Trace the history of Motown. What was Berry Gordy's vision for his fledgling company and how did he achieve it? Furthermore, the music of Motown reflected a a paradigm shift by the end of the sixties. Describe this shift and suggest reasons for it to have occurred.
Motown record was founded on January 12 1959 by Berry Gordy Jr. in a span of few years; the Detroit-based company had sold more single and more hits than any other record band of the time. There is no hyperbole in the statement that Motown brought together the soul and classics that dramatically changed America (Borthwick & Ron 90). The legendary Motown made its mark both on the music industry and on the society with sound that became one of the most decisive music achievement and astonishing success stories of 20th century. It arrived at the height of civil rights movement and gave America something they could not get enough of – romantic, joyous, sad, mad, moving and grooving music. Motown record communicated and united a racially divided country and segregated society worldwide, touching all people regardless of age or race (Borthwick & Ron 90).
Sly and the Family Stone were the pioneers of a new genre of pop music that began in 1967. Notably, their music was a blend of gospel music and tribal music. They made musical history by mixing wild soul, gospel, and blues and rhythms. Sly and the Family Stone were influenced by the ranging from Motown to rock, jazz and folk heroes .
"Pet Sounds" represented a new musical direction for the Beach Boys. What was Brian Wilson's inspiration for this album? How did this same inspiration alter the sound of Brian's next musical offering?
Pet sound can be defined as a more complete expression of the Beach Boys (Lena 45). This innovative album has been renowned as the most influential in the history of rock music. Notably, the album was significantly extolled even though it only received an average response from the public. Lena (45) notes that the track Good Vibration from the album gave the Beach Boys their third first hit. The multi-layered production with heavy tune was eventually recognized as the greatest contribution of the band. It was Brian Wilson’s crowning achievement.
Works Cited
Henderson, L & Lee L. Encyclopedia of Music in the 20th Century. Hoboken: Taylor and Francis, 2014. Print.
Borthwick, S & Ron H. Popular music genres: an introduction. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2004. Print.
Lena, C. Banding Together How Communities Create Genres in Popular Music. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2012. Print.
