Motown Records
Sachiyo Oya
Motown Records, established by Berry Gordy in Detroit in 1959, is one of the most famous record labels. This label has introduced a lot of great artists such as Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Diana Ross and the Supremes, The Temptations, and The Jackson 5
Supremes
Since "Please Mr. Postman", originally performed by the Marvelettes, which is famous as the smash hit of the Beatles and the Carpenters, became Motown's first No.1 pop hit, Motown has released so many hit numbers, especially in the 60's and 70's, many great masterpieces released such as "Baby Girl" by the Supremes, "My Girl" by the Temptations, "I want you back" by The Jackson 5 and "You are the sunshine of my life" by Stevie Wonder, so it could be called the "Golden era of Motown". Many people still cannot stop love Motown's songs, and the songs remind us the flavor of "Good Old America".
In Japan, Motown songs are very popular too, because the songs had become pop hits then, and Japanese pop music was influenced by American music included Motown music especially in 60's and 70's. Even if people don't know the meaning of Motown, they must listen to the songs in some way.
Why are so many people attracted to Motown music? Motown music has the essence of peace. Here is a song that touches our heart, "What's Going' On". This is the song performed and created by Marvin Gaye in 1971, which expresses his opinion against the War on Vietnam, “War is not the answer”. Now, it's the time that people really worry about peace. Some people feel they’re powerless in the face of the tragedies repeating all over the world, so people have sympathy for his music.
 Nowadays, new generation artists, particularly Hip-hop and R&B artists are respected Motown artists, and they are often sampling Motown music when they create new songs. It is still in a memory that many American Artists performed the song "What's Going On" for the charity for 9.11 victims and AIDS patients.
Motown music continued to be listened to in many way, and Motown records itself have been introducing new talents such as Boys II Men, Erykah Badu, and India.Arie. Time changes, but Motown music will keep fascinating a lot of people worldwide.
Journey to Motown!! >>>References
Motown Records: http://www.motown.com/
This is the official page of Motown Records. We can check Motown historical timeline (classic Motown side) and new information (Motown now side) both. Here is whole information of Motown!! Listening to Motown music is also a lot of fun.
Welcome to Motown N' Soul: http://www.angelfire.com/biz6/motownNsoul4Ever/
There are huge information incluses biographies, discographies, photos of Motown artists.
Motown artists
Stevie Wonder: http://www.steviewonder.net/
This is Official Page of Stevie Wonder. It goes without saying that he is a great musician, composer and singer in the world. This page introduces the album "Conception, a musical tribute to Stevie Wonder", which is released in March 2003.
Marvin Gaye: http://launch.yahoo.com/artist/default.asp?artistID=1010065
This is Marvin Gaye's archive on yahoo.com. He left us great songs before he was killed by his father in 1984.
Jackson 5: http://launch.yahoo.com/artist/default.asp?artistID=1012995
This is Jackson 5's archive on yahoo.com. They appeared on the pop scene in 1969 when the lead singer Michael Jackson was 9 years old. He grew as the pop icon by great hits of "Bad" and "Thriller" after he left Motown.
India.Arie: http://www.indiaarie.com/
This is the Official Page of India.arie. Her debut album in 2001 "Acoustic Soul" became double-platinum disc in the world, and she and her works were nominated to 7 categories of Grammy Awards in 2002. This page introduces her latest album "Voyage to India".
Erykah Badu: http://www.erykahbadu.com/
This is the Official Page of Erykah Badu. Her debut album in 1997 "Baduizm" had a big impact on the music scene, and she is known as the pioneer of the movement of 'organic soul'. This site introduces her latest album "Worldwide Underground".
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