How did Motown achieve crossover success?

How did Motown achieve crossover success?

It was wildly popular. Though the songs were not overtly political, Motown’s popularity contributed to the Civil Rights Movement by achieving crossover success. Thanks to its popularity, African-American songs and faces entered the homes of every American in the country, regardless of race.

What are the characteristics of Motown music?

In the early to mid-1960s especially, the Funk Brothers gave Motown’s records their signature sound characteristics, including:

• A strong, steady four-beat drum tempo.
• Frequent use of strings and horns.
• Pop vocal stylings embellished with gospel-influenced chorals.
• Complex chord changes and sophisticated melodies.

How was Motown created?

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.

What was the purpose of the quality control meetings at Motown?

The purpose of the meetings was to assess the previous week’s work: all of the music Motown artists and producers had recorded.

Which phrase best describes the role of the Motown studio musicians?

How was Berry Gordy Jr.’s approach to Motown unique? Which phrase best describes the role of the Motown studio musicians? produce a consistent, distinctive sound for different Motown artists. Which Motown house band played with hundreds of artists but never had its own hit record?

How was Motown successful?

Just how successful they become is evidenced by the fact that during the 1960s Motown released 535 singles in the USA. Of these, 357 either made the R & B charts and/or the pop charts. Twenty-one singles topped the Hot 100 and by 1965 Motown had become the richest corporation in Black-American history.

Why was Motown sound so successful?

The Motown Sound owes some of its uniqueness to the reverb effect created by pumping tracks through the label’s Echo Chamber, in the days before computers and synthesizers. True to his commitment to quality, Berry Gordy, Jr. would not slap a Motown label on every song his producers offered.

How did the success of Motown impact the civil rights movement in America?

The establishment and success of Motown was an intrinsically political act that served as proof to Civil Rights claims that African Americans could be just as independent and successful as whites. At the time of Motown’s creation in 1959, Detroit was considered the model city for race relations in United States.

Why is Motown important to black history?

and was the first record label owned by an African American. Primarily featuring African American artists, Motown Records achieved crossover success with a sound that bridged genres and a popularity that reached across racial lines during a time when much of the country was still segregated.

What was quality control for Motown Records?

The day would start with a 9am “quality control” meeting, in which songwriters and producers (sometimes they’d be one and the same) would listen to each other’s songs and critique them. Then they’d vote – if the song got an A+ it would get released, anything else and it went in the vault.