that I've found you.


                                                                       ( Q-Tip )




The lure is more like a drug, it will follow you to work and back home. It will serve you a cup of coffee, wash you up in the bath-tub, or if you're rich, a jacuzzi.


The songs will make y'all see your own "inner visions", while y'all go to bed...and dream.

Motown will bring back...memories...of Yester-years.


Once more, let the DJs play...that Sound...the Soul of Black America. 


All-American!


"The Music itself was pop-rooted in the traditions of GOSPEL, accompanied by pounding drums, layers of strings and brassy call-and-response bits. But it's easier just to say "MOTOWN". It's music that actually sounds like LOVE", re-affirms Ashley Woods.


"And you don't need to speak English or to have grown up in the 1960's for that message to translate".


2-6-4-8, West Grand Boulevard = Hitsville, USA = Tamla~ MOTOWN.

Berry Gordy II is about what?


"Empire State Of MIND"!



                              The history of the American Negro

                               Is the history of this LONGING:


                              To attain self-conscious MANHOOD.


                              To merge his double-self into

                              A better and truer-self.


                              In this merging he wishes

                              Neither of the older selves to be lost.


                              He'd not Africanize America,

                              For America has too much

                              To teach the WORLD.


                              He simply wishes

                              To make it possible


                               For a man to be

                               Both a N*e*g*r*o and an A*m*e*r*i*c*a*n;


                               Without being cursed and spit upon

                               By his fellows;


                               Without having the doors

                               Of opportunity

                               Closed in his face.



                              [But] to escape both death and isolation 

                              To husband and use his powers


                              And latent GENIUS.


                              This then is his striving:

                              To be a co-worker in the 


                              Kingdom of CULTURE.


                              ( W.E.B DuBois: The Soul of Blackfolk )





Motor-City reminds us of the Ford Mustang or the Chrysler Convertible, and what they could do to cover the "occasional physical distance".


Motown on the other hand, reminds everyone of us, especially the music buffs, that music could bridge the gap; the "everlasting emotional chasm"...like the "Endless Love" of Diana Ross and Lionel Richie.


That unparalleled Sound that never fails to connect the SOUL of heaven and earth, that's what we're celebrating. It's a metaphor for the "on-going, never-ending" conversation between Man and God.


You can call it "call-and-response" or the "the eternal dialogue".


Whatever, S*O*U*L...is a striving.




                                 I just want YOU

                                 To look at me...


                                 And see that I can be

                                 What YOU LOVE.


                                 I just want YOU

                                 To look at me...


                                 And see that I can be

                                 Good Enough!



                                 Good Enough,

                                            Good Enough,

                                                       Good Enough...



                                I try to show YOU

                                That I'm strong


                                Why do I even bother?


                                'Cause it's the same

                                 Old damn song.


                                 YOU call yourself a Father


                                 Feels like I'm reaching for the STARS

                                 But ?Heaven isn't letting me.


                                 I wish I had longer arms...

                                 But I keep trying...


                                 What do I got to do?


                                 I just want YOU

                                 To look at me


                                 And see that I can be

                                 What YOU LOVE...



                                      ( Jussie Smollett )






MOTOWN was a seed sown long ago.

Gordy began writing songs to offset the monotony of factory work.


It was a powerful SONIC language, a consciousness, a revelation...

The fundamental question is, what is the meaning of this revelation in a nutshell?


"I was a failure at everything until I started Motown. We didn't have good enough equipment to make it sound like other companies, so we had a different sound - but it was MORE OF FREEDOM", confesses Gordy.


Albert Einstein, American Physicist, discovered the famed Theory of Relativity: E=mc2. 

He confirmed that music was instrumental to this feat.


According to him:


                        

                                The true value of the human being 

                                 Is determined by the measure and the sense;


                                 In which they have obtained 

                                 LIBERATION FROM THE SELF. 


                                We still require a substantially 

                                 New manner of 'thinking';


                                 If HARMONY is to survive.





LIFE has always been a battle.

