For the Record 6: Women of Motown

For the Record 6: Women of Motown
Author: Dave Marsh
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Total Pages: 155
Release: 1998-06-01
Genre: Music
ISBN: 9780380793792

Three more fascinating books in a multi-volume oral history of rock and soul music, edited by one of America's preeminent pop music journalists. Told in the voices of the people who were actually there, here are the stories of: (1) Sly and the Family Stone, the Woodstock-era interracial, intergender band which merged soul with psychedelic rock; (2) George Clinton and P-Funk, the inventive musical aggregation that laid the groundwork for rap, hip-hop, alternative, and techno music; and (3) Women of Motown, members of "girl groups" and solo artists during the heyday of the world's most famous record label.

Motown

Motown
Author: Adam White
Publisher: National Geographic Books
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2019-01-29
Genre: Music
ISBN: 0500294852

Now in paperback, the definitive visual history of Motown, the Detroit-based record company that became a music powerhouse. The music of Motown defined an era. From the Jackson 5 and Diana Ross to Stevie Wonder and Smokey Robinson, Berry Gordy and his right-hand man, Barney Ales, built the most successful independent record label in the world. Not only did Motown represent the most iconic recording artists of its time and produce countless global hits—it created a cultural institution that redefined pop and gave us the vision of a new America: vibrant, innovative, and racially equal. This new paperback edition of the first official visual history of the label includes a dazzling array of images, and unprecedented access to the archives of the makers and stars of Motown. Extensive specially commissioned photography of treasures extracted from the Motown archives, as well as the personal collections of Barney Ales and Motown stars, lends new insight into the lives of the legends. Motown also draws on interviews with key players from the label’s colorful history, including Motown founder Berry Gordy; Barney Ales; Smokey Robinson; Mary Wilson, founding member of the Supremes; and many more.

Mary Wells

Mary Wells
Author: Peter Benjaminson
Publisher: Chicago Review Press
Total Pages: 347
Release: 2012-11-01
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 161374529X

Complete with never-before-revealed details about the sex, violence, and drugs in her life, this biography reveals the incredibly turbulent life of Motown artist Mary Wells. Based in part on four hours of previously unreleased and unpublicized deathbed interviews with Wells, this account delves deeply into her rapid rise and long fall as a recording artist, her spectacular romantic and family life, the violent incidents in which she was a participant, and her abuse of drugs. From tumultuous affairs, including one with R&B superstar Jackie Wilson, to a courageous battle with throat cancer that climaxed in her gutsiest performance, this history draws upon years of interviews with Wells's friends, lovers, and husband to tell the whole story of a woman whose songs crossed the color line and whose voice captivated the Beatles.

To Be Loved

To Be Loved
Author: Berry Gordy
Publisher: Rosetta Books
Total Pages: 587
Release: 2013-12-12
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 0795333706

The story of Motown Records and how it changed the course of American music, as told by its founder—“an African American culture hero of historic stature” (The New York Times). Berry Gordy Jr., who once considered becoming a boxer, started a record company with a family loan of $800 in 1959. Gordy’s company, Motown Records, went on to create some of the most popular music of all time. By the time he sold the company nearly thirty years later, it was worth $61 million and had produced musical legends including Jackie Wilson, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, the Temptations, Marvin Gaye, Diana Ross and the Supremes, Stevie Wonder, and the Jackson 5. Here, the revolutionary who shattered the color barrier in the American entertainment industry and forever changed the way the world hears music, shares his story of ambition and vision. From humble beginnings, Gordy amassed a fortune and became a musical kingmaker in the cultural heydays of the 1960s and ’70s. Quelling rumors and detailing his relationships with the artists he managed, Gordy pens “a vivid recreation of a great period and a seminal company in popular music” (Kirkus Reviews).

The Art of Grace: On Moving Well Through Life

The Art of Grace: On Moving Well Through Life
Author: Sarah L. Kaufman
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Total Pages: 250
Release: 2015-11-02
Genre: Self-Help
ISBN: 0393243966

"Sarah Kaufman offers an old-fashioned cure for a modern-day ailment. The remedy for our culture of coarseness is grace…This is an elegant, compelling, and, yes, graceful book." —Daniel H. Pink, author of Drive In this joyful exploration of grace’s many forms, Pulitzer Prize–winning critic Sarah L. Kaufman celebrates a too-often-forgotten philosophy of living that promotes human connection and fulfillment. Drawing on the arts, sports, the humanities, and everyday life—as well as the latest findings in neuroscience and health research—Kaufman illuminates how our bodies and our brains are designed for grace. She promotes a holistic appreciation and practice of grace, as the joining of body, mind, and spirit, and as a way to nurture ourselves and others.

