As mentioned above, Motown's single greatest success on the charts was with 1981's “Endless Love.” This was certified platinum – as such, the RIAA requirement was sales of two million copies -- in October that year, three months after its release and two months after its gold certification for sales of one million.

“What's Going On?” was recorded 6/1/1970 at the Hitsville USA studio, whereupon Berry Gordy refused to release it. After Marvin Gaye had been on strike for nearly eight months Harry Balk, head of A&R, persuaded sales vice president Barney Ales to release the song without Gordy's knowledge.

In the 1960s, Motown and its subsidiary labels (including Tamla Motown, the brand used outside the US) were the most of the Motown sound, a style of soul music with a mainstream pop appeal. Motown was the most successful soul music label, with a net worth of $61 million.

noun. Also called Motown sound . an upbeat, often pop-influenced style of rhythm and blues associated with the city of Detroit and with numerous Black vocalists and vocal groups since the 1950s, characterized by compact, danceable arrangements.

a documentary exploring the social impact Motown Records had on American society and Civil Rights during the 60's and 70's.

Also called Motown sound . an upbeat, often pop-influenced style of rhythm and blues associated with the city of Detroit and with numerous Black vocalists and vocal groups since the 1950s, characterized by compact, danceable arrangements.

soul music Motown music is a pop music style associated with Motown Records. In 1959, Berry Gordy Jr founded Motown, originally named Tamla Records. The record label helped define the sound of soul music and popularized the genre in the 1960s.

Motown brought together rhythm-and-blues, gospel, and pop influences as it sought to “cross over” (i.e., move beyond single-genre listeners) to reach a wide audience that included white teenagers.

The Motown sound was a combination of soul and popular music. Gordy signed a number of amazing artists, among them Marvin Gaye, the Jackson 5, the Supremes, the Temptations, Stevie Wonder, and Smokey Robinson and the Miracles.

Its name, a portmanteau of motor and town, has become a nickname for Detroit, where the label was originally headquartered. Detroit, Michigan, U.S. Los Angeles, California, U.S. Motown played an important role in the racial integration of popular music as an African American-owned label that achieved crossover success.

The Motown Sound owes some of its uniqueness to the reverb effect created by pumping tracks through the label's Echo Chamber, in the days before computers and synthesizers. True to his commitment to quality, Berry Gordy, Jr. would not slap a Motown label on every song his producers offered.