"Nowhere To Run" was a '69 hit song by the Motown trio of Holland-Dozier-Holland. 


Any day, anywhere, that title rings true.


The on-going fight is in the mind or soul.

What do you choose at any given moment?


God or Sex or Money?

Which way should we turn?


"Yeah man" by Sam Cooke or "Sweet Soul Music" by Arthur Conley ( re-done in '67 ) is a metaphor for this human dilemma.


"Well, baby, just keep doing POSITIVE things and eventually you're gonna win", advised Gordy's mom.



                                SOUL is about 

                                A-u-t-h-e-n-t-i-c-i-t-y.


                                SOUL is about finding the things

                                - In YOUR LIFE


                                That are

                                - REAL and PURE.


                                                         ( John Legend )




Soul Music is a POSITIVE medium.

It emerged from the LIVES and LIPS of post-war crooners who secularized Gospel Songs.



                               If you enter this World

                               - Knowing you're LOVED


                               And you leave this World

                               Knowing the same;


                               Then everything that happens

                                In between can be dealt with.


                                            ( Michael Jackson )





Soul tunes became MORE POPULAR during the turbulence of the Civil Rights era; with the sit-ins, and the bus boycotts, and the protest marches of the '50s and '60s.


"What's Going On" was a '71 single and album title by Marvin Gaye, released on the Motown label. It marked a turning point in the struggles of the Civil Rights Movement.


It spoke against racial discrimination, wars, poverty and the ills of the society; especially in the so-called "Land of the Free". 


It opened up the minds of so many people.


"He had a divided soul, but he was the purest artist. He believed he was splendid", says Gordy about the artist, Marvin Gaye.




                                 Mother, mother

                                 There's too many of you crying.


                                 Brother, brother, brother

                                 There's far too many of you dying


                                 You know we've got to find A WAY

                                 To bring some lovin' here today...



                                 Father, father

                                 We don't need to escalate


                                 You see,

                                 War is not the answer.


                                 For ONLY LOVE

                                 Can conquer hate


                                 You know we've got to find A WAY

                                 To bring some lovin' here today...


                                 Picket lines and picket signs,

                                 Don't punish me with brutality.


                                 Talk to me, 

                                 So you can see what's going on.


                                 Oh, what's going on

                                 Yeah, what's going on

                               

                                 Ah, what's going on.


                                                        ( Marvin Gaye )




In fact, some of the first success stories of the protests, aside from the Civil Rights Act (1964) and the Voting Rights Act (1965), were the Motown soul albums that topped the music charts.


"It's impossible to tell the story of that era without the Soundtrack of Motown", says Khalil Gibran.


" As the country's foremost repository of African-American Culture - from Books, and Art, to Photos and of course, MUSIC - we look forward to inviting patrons of all ages TO LEARN MORE about the MUSIC that helped make the Movement".


Motown immortalized the African-American Equal Rights agitations by recording:


"Poets of the Revolution", by Langston Hughes.


"Great March to Freedom", by Dr Martin Luther King,Jr.


They are depictions of the artistic expressions of Black Thought and Political Consciousness of that sizzling era of the United States' history.



                               

                                  But the grandeur of God

                                  The depth of his GLORY;


                                  The wonder that surrounds Him

                                  Causes A RESPONSE;


                                  From the nearest to Him

                                  

                                  A response that is almost 

                                  Immediate, like a reflex -


                                  The WORDS never lose

                                  Their MEANING.


                                                      ( Adam Russell )









SONGS are more than rhymes.


Songs need a beginning, middle, and an end like A STORY, believes William 'Smokey' Robinson, one-time vice-president of Tamla~MOTOWN.


"Berry Gordy - people think of him as an entrepreneur, but he's A SONGWRITER AT HEART which makes total sense", says Anita Baker, an R & B singer.


"You have a Songwriter here and amazing songs. A guy has the brilliance to understand THAT IT STARTS with GREAT SONGS".



Motown arose from a condensation of Mo-tor and town.

The merchandise they sold was...Music. Not automobiles like GM or Pontiac, but...Soul-ful Music.


