The "All Things Motown/Stax" Thread

[harmless]

Let's do this. Let's do this hard.

I'm halfway into the fourth "disc" of Hitsville U.S.A - The Motown Singles Collection, and after having paid more attention to several black artists of the era over the last few days (Stevie Wonder, Curtis Mayfield, Marvin Gaye, Sly and the Family Stone, The Temptations, and others here and there) I'm convinced that musically, black 60's / 70's > white 60's / 70's. It's all more interestingly structured, and clearly more influential. I can hear so many ideas that originate here but have been ascribed to white guys. As a drummer, the rhythmic innovations of Motown and Stax are what stick out; the drumming and bass guitar-work is so much more intricate than any white music of its era, and clearly a real progression of 50's Rock and Roll. The ghost-notes on the snare drum, the interplay between hats and snare, and backbeats! One track on Hitsville U.S.A is the earliest song I've heard which makes me think of Drum 'n Bass and Breakbeat (I was aware that Breakbeat originated in the seventies, when DJ Kool Herc used to play isolated drum-breaks from funk and soul songs back to back). Here's the track I'm referring to, "Twenty-Five Miles" by Edwin Starr:



Question: Which artists are more correctly labelled 'Stax' than 'Motown'?

If you're really into this stuff I suggest you check Muscle Shoals stuff (Fame, Muscle Shoals Studios and all that). Funny thing is that a lot of the Soul/R&B hits were actually written by a bunch of white dudes (e.g. Dan Penn, Spooner Oldham, Chips Moman) and also on the recordings some of the musicians playing are white, and it was not uncommon for the whole band to be white (e.g. like The Swampers on Aretha's first big hits 'Do right Woman Do Right Man', 'Chain of Fools' etc.). Peter Gularnick's Sweet Soul Music is the essential reading, and they also made a good documentary about Muscle Shoals last year. PM me if you want a link to watch that.

Trailer of the doc:

Thanks, that's really interesting. Wasn't Motown Records run by a white guy as well?

[doug rr]

Berry Gordy ran Motown..He's black

[Lament]

Yeah, the forces behind Motown were almost exclusively black. Berry Gordy, Holland-Dozier-Holland, four of the five Funk Brothers (right?) every artist besides Rare Earth...

[contamination]

Yeah, the forces behind Motown were almost exclusively black. Berry Gordy, Holland-Dozier-Holland, four of the five Funk Brothers (right?) every artist besides Rare Earth...

I think there were few white players also. I really should watch Standing in the Shadows of Motown again.

[Lament]

Eleven of the thirteen members recognized as being members of the Funk Brothers by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences were black.

Motown was as close to an all-black operation as you could find in the sixties.

[harmless]

Berry Gordy ran Motown..He's black

My bad. What I read about it was probably white-washing bullshit.

[harmless]

I'm having this weird sensation whereby I've kind of tired of Motown, Stevie etc. over the last few days, but every time I want to hear some music, it's what I pick up. So at this point it's like an addiction; even if I don't 'want it', I have to have it. No other music will do. Once you go black, there's no going back, etc. I may need someone to tell me which album I should listen to once in this situation.

[Lament]

Maggot Brain by Funkadelic.

[Lament]

That might actually not be a good answer, but it's what I'm listening to right now.

[harmless]

I've gone for Hotter Than July, but only because I haven't played it to death. I really think All I Do is excellent.

[Lament]

Not a bad choice, or line of reasoning.

You're probably due a break soon though. You dove in pretty fast & hard. I respect that. I respect that hard, harmless.

[harmless]

I don't do things in halves

[Lament]

You sure don't. I hope you feel a sense of pride about the Stevie Wonder thread getting to sixteen pages in like two weeks, mostly due to posts made by us.

[harmless]

So much pride.

[Lament]

Two weeks ago we had no Stevie Wonder thread, and today it's like five pages longer than the Springsteen thread. Sometimes there is magic all around us, just waiting to be captured.

[Kaius]

At the Hoosier Lounge on the Ohio checking these guys out!

http://www.nucorpmusic.com/site/55ea0cd ... FBios.html

[Lament]

It says Page Not Found.

[Kaius]

Playing "My Girl"

The lead singer has a black and silver bedazzled suit and a handsome beard.

[Kaius]

It works for me? Try this

http://www.nucorpmusic.com/site/55ea0cd ... .html#2623

[Lament]

Same thing.

Where are you?