Detroit Motown

When people think of Detroit, two things come to mind: cars and music. Just as Henry Ford revolutionized the automobile, Berry Gordy Jr. revolutionized the music industry with the "Motown Sound." Gordy started out in 1959 with an ＄800 loan from his family, and after a decade Motown had become the most consistently successful record company in the world. Its roster of talent ran deep, including The Marvelettes, The Temptations, The Four Tops, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell, The Jackson Five, Gladys Knight & The Pips, and the crown jewels--The Supremes. It can be debated that the music of Motown brought people together more effectively than any other cultural phenomenon, breaking down racial barriers during a tumultuous time in US civil rights history. Whether black or white, rich or poor, young or old--everyone was tuning in to Motown.