The likes of:


"You Got What It Takes" (1959 )

"I Love The Way You Love" (1960 )


Both were two Top-Ten hits by Marv Johnson. 


The stuff of Motown was in no way 'racy', like the Ferraris or Lamborghinis on the asphalt speed-lanes.

Take your mind off the road for a minute:


 Enjoy the 'un-hurried', seductive and meaningful croons of musicians like Stevie Wonder, for example, "Songs In the Key of Life" (1976 ).


"Some people think of MUSIC as mere entertainment or a distraction, but we see music as A FORCE THAT SPEAKS to us IN DEEP WAYS and helps make us who we are", agrees Mark Clague, an associate professor of music who teaches a course on Motown.


In the years interval (1960 - 70 ), Motown spotted over 100 records in the Top-Ten Billboard Hot 100 Chart.


No record label in the history of recorded music even approaches its lasting impact. It's the epitome of black poetry and transcendent Sound - beyond the ingenuity of a mere 'two turntables-and- a mike'!


Motown wasn't just a record company, but an INSTITUTION, a paradigm shift in the know-how of producing music records.


Carefully master-minded 'additions', 'subtractions', and 'omissions' created the quality of the Sound.


"Anybody could argue with me. I love people to argue with me, I love people to debate, as long as they know I can veto whatever I want to veto....", says Berry Gordy.


"But I love it when they have BETTER IDEAS, because if they have the same ideas as me, then one of us is not necessary".


The Songs went through the phases of recording, quality control and production. 


"Berry was big on letting people prove themselves, based on skill, not sex or color", says Smokey Robinson. 


The artists went through the 'charm school', to groom them in the finesse of social mannerisms and etiquette. 


Gordy wanted to project a respectable image for the black artists and their music; that they should Think, Act,Talk and Walk like ROYALTY. 


"We don't have power, than our power to make a better product ", reiterates Berry Gordy. 


The entire process was "SOUL Bubblegum", and all they had to do was 'chew it'! 

And then of course, SING!


"Michigan Celebrates MOTOWN: The Symposium" (Feb., 2010 ), was a two-day event brought together by about forty university dons, music specialists, musicians, and critics.


"The STORY of MOTOWN tells us a lot about mid-21st century AMERICA, and says a lot about the ASPIRATION of AFRICAN-AMERICANS in metro Detroit to get an EDUCATION and present themselves to the WORLD, observes Lori Brooks, Asst. Professor of Afro-American and African Studies, University of Michigan. 


"These musicians didn't come out of the void, but from a RICH MUSICAL TRADITION". 



                                        We all worked with 

                                        An ear to the door;


                                        Listening to what 

                                        Everybody else was doing;


                                        Just to make sure,

                                        Your stuff sounded stronger. 


                                         You were ALWAYS

                                         Amidst C-R-E-A-T-I-V-I-T-Y;


                                         It was like going to college. 


                                                    ( Valerie Simpson) 







BERRY GORDY II made a fairy-tale come true.


"When you dream, you Dream BIG. What happened with the Motown Sound surpassed my wildest dreams", he marvels. 


He set the records straight, for those who doubted that a high school drop-out with modest income could succeed on a worldwide platform - without secret deals or behind-the-scene manipulations. 


"...Everybody had to be honest - no politics or egos allowed, Gordy reflects. 


"People didn't know how I made it", he continues. 


"They thought I was in the mafia - they couldn't understand how I created one of the biggest record companies in the world, with very little  money". 


The struggle was begun, amidst rats and 'roaches. The victory was won, through talent and love. 


"The thing that struck was how ferociously determined he had to be, to have borrowed that 800 bucks and started with nothing", applauds Bill Clinton, former U.S President.


The bondage of the Negro brought captive from Africa, is one of the greatest DRAMAS in history, and the WRITER who merely sees in that ordeal something to approve or condemn fails to understand the evolution of the HUMAN RACE", enjoins Carter G. Woodson, African-American historian and founder of Black History Month.


