Motortown Revue | A Culture in Motion

LOCATION
Detroit Riverfront
300 Atwater Street
Detroit, MI, USA
Get Directions
DATE
Jun 01, 2022 - Nov 30, 2022
2022-06-01 00:00:002022-11-30 00:00:00America/DetroitMotortown Revue | A Culture in MotionA new installation along the Detroit riverfront celebrates the Motown tours that helped put homegrown artists on the map and broke barriers amid the ‘60s fight for civil rights. “Motortown Revue: A Culture in Motion,” revealed Tuesday by the Motown Museum and Detroit Riverfront Conservancy, documents the starry package tours that showcased the label’s talent for audiences across the U.S. The Four Tops’ Duke Fakir was the star on a lovely first morning of summer along the Detroit River, a day that started at the Fox Theatre with a marquee specially made up for the occasion — and a bus trip to the riverfront in a nod to the Motortown Revues of yore. Eight kiosks situated between GM Plaza and Cullen Plaza, what they’ve dubbed the Motown Mile, tell the story of those transformative tours, which became a fixture in the ‘60s and typically concluded with multiple-night stands at the Fox. With text and photos, including rare images, the themed kiosks mark a “perfect marriage” of Detroit institutions — Motown and the riverfront — said museum CEO and chairwoman Robin Terry. Each kiosk includes a scannable code that will launch songs on visitors' mobile devices, including songs by the Contours, Marvin Gaye, Temptations and other revue staples. The Detroit RiverWalk, recently ranked No. 1 nationally by USA Today for a second consecutive year, draws more than 3 million visitors annually. The new installation, which will run through the fall, is the second Motown Mile, following last year’s West Grand Boulevard tribute to Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On.” That sidewalk exhibit was conceived during the pandemic, when “we had to figure out how to continue to share” Motown’s story with the public, Terry said. The installations will continue yearly at sites across Detroit, she said. Fakir reminisced about his travels alongside the Supremes, the Miracles, Martha & the Vandellas, Marvin Gaye, the Marvelettes and myriad others. The 12-year-old artist dubbed Little Stevie Wonder was a virtual unknown when he played a Motortown Revue at Chicago’s Regal Theater in March 1963, turning in an electrifying performance that was recorded and became his first hit: the chart-topping “Fingertips — Part 2.” The inaugural tour in fall 1962, billed as the Motortown Special, ran the Eastern Seaboard with 50-plus one-nighters, playing ballrooms, auditoriums and country clubs. “This is how they began to spread the magic of the Motown sound around the country,” Terry said.   Fakir recounted the fun and camaraderie of the tours — the long bus rides that turned into bonding experiences for the young Motown artists, including many who were making their first ventures beyond Detroit. The Four Tops, who signed to the label in 1963, were older than most of their Motown peers by several years. “All the guys protected those young girls like they were our sisters,” he said of being on the road.   At a kiosk titled “Bridging the Racial Divide,” Fakir got emotional as he recalled initially playing for segregated audiences in the South, where black fans were often restricted to theater balconies. Esther Gordy Edwards, who oversaw the tours as head of Motown’s International Talent Management, at last put her foot down and declined to book the revues in venues enforcing those policies. On the next outing, Fakir said, black and white concertgoers were together. “It was a joy to behold. It felt like a whole new day,” said Fakir, who described Motown’s impact as “softening the blow” for civil rights activists on the front lines of the fight.   On the bus ride to the riverfront event, Fakir held court for newsmedia and guests, recounting his early days with the Tops, who were old hands by the time they signed with Motown in ’63. Fakir, the Tops’ first tenor and only surviving original, said he and his group mates had been wary of the hometown label before finally signing, a decision they settled on after catching a Motortown Special show the prior December at New York’s Apollo Theater. “We got so excited,” he said, confident that the Four Tops “could kick some ass” and belonged on the Motown stage.   On the repurposed school bus outside the Fox, Terry greeted guests with: “Welcome to 1962!” There was a touch of authenticity on the steamy bus: With no air-conditioning, it was “the way Duke used to do it” on the long slogs across the country, as the museum’s Brian Stevenson said. Except Tuesday’s bus was even nicer, Fakir cracked.   This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Motown's Motortown Revue tours commemorated in new riverfront exhibit   More: Restoring Hitsville, U.S.A: A peek at a little-known part of the Motown Museum expansion   More: Marvin Gaye Drive unveiled in Detroit by family members, Motown alumni, dignitaries Detroit Riverfront
MORE INFO
phone313-875-2264
Visit Website

View What's Nearby

A new installation along the Detroit riverfront celebrates the Motown tours that helped put homegrown artists on the map and broke barriers amid the ‘60s fight for civil rights. “Motortown Revue: A Culture in Motion,” revealed Tuesday by the Motown Museum and Detroit Riverfront Conservancy, documents the starry package tours that showcased the label’s talent for audiences across the U.S.

