In 1959, searching for a name for his record company, Detroiter Berry Gordy combined "motor" and "town." This bit of wordplay put the names Motown Record Corporation and Detroit on the international music scene, where both remain entrenched today.

It was here, in a small house on West Grand Boulevard, that Gordy signed young Detroit talent and turned out hit after hit. Influenced by the Ford assembly line where he one time worked, Gordy ran his company like a well-oiled machine, launching the careers of artists like Stevie Wonder, the Four Tops, Supremes, Smokey Robinson and Marvin Gaye. Today, Motown is synonymous with Detroit and the artists who contributed their original sounds to the world.

Artist Sample

Four Tops
Funk Brothers
Marvin Gaye
Jackson 5
James Jamerson
Marvelettes
Martha Reeves & the Vandellas
Smokey Robinson & the Miracles
Diana Ross & the Supremes
Temptations
Stevie Wonder