Got to give it up

In the mid-1980s, Berry Gordy lost money and in 1988, in his late 50s, he sold his empire to a large music corporation for $ 61 million. A year later he also sold Motown Productions, the film and TV platform. Was that the end of Motown? No, as the record label was kept going by the new owners and is now part of the Universal Music Group, one of the biggest firms in the music and entertainment business. Many new artists have since been signed: Erykah Badu, rapper Q-Tip, India.Arie, Damian and Stephen Marley – the sons of Bob Marley – not to mention Pop star Lindsay Lohan. And finally, to mark this year’s anniversary, the famous past of Motown will be given the attention it deserves.
The entire repertoire of songs will be compiled anew, re-packaged, re-mixed and re-released. And Gordy? Well he is happily enjoying retirement in his new home in Palm Desert, California…

A change is gonna come

As it was with the other great soul label of the 1960s, the more earthy counterpart Stax, which was at home in Memphis, Motown can be considered a prime example of the integration of blacks and whites. And naturally this blend is evidenced by the songs. It was intentional and above all successful. The whole world loved Motown’s music. Berry Gordy Jr., one of the first African Americans to have his own record company, succeeded with a pool of almost exclusively African American artists in selling his music to people irrespective of their color. Berry Gordy was not just a record mogul. Ultimately, he also influenced society with the apolitical pop music of his label. Gordy the music politician? He would surely not describe himself as such. Thanks to him, Motown became a label that unites people through music with a universal sound free of all racial prejudices.

Or as Gordy’s loyal companion and today Hear The World ambassador Smokey Robinson once sang so fittingly:
"Well there’s a brand new place I’ve found, where people go from miles around.
They come from everywhere and if you drop in there you might see anyone in town."

I hope we will soon meet up in that city.

Matthias Westerweller