The Four Tops’ Duke Fakir was the star on a lovely first morning of summer along the Detroit River, a day that started at the Fox Theatre with a marquee specially made up for the occasion — and a bus trip to the riverfront in a nod to the Motortown Revues of yore.

Eight kiosks situated between GM Plaza and Cullen Plaza, what they’ve dubbed the Motown Mile, tell the story of those transformative tours, which became a fixture in the ‘60s and typically concluded with multiple-night stands at the Fox. With text and photos, including rare images, the themed kiosks mark a “perfect marriage” of Detroit institutions — Motown and the riverfront — said museum CEO and chairwoman Robin Terry. Each kiosk includes a scannable code that will launch songs on visitors’ mobile devices, including songs by the Contours, Marvin Gaye, Temptations and other revue staples. The Detroit RiverWalk, recently ranked No. 1 nationally by USA Today for a second consecutive year, draws more than 3 million visitors annually.

The new installation, which will run through the fall, is the second Motown Mile, following last year’s West Grand Boulevard tribute to Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On.” That sidewalk exhibit was conceived during the pandemic, when “we had to figure out how to continue to share” Motown’s story with the public, Terry said. The installations will continue yearly at sites across Detroit, she said.

Fakir reminisced about his travels alongside the Supremes, the Miracles, Martha & the Vandellas, Marvin Gaye, the Marvelettes and myriad others. The 12-year-old artist dubbed Little Stevie Wonder was a virtual unknown when he played a Motortown Revue at Chicago’s Regal Theater in March 1963, turning in an electrifying performance that was recorded and became his first hit: the chart-topping “Fingertips — Part 2.”

The inaugural tour in fall 1962, billed as the Motortown Special, ran the Eastern Seaboard with 50-plus one-nighters, playing ballrooms, auditoriums and country clubs. “This is how they began to spread the magic of the Motown sound around the country,” Terry said.

 

Fakir recounted the fun and camaraderie of the tours — the long bus rides that turned into bonding experiences for the young Motown artists, including many who were making their first ventures beyond Detroit. The Four Tops, who signed to the label in 1963, were older than most of their Motown peers by several years. “All the guys protected those young girls like they were our sisters,” he said of being on the road.

 

At a kiosk titled “Bridging the Racial Divide,” Fakir got emotional as he recalled initially playing for segregated audiences in the South, where black fans were often restricted to theater balconies. Esther Gordy Edwards, who oversaw the tours as head of Motown’s International Talent Management, at last put her foot down and declined to book the revues in venues enforcing those policies. On the next outing, Fakir said, black and white concertgoers were together. “It was a joy to behold. It felt like a whole new day,” said Fakir, who described Motown’s impact as “softening the blow” for civil rights activists on the front lines of the fight.

 

On the bus ride to the riverfront event, Fakir held court for newsmedia and guests, recounting his early days with the Tops, who were old hands by the time they signed with Motown in ’63. Fakir, the Tops’ first tenor and only surviving original, said he and his group mates had been wary of the hometown label before finally signing, a decision they settled on after catching a Motortown Special show the prior December at New York’s Apollo Theater. “We got so excited,” he said, confident that the Four Tops “could kick some ass” and belonged on the Motown stage.

 

On the repurposed school bus outside the Fox, Terry greeted guests with: “Welcome to 1962!” There was a touch of authenticity on the steamy bus: With no air-conditioning, it was “the way Duke used to do it” on the long slogs across the country, as the museum’s Brian Stevenson said. Except Tuesday’s bus was even nicer, Fakir cracked.

 

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Motown’s Motortown Revue tours commemorated in new riverfront exhibit

 

More: Restoring Hitsville, U.S.A: A peek at a little-known part of the Motown Museum expansion

 

More: Marvin Gaye Drive unveiled in Detroit by family members, Motown alumni, dignitaries

Event Images


You May Also Like