Hitsville, USA
Motown
Music Executive, Barry Gordy, Incorporated The Motown Records Corporation On April 14, 1960, In Detroit, Michigan.
Originally Called Hitsville, USA, Gordy, Started The Company With An $800 Loan From His Family. A Former Boxer, Record Store Owner And Factory Worker, He Chose The Company's Second (And Most Famous) Name, Motown, From Black Slang Used To Identify Detroit's Importance As A Center Of Automobile Manufacturing.
"Shop Around" By The Miracles, Went Gold Shortly After Motown Was Founded. And With The Combined Efforts Of The Group's Lead Singer, Smokey Robinson, And Barry Gordy, Motown Records Became One Of The Most Successful Business Ventures In American History.
Calling Itself "The Sound Of Young America," Motown Helped Launch The Careers Of Some Of Music's Biggest MagaStars, Including: Smokey Robinson, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross, Michael Jackson And Lionel Richie. Groups Such As The Supremes, The Temptations, The Four Tops, Martha & The Vandellas, The Marvelettes And The Jackson 5 Also Achieved Superstardom.
Motown Moved Its Operation To Los Angeles In 1969. Many Claimed This Ripped The Heart Out Of Detroit.
"In Order For Black History To Live, We Must Continue To Breathe Life Into It." -- Hubert Gaddy, Jr.
