Musc 200 1st Edition Lecture 22 Outline of Last LectureI. Surf Rock continueda. Timbreb. Stomp Boxesc. Dick DaleII. The Brill Building and Girl Groupsa. Phil Spectori. Wall of SoundOutline of Current Lecture I. Motown IntroductionII. Berry Gordya. Production Line Modelb. Integrated Production SystemIII. The Motown Production ProcessIV. Motown Musical ArrangementsCurrent LectureMotown- Can refer to 3 different thingso An important and very successful record label in Detroit in the 60so The style of music that came from Motown Recordso The particular approach to production that Motown Records took- Motown Records had a house band which backed the lead singero This group of musicians played on all of the Motown hits but never achieved the same fame as the singers because they played for many of them- Motown put African Americans in the center of the entertainment industryBerry GordyThese notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor’s lecture. GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes, not as a substitute.- His family moved to Detroit as part of The Great Migration which allowed them to move into the emerging African American middle class- Gordy tried several business ventures before opening Motown Records including working in an assembly line for car production and writing songs- Gordy saw the process of producing a car and a record as very similaro Both had a hierarchy of control with only a few people at the topo Both had division of labor with people who specialized in certain things- Gordy’s goal was to use the production line model in his independent label – Motown Recordso Motown could be seen as an independent label modelled after what the major mainstream labels were doing- Gordy saw that Detroit didn’t have a local independent label for the flourishing R&B scene there- Motown became the biggest independent label of the 60s and was the largest African American run business in the country at this timeo From 1961-71 Motown Records had over 100 Top 10 singles- Gordy saw that African American music could sell to both a white and black audience if it was properly marketed o Would sell even better to whites if a touch of pop and mainstream was addedo Gordy’s plan was to sell to both audiences He knew that the majority of people were white and knew that if he could breakinto that market he would make a much larger profit- Motown Records was built into an integrated production system, an empire of sortso Motown was a record label, a publishing house, owned the rights to their songs (which meant that the royalties went straight to Motown), had a recording studio, a booking agency, choreographers, and etiquette trainers The etiquette trainers designed the artists’ image and taught them to speak in a more mainstream mass media way for interviewso All of the profits went into Motown because they didn’t have to hire outside people to do a jobThe Motown Production Process- A&R team (early on this was just Gordy himself) would find a singer- Singer was paired with a songwriter or a writer-producer team to write songs that worked specifically with that singer’s voice and talents- Song was recordedo Rhythm tracks first to get the groove in place (bass and drums)o Next was the vocalisto Then the other instruments (strings, brass, reeds, etc.)- Test pressing: mix the levels for a rough draft and the producer would run it by Gordy - If Gordy liked it, it was finalized and finishing touches put on- Quality Control was next: Gordy would listen to the track on all types of stereo systems to make sure the song sounded good on everything, not just the high quality studio speakers- Artists were trained by choreographers to get them polished into professional stage actso Often did package tours which promoted the artists and their hit songs as well as the Motown Record label itself- When Motown just started up, the label nurtured the artistso Cooperative and family-like atmosphereo Gordy put everyone on a salary so they could quit their day jobs and focus on music- Later on when Motown became more successfulo Much more competitive between producers and also among singers If a producer’s song was a hit, then they could choose which artists they wanted to work with next. If a song didn’t do so well, then they would get stuck with whoever was left.o Power was concentrated with Gordy and a few top associateso Artists’ salaries didn’t increase as their success and popularity grew They got paid the same amount whether they were a nobody just starting out orhad charting singles Many artists left Motown Records when Gordy refused to renegotiate their contracts Many artists were underpaid because Gordy didn’t follow their contracto By the end of the 60s, the tensions in Motown were quite obvious Some sued the label, many simply left over contract and creative differences They felt like they were being exploited Listening: “Please Mr. Postman” by The Marvelettes- Background singers are doo wop/girl group influencedListening: “Money” by Barrett Strong- 12 bar blues- R&B influenced- Piano and bass are Boogie Woogie-like- Stop time breaksMotown Arrangements- Foundation/root of the track: guitar, bass, and drums- Drums were straightforward, gave groove, played on the backbeats, pretty simple- Bass played active bass lines: busy parts that were almost melodic or had bits of melody in themo The bass avoided playing on the backbeato Bass and drums were complementaryo Bass made the groove stay interesting- The backbeat was supplemented by other instruments that would play staccato notes on the backbeat o Gave backbeat a punch and a kicko Usually guitar or trumpetso Staccato note: short, punchy, cut off note- Guitar or piano would play a melodic riff or series of chords- Mix: relative loudness or softness in a tracko Drums and vocals were out front with the groove and hookso Next loudest part was the basso Then the piano and guitaro Then any other instrumentsListening: “He was Really Saying Something” by The Velvettes- Trumpet staccato chords on backbeatListening: “Two Lovers” by Mary Well- Guitars on backbeats- Active bass lines are complicatedListening: “Leaving Here” by Eddie Holland- Riff orientated tunes played by the guitarListening: “Baby Love” by Diana Ross and The SupremesListening: “Dancing in the Street” by Martha and The Vandellas- Illustrates the Motown