Script 'A Taste of Motown'

INTRO (Music montage of different motown artists playing over the top) ARCHIE: What is Motown? CALLUM: Is it a style of music? JACK: Or a label? ARCHIE: Well, Motown, can be considered as both; in fact, no other label is more identied with the sound it produced. And although Motown started as a straight R&B label, it later moved into genres such as Psychedelic Soul, among others. Today we'll be discussing "The Motown Sound" giving you a real taste of Detroit from the 60s onwards. VIV: Motown was a black-owned, black-centered business that gave white America something they just could not get enough of joyous, sad, romantic, mad, groovin', movin' music JACK: But what was the actual sound of Motown? ARCHIE: Great melodies, lots of tambourines and hand clapping, blaring horns, interplay between the lead singer and his or her backup vocalists, driving bass lines and foot-slapping drum parts. This was not just music but more chemistry, the Funk Brothers, the Holland brothers, Lamont Dozier, owner Berry Gordy and of course, every artist on Motown Records being the scientists behind this beautiful creation. VIV: Motown had over 90 number 1 pop hits from artists including the Supremes, Marvin Gaye, the Four Tops, the Jackson 5, Little Stevie Wonder and the Temptations JACK: But before we touch on the booming success of Motown, we're going to take you back to where it all started in 1959, Hitsville USA (Clip from beginning of mini motown documentary 0.36-0.52) ARCHIE: Berry Gordy's lucky break came when an old boxing friend of his, Jackie Wilson, who was just started to build a name for himself in the music industry, asked if he could write a few songs for him. He ended up writing the famous hit Reet Petite Which sounds a little bit like this (Play Song) along with several other hits. (over top) But the money wasnt rolling in and he wasnt happy with how the songs ended up, as they werent like he rst wrote them. So he went more into the production side of things where he would produce almost anyone for a small fee and if they needed backing vocals. He and his wife would offer their voices and when he got enough money together he rented himself a studio and hired professional musicians to work with (amongst them where the Miracales). CALLUM: But these singles had to be leased to another record company United Artists in order to get the records into the shops. But he still wasnt making the money he deserved because the middle men were taking all the prot, so in January 1959, with an $800 investment from his family, a new record Company was formed: Tamla Motown. VIV: Motown was an abbreviation of motortown because of Detroits booming car industry and Tamla was a spin off from a hit single at the time by Debbie Reynolds. JACK: One of the songs which had the most commercial success was the marvelletes with please mr postman. Which was later later covered by: The Beatles, The Carpenters and even Lil Wayne. (play Please, Mr Postman by the Marvelettes) 2.28

(shop around) by the miracles 0.00 - 0.40