Berry took off from where his African forebears left off...the drumbeats, and work songs and negro spirituals. He and his team moved forward, away from the shadows of slavery; the pain and the sadness...toward the more ambient feeling of HAPPINESS and CELEBRATION.


Tamla~Motown is therefore a collective interpretation of the human emotional experience in the world.

Everything SOUL, was what they transmitted to us, bottom-lined on Wisdom and Faith.



                                        Philosophers 

                                        Have long conceded however that

                                        Everyman has two education(s):


                                        That which is given to him,

                                        And the other which he gives himself.


                                        Of the two kinds,

                                        The latter is by far the more desirable.


                                        Indeed,

                                        All that is most worthy in MAN,

                                        

                                        He must WORK out, and CONQUER for himself.


                                        It's that which constitutes his

                                        REAL and BEST nourishment.


                                                                  ( Carter G. Woodson )







With a lot of hard work and faith, Motown became a huge Sound to be celebrated - all around the World. Success had finally come, and...in great numbers, too!


The "All-Seeing Eye of God" shone heaven's great light on Berry Gordy's dream.

Black Enterprise, and according to W.E.B DuBois, "The SOUL of BLACKFOLK", received the mark of "The G-r-e-a-t Seal".

"Never Had A Dream Come True"..."Heaven Help Us All"..."Sign, Sealed, Delivered; I'm Yours".

That's Stevie Wonder's '70 Classic; and it surely Sounds like Motown! 

And Success.

"We were just a bunch of kids making music, not history. If I'd have taken Berry (Gordy) aside and tell him, 50 years from now people would be talking about us and teaching courses about us, he'd have said, "kid you need a break.

"You've been working too hard."




By 1967, Motown had grossed earnings in the neighborhood of $30 millions.


The dream of "2-6-4-8", in the numbers game...had become a stunning reality:


"Hitsville, USA" had become..."more than the mathematician's dream"!


It's not surprising therefore, that in the '80s and '90s, ALL of the MOTOWN crew - songwriters, composers, artists and producers were inducted into the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame.


Berry Gordy himself was given the "Songwriters Hall of Fame Pioneer Award" ( June 13, 2013 ). He's the first living individual to receive the honor.


The Miracles, Gordy's first million-selling or platinum-record award group, received A STAR on the Hollywood Walk of Fame ( March 20, 2009 ).


"Without the Miracles, Motown would not be the Motown it is today", Gordy enthuses.


At the age of 80, Gordy referred to his protege, Michael Jackson ( "King of Pop" ) during the latter's memorial funeral service in Los Angeles, as "The Greatest Entertainer that ever lived".


This is certainly the..."Return of the gods".


And Tamla~Motown is the spotlight...with Berry Gordy handing us not just two-or-three roses; but it seems, the entire garden of roses.


Hold up!


It's back to Originality: SOUL.


What do you expect?

Berry Gordy II was every-inch at this point, peaceful-proud and honeymoon-happy.


It's Man's Soul in fulfillment : "A Return to Eden".


"You can't even know why something becomes timeless", reflects Leonard Slatkin, musical director of The Detroit Symphony Orchestra.


"Whether it's the Jacksons, a-n-y-b-o-d-y, Beethoven - we don't know". 


Remember one of the Motown slogans?

"If it's A Hit, it's A Miracle"!





FINALLY, "To Be Loved" captions the Berry Gordy autobiography;

As much as it captures his Artistic Creativity and Soul-ful Enterprise.

"Mo' Better Blues", as Spike Lee puts it.

Ultimately, Berry Gordy closes the cultural gap, with Bob Dylan, the Beatles, and perhaps the Beach Boys.

He's at par with Woodie Guthrie, Les Paul and the great Afro-American Blues Singer, Lead Belly.


Motown is Legend!
And the "Blacker the 'BERRY', the better the BLUES".


This epic journey of the first African-American great success story - in the music industry - is worthy of ONLY ONE KIND of appreciation:


"The Love You Save" !


By the way, that's a number-one Hit! Jackson Five, 1970.


