The History of Motown Records

By Christina Pomoni
Motown Records has been, admittedly, one of the largest and most successful independent record labels in the history of music. Founded by Berry Gordy Jr., an inspirational and insightful leader, who assembled a diligent group of musicians, producers, songwriters, and artists, Motown has changed the sound of music in the 1960s, not only in the United States, but also around the globe.

Founded in 1959 in Detroit, Motown was the equivalent of the Big Three in automobile industry. Being, in effect, a manufacturer of pop music, Motown has gathered the soul and pop classics that altered America. Although it was owned by an African-American and focused on the social problems of the black communities, it gave white America a wonderful, romantic, grooving, moving, and exuberating music.

Unlike other successful labels of that time such as Island Records, Warner Bros Records, or Epic Records, Motown associated music with black civil rights movement and managed to bridge the gap of racial discrimination by producing music that appealed to all people, regardless of the color of their skin.

Berry Gordy Jr., a former professional boxer, Korean War veteran and automobile worker was a promising songwriter when he took the decision to establish Motown Records. Under the urging of Smokey Robinson, a prominent songwriter and producer and founding member of the Miracles (at that time known as The Matadors), Gordy began building a portfolio of talented artists.
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