Motown was a black music company founded by Berry Gordy in Detroit ("Motor Town") in 1959, and the first black-owned record company to achieve major chart success in the United States. Gordy deliberately targeted the white crossover market.

 

Motown represented a blander, more commercial version of the soul music associated with artists at Atlantic and Stax. By 1973 the company had effectively relocated to Los Angeles, but declined as its roster of artists weakened. Motown was sold to MCA in 1988 for $61 million, although Gordy retained the lucrative publishing rights to Motown's back catalogue. In 1993 Motown was acquired from MCA by Polygram.

 

The"'Motown sound" had a pounding beat, strong bass lines, hooks from keyboards and guitars, and vocals stripped of ghetto inflections. It stemmed from a team effort of performers, songwriters, producers, and session players, with Gordy overseeing and coordinating. Songwriters/producers Holland, Dozier, Smokey Robinson, and Norman Whitfield combined evocative relationship-based lyrics with gospel elements, while avoiding the raw sounds of black R&B which white audiences were reluctant to embrace. Motown recordings utilized a core of creative session musicians – the Funk Brothers – drawn from the Detroit jazz scene.

 

Motown had considerable commercial success during the sixties, with artists such as The Miracles, The Four Tops, The Temptations, Marvin Gaye, and Stevie Wonder. The Supremes had five consecutive US number one hits in 1964–1965, while the Jackson Five enjoyed similar chart success in the1970s.