Table of Contents
Who ran Motown?
Berry Gordy Jr.
It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on January 12, 1959, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of motor and town, has become a nickname for Detroit, where the label was originally headquartered….Motown.
| Motown Records | |
|---|---|
| Official website | www.motownrecords.com |
Who was the head of Motown?
Ethiopia Habtemariam (Mar 1, 2021–)
Motown/CEO
Music Group. Motown President Ethiopia Habtemariam was highlighted in a Billboard feature as the most powerful African-American woman at Universal Music Group, the parent label to Motown Records.
Who started Motown?
Berry Gordy
Motown/Founders
With an $800 loan from his family, Berry Gordy, Jr. founded Tamla Records on January 12, 1959, adding the Motown label later that year. Gordy’s first successful act was signed as The Matadors, but their name was quickly changed to The Miracles.
Why is Motown called Motown?
In 1959, not long after recording Robinson’s group, the Miracles, for New York-based End Records and establishing Jobete Publishing Company, Gordy began Motown Records (its name derived from Detroit’s nickname, “Motor City”). A number of factors came together to make Motown’s success possible at this time.
Does Diana Ross own Motown?
The singer Diana Ross has become a part owner of Motown Records and has agreed to resume recording for the label she helped propel to popularity in the 1960’s.
What does the Mo in Motown Records stand for?
First recorded in 1965–70; from Motown, proprietary name for records released by the Motown Record Corporation of Detroit, Michigan, shortened from Motor Town, in reference to Detroit’s major role as a motor vehicle producer.
Who was the founder of the Motown Record Company?
The Motown Record Corporation, or Motown (also called Hitsville recording company), was founded by Berry Gordy, Jr., in Detroit, Michigan, in January 1959. The record company became one of the most successful black-owned businesses and one of the most influential independent record companies in American history.
Who are some famous people that played for Motown?
By the following year, he’d merge this into the Motown Record Corporation: an independent empire that would seal its genuinely iconic status, introducing legends including The Jackson 5; Diana Ross and The Supremes; Stevie Wonder; Smokey Robinson; Marvin Gaye; Martha and The Vandellas; The Commodores and many others among its hundreds of signings.
Who was the owner of Motown in the 80s?
The 80s brought Rick James and Lionel Richie and The Big Chill — a white, yuppie film with an amazing Motown soundtrack (“Aint Too Proud To Beg” was reduced to dishwashing music). By 1988, Gordy had had enough; he sold the company to MCA, which in turn sold it to Polygram, which in turn was bought by Universal.
How did Motown become known as the Motown sound?
All became part of what would come to be known as the Motown Sound. It is rumored that Gordy modeled his hit factory after the Detroit car assembly line that he knew so well: Make a good product, then make something similar, and make it quick.