Claudette's Miraculous Motown Adventure

Claudette's Miraculous Motown Adventure
Author: Claudette Robinson
Publisher:
Total Pages: 42
Release: 2019-09-02
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 9781943343034

As an original member of The Miracles, the first act to sign with Berry Gordy's Tamla/Motown Records, Claudette Robinson was also the iconic label's very first female artist. In 1960, The Miracles' "Shop Around" became Tamla/Motown's first million-seller, prompting Mr. Gordy to bestow a special official title on Claudette: "The First Lady of Motown." Born Claudette Annette Rogers in New Orleans, Louisiana, she was bright and adventurous. At a very young age she embraced her grandmother's Christian values and service to her church when she sang in the choir. Claudette's family relocated to Detroit, Michigan where she excelled academically with honors and graduated from Commerce High School at the young age of 15. At age 16, she attended Wayne State University through her sophomore year of college, before joining the United States Marine Corps Reserves, where she was a member of the Rifle Team with accomplished sharpshooter status. Claudette always had a love for music, and in her free time, she sang with several female groups and performed in local talent shows in the Detroit area. While her brother Emerson "Sonny" Rogers was away serving in the Army, his Matadors groupmate was William "Smokey" Robinson. Claudette was a member of their sister group, the Matadorettes. As fate would have it, they met Motown founder Berry Gordy in 1957. A friendship and partnership was created that has thrived for more than 60 years. Claudette and her groupmates William "Smokey" Robinson, Warren "Pete" Moore, Ronald "Ronnie" White, and Robert "Bobby" Rogers became The Miracles. Their first Tamla single, "Got A Job," was released on February 19, 1958. During The Miracles' six-decade career, the group has sold more than 60 million records to date. Four Miracles hits -- "The Tracks of My Tears," "Ooo Baby Baby," "Shop Around," and "You've Really Got a Hold on Me"-- have been selected by the National Recording Preservation Board for the United States Library of Congress' National Recording Registry, which honors and preserves culturally, historically and aesthetically significant American recordings. These same four Miracles songs have also been inducted into the GRAMMY(R) Hall of Fame, honoring recordings of lasting qualitative or historical significance. In 2019, commemorating Motown's 60th Anniversary celebration, Claudette will debut her first children's book entitled: CLAUDETTE'S MIRACULOUS MOTOWN ADVENTURE. The story is a wonderful journey of her adventures as a little girl in the magical kingdom of Motown. Claudette's goal is to inspire and educate children of their music history of the past, so that it will be retained and passed on to future generations. Claudette has enjoyed the wonders of motherhood as a mother of two, (Berry and Tamla), and grandmother of three, (Lyric, Thomas, and Alexis).

Motown

Motown
Author: Gerald Posner
Publisher: Random House
Total Pages: 386
Release: 2009-04-02
Genre: Music
ISBN: 0307538621

In 1959, twenty-nine-year-old Berry Gordy, who had already given up on his dream to be a champion boxer, borrowed eight hundred dollars from his family and started a record company. A run-down bungalow sandwiched between a funeral home and a beauty shop in a poor Detroit neighborhood served as his headquarters. The building’s entrance was adorned with a large sign that improbably boasted “Hitsville U.S.A.” The kitchen served as the control room, the garage became the two-track studio, the living room was reserved for bookkeeping, and sales were handled in the dining room. Soon word spread that any youngster with a streak of talent should visit the only record label that Detroit had seen in years. The company’s name was Motown. Motown cuts through decades of unsubstantiated rumors and speculation to tell the true behind-the-scenes narrative of America’s most exciting musical dynasty. It follows the company and its amazing roster of stars from the tumultuous growth years in Detroit, to the drama and intrigue of Hollywood in the 1970s, to resurgence in 2002. Set against the civil rights movement, the decay of America’s northern industrial cities, and the social upheaval of the 1960s, Motown is a tale of the incredible entrepreneurship of Berry Gordy. But it also features the moving stories of kids from Detroit’s inner-city projects who achieved remarkable success and then, in many cases, found themselves fighting the demons that so often come with stardom—drugs, jealousy, sexual indulgence, greed, and uncontrollable ambition. Motown features an extraordinary cast of characters, including Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson, and Stevie Wonder. They are presented as they lived and worked: a clan of friends, lovers, competitors, and sometimes vicious foes. Motown reveals how the hopes and dreams of each affected the lives of the others and illustrates why this singular story is a made-in-America Greek tragedy, the rise and fall of a supremely talented yet completely dysfunctional extended family. Based on numerous original interviews and extensive documentation, Motown benefits particularly from the thousands of pages of files crammed into the basement of downtown Detroit’s Wayne County Courthouse. Those court records provide the unofficial—and hitherto largely untold—history of Motown and its stars, since almost every relationship between departing singers, songwriters, producers, and the label ended up in litigation. From its peaks in the late 1960s and early 1970s, when Motown controlled the pop charts and its stars were sought after even by the Beatles, through the inexorable slide caused by their failure to handle their stardom, Motown is a riveting and troubling look inside a music label that provided the unofficial soundtrack to an entire generation.

