Soul music label Motown Records will celebrate its 50th birthday on January
12.

HISTORIC FILMS -
Motown Records was founded on January 12, 1959 by Berry Gordy in
Detroit, Michigan.

Berry Gordy was a songwriter for local acts such as Jackie Wilson but
decided to open up his own record company with the help of an 800 dollar (USD)
loan from his family. Originally called Tamla Records, Gordy first signed The
Matadors who later changed their name to The Miracles with their irreverent
lead singer William "Smokey" Robinson becoming the label's
vice-president. The group went on to become the label's first number one
selling artist with the song "Shop Around." It was also the label's
first platinum record.

Robinson said Gordy's vision for the company was clear from the very
beginning.

"On the very first day of Motown, there were five of us, Berry
Gordy was there and there were four of us. He sat us down and he said I'm
starting this record company and we are not going to make black music. We are
going to make music, music for everybody, for the world," Robinson told
Reuters Television in Los Angeles.

Gordy found a house in Detroit and transformed it into a hitmaking
machine. He emptied out the garage and put in sound proofing walls where the
studio was. The straight-talking and ambitious president of the label also
gave it a name that made everyone know what the studio was all about.
"We're going to call this Hitsville because that is where hits are
going to be made," he recalled.

Motown was revolutionary on a number of levels. It was instrumental in
breaking down racial barriers in the 1960s as it was the first record label
owned by an African-American and to feature all African-American with its
artists crossing over to mainstream pop music. The "Motown Sound"
with its simple lyrics and musical arrangements were catchy enough to grab the
attention of audiences all over the world.

Martha Reeves and the Vandellas sang hits like "Nowhere to
Run", "Heatwave" and "Dancing in the Street". Reeves
said being at Hitsville was like being on an assembly line.

"He (Berry Gordy) insisted that we get training. He took us to
four-year courses with Professor Maxine Powell, two-hour sessions, whenever we
weren't on the road everyday we were at the studio, Maurice King taught us
music theory, Charlie Atkins gave us vaudeville steps because there was a
Motown look, there was a Motown class and the Motown way," Reeves told
Reuters Television in London.

Many of pop history's most prominent artists were discovered by Motown
including Diana Ross and The Supremes, The Marvelettes, Marvine Gaye, The Four
Tops, The Temptations, Stevie Wonder and the Jackson 5.

Songwriters Eddie Holland, Lamont Dozier and Brian Holland were the
songwriting force behind many of the label's hits and therefore the hits which
dominated the radio airwaves of the 1960s. They wrote more than 200 songs
including "Please Mr. Postman", "(Love is Like a) Heat
Wave," and Marvin Gaye's "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By
You)."
Eddie Holland admitted he knew nothing about songwriting when first
hired for the job but soon learned the craft and a way to organise the
songwriting trio which would play on each other's strengths.

"I said but what slows you (his co-writers Brian Holland and
Lamont Dozier) down is these lyrics. It takes you too long to write these
lyrics, it just takes away. I said if you guys just did what you do and you
turn it over to me (work on the melodies) and you let me write these lyrics,
we will be able to move at a very, very fast pace," said Holland.
The label later moved to Los Angeles in 1972 and was eventually sold by
Berry Gordy. It is now part of Universal Music.

Although discovered a half-century ago, the music and the legacy of
what the label and its artists accomplished remains unprecedented.

"Each generation that I find that latches onto this music,
especially for new musicians, it's like a roadmap for them to get into the
business. And it's been like a national anthem for our country here. The
people have embraced us with so much love because that's what it exudes, so
much love. It's more than fun music it also tells a story of what you can do
if you believe in yourself," said Lamont.

The artists, songwriters and producers have all gone their separate
ways but the spirit of the label is as strong as ever.

"Motown's influence has always been about unity, about people
getting together, people are one people," said Gordy.

"When we see each other, it's like we just saw each other yesterday
and that same feeling is there. I don't have to get to know Martha Reeves
again or feel her out or say 'Oh is she the same'. I go 'Ma, come here baby'
and I hug her and she hugs me. That's the way we've always been, that's the
way we still are and that's unique in the world," added Robinson.

Reeves, who currently sits on the board of the Detroit City Council,
was the driving force behind last year's renaming of the city's Grand
Boulevard West to Berry Gordy Way, to let the world know that was the street
which housed Hitsville.

"I'm proud to be a part of a wonderful company that had over 30
acts and all of them were number one, top artists, all because we had that
Motown pride," she said.

A number of events will be held to honour the label's 50th birthday
including the installation of an exhibition at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
and Museum in the United States and a reunion tour of some of Motown's biggest
acts in the United Kingdom.