M*O*T*O*W*N!






                                        His goodness and His care

                                        Are enough to SING!


                                        One only has to spend

                                        A minute-or-two;


                                        In R-e-f-l-e-c-t-i-o-n.


                                        In order to see

                                        The H-a-n-d of G-O-D


      

                                        In HISTORY.

                                       

                                        Not just World History,

                                        But Personal History.

                                       

                                        Your Life and My Life.


                                        GOD shouts VICTORY

                                        Into the FUTURE.




                                        Let's press for something

                                        T*i*m*e*l*e*s*s:


                                        Something that sits

                                        ABOVE the ebb and flow of fashion;


                                        Something on the level of

                                        M*O*T*O*W*N!



                                       Something that infects

                                       Our Consciousness:


                                       Like a good backbeat and a tambourine!


                                       Father, Son and Holy Spirit,

                                       Lord of history, Lord of the present;


                                       Lord of the Future.



                                                                    ( Adam Russell )
















































MOTOWN: Beyond Baby-Mama-Drama BLUES...BLACK SOUL MUSIC To Be Loved!










"MUSIC can change the WORLD", said Ludwig van Beethoven, a maestro.

"BLACK MUSIC IS THE SOUNDTRACK TO OUR LIVES, reflecting some of the most exquisite and, at times, excruciating moments we've experienced INDIVIDUALLY and COLLECTIVELY", says Rhonda Nicole, a Music Journalist and independent singer/songwriter.

The Celebration of African-American Music was initiated as "Black Music Month" in 1979, under law, during the tenure of former President Jimmy Carter. This was the result of the profound interest of Kenny Gamble, Ed Wright and Dyana Williams to set apart, a special month, to acknowledge the rich history and billion-dollar multicultural impact of blacks in the music industry.

It honors the Legacy of African-American Songwriters, Composers, Singers, and professional Musicians. It re-visits the Root-Genres of the Blues, Jazz, Soul, and  Rock n Roll.

And re-examines SOUNDS, Old Styles and INNOVATIVE RHYTHYMS.

"The Legacy tells A STORY of INGENUITY and FAITH. Amidst the injustice of slavery, African-Americans lifted their VOICES to the HEAVENS through SPIRITUALS. These religious music helped sustain them through one of the darkest periods in Our H-I-S-T-O-R-Y", affirms President Barack Obama.

Re-christened "African-American Music Appreciation Month" by Obama in 2009, it also focuses on Unique Instruments, varying Musical Technology and Historical Performances that capture the Diversity of the American Nation.

"The Music of our Nation has ALWAYS spoken to the conditions of Our People and reflected the Diversity of Our Nation. African-American Musicians, Composers, Singers, and Song-Writers have made enormous contributions to Our Culture, by capturing the hardships and aspirations of a community and reminding us of OUR SHARED VALUES", he re-affirms.

In this JUNE, 2015 A.D, WE HONOR the Sacrifices, the Dedication and the Craft of so many talented  Negroes in America, who created A  S-O-U-N-D never to be duplicated; and STILL  L-I-V-I-N-G in the S-O-U-L-S of men and women, in the United States and the Diaspora.

MOTOWN, for instance.

"By honoring the T*I*M*E*L*E*S*S  SOUNDS that define Our PAST and help to transform Our FUTURE, WE Celebrate not only the musicians who move us, but also the S*P*I*R*I*T of RESILIENCE and RE-NEWAL they embody...toward A MORE INCLUSIVE and MORE EQUAL T*O*M*O*R*R*O*M", concludes Barack Obama.

Finally, we must never forget! 

That though the negro is stereotyped as wayward and a never-do well, by the antecedents of violent relationships and the so-called "baby-mama dramas" ( or single parenthood ); blackness is not all about chaos.

L*O*V*E has brought them thus far, and it will certainly take them ...to their destination.

African-American SONGS and MELODIES will continue to fortify the courage of Our HUSTLE and impel us toward "THINKING that ?impossible DREAM".

Holler!