Motown in Love

Motown in Love
Author: Herb Jordan
Publisher: Pantheon Books
Total Pages: 226
Release: 2006
Genre: Music
ISBN: 0375422005

Presents the complete lyrics to over one hundred Motown love songs, grouped into such categories as lessons of love, the joy of love, and love lost, and including "I'll Be There," "My Girl," and "Please Mr. Postman."

Supreme Glamour

Supreme Glamour
Author: Mary Wilson
Publisher: National Geographic Books
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2019-09-17
Genre: Design
ISBN: 0500022003

Sumptuously illustrated, engaging, and insightful, Mary Wilson’s book charts the glittering story of The Supremes, as it showcases their glamorous and iconic ensembles. As Motown’s leading act in the 1960s, The Supremes became synonymous with glamorous, elegant, coordinated ensembles. Supreme Glamour presents founding member Mary Wilson’s unparalleled collection, showcasing thirty-two of the group’s most eye-catching gowns, meticulously reassembled and photographed on the Grammy Museum stage. Detailed captions accompany each photograph, providing information about the design, fabric, and embellishments of each ensemble, as well as the occasion on which each was first worn. In addition to the fashion history of The Supremes, the book chronicles the evolution of the group and celebrates the cultural icons they became. Engaging and insightful narrative text by Mary Wilson and close personal friend Mark Bego is interspersed among hundreds of archival photos. Packed with anecdotes and insights, Mary Wilson tells the complete story of The Supremes, both on- and off- stage, from their founding in Detroit in 1959 as The Primettes to their 1964 breakthrough hit, “Where Did Our Love Go,” and from the departure of Diana Ross to The Supremes’ disco hits of the 1970s. Supreme Glamour builds a complete picture of the charm, sophistication, and magic of The Supremes.

Guitars, Bars, and Motown Superstars

Guitars, Bars, and Motown Superstars
Author: Dennis Coffey
Publisher: University of Michigan Press
Total Pages: 210
Release: 2004
Genre: Guitarists
ISBN: 9780472113996

Under Berry Gordy, Motown was a place where studio musicians usually stood in the shadows, unlike the solo stars whose names appeared on the albums. Gordy held a tight rein on his musicians, forbidding them from playing for other record companies and denying them credit on his records. In Guitars, Bars, and Motown Superstars, author and guitarist Dennis Coffey tells how he slipped Gordy's draconian rules and went on to success as both a Motown musician and a million-selling solo artist. He offers a fascinating backstage look at the Detroit, L.A., and New York music scenes in the '60s and '70s, with side trips to the smoky clubs and funky studios where the Motown Sound was born. Coffey is credited with creating a lot of that sound, including the famous guitar intro to the Temptations' classic "Cloud Nine." He played on hundreds of Motown albums, and introduced such innovations as the wah-wah pedal into the Motown recording studio. Guitars, Bars, and Motown Superstars is an entertaining and amusing memoir of one of the most dynamic and influential periods in contemporary pop culture, and a unique insight into the ups and downs of the studio guitar-for-hire. It's also a look at the dizzying rags-to-riches-and-back-again career of a rock musician who went from million-seller with a house in the Hollywood Hills, and ultimately back to his roots in the Detroit area. A must for fans of Motown, rock, and you-are-there popculture history. Book jacket.