he’d proved his facility on numerous instruments, but struggled to find an audience while the company marketed him as a miniatureRay Charles. Mid-60s hits such as “Uptight (Everything’s Alright)” and “I Was Made To Love Her” eased the pressure somewhat, but as Wonder’s 20s approac...
While Motown was responsible for some of the greatest hit-makers in music history, people like Smokey Robinson, Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye, the label also had its fare share of artists who only broke through once. While these Motown songs aren't as well known as the ones...
I’m a total sucker for 60s-70s soul. If you visit these pages from time to time you’ll know that already. I’m more of a Stax man than a Motown man. I’ve always considered Stax to be the rough ‘n tumble, snotty nosed version of its more well-known big brother. If Stax a...
with a characteristic style of black music that combined rhythm and blues with the rhythms and ballad style of pop music, often with orchestral backing. The company featured a stable of songwriters and composers that scored many hits in the 1960s and 70s, including Smokey Robinson and The ...
Motown enjoyed its greatest success between 1965 and 1968, when it dominated the Billboard charts. Although the company was never quite the force in the 1970s that it was in the ’60s (having lost several key performers), it was still a formidable enterprise with the Jackson 5, the Commod...
‘60s and ‘70s, one can’t help but feel that so much is being passed over for well-worn mainstays. And in the case of R&B, we should consider whether it’s past time to show more reverence to R&B’s multi-faceted history — including other arbiters of classic soul, as well ...
I have never been that much of a fan of Motown songs, but there's no denying the impact that it had on music and culture. I mean, some people say that the soundtrack of the 60s and 70s is Motown! And I guess when you think about the number of Motown hits that came out then, ...