The ‘60s: Culture and Music Essay

Motown took the world over by surprise. The vivid and new sounds from Motown artists made screaming dedicated fans all over the world. With the addicted fans, Motown artists raised the bad and opened the eyes of those who thought African Americans would never amount to anything. Although there still happened to be racism, and prejudice, African Americans managed to become recognized and well known for their abilities. Not only were the Motown artists extraordinary talented, but they also were unbelievably strong and persistent for going against all those people out there who discriminated on them. They took the criticisms continued and went on with what they loved to do. One of the most famous groups during the

Berry Gordy wanted his record label to succeed so much and he wanted to prove that a black company can be well liked, large, and successful. Although Berry succeeded at this the problem was that Berry Gordy focused on making the artist popular and so successful that he didn’t allow the artist’s full talent and personality to show. Some say Berry Gordy gave the exception to Diana Ross from this for “obvious reasons.” Another problem was that many of the artist where to similar. Groups like the Temptations and the Four Tops all looked the same, talked the same, sang the same, and all around where to similar. When many artist sounded the same then people would most likely get bored with all the artist. Producing the motown artist took away from their own talent. Some say that Florence Ballard had a great voice and that she had a better voice than Diana Ross, but because of “obvious reasons” Diana Ross was the lead singer in the group. Many motown artist eventually got upset with the way motown was doing things and ended up leaving motown records. Marvin Gaye was one of the artist that did get upset with Berry Gordy and let him know it. Marvin Gaye was one of the artist that was able to promote his own talent. Along with Marvin Gaye, David Ruffin and Eddie Kendricks of the temptations left the record label as well. Other reasons for some of the artist leaving the record label where financial reasons and some control issues. The control over many of the artist eventually failed when the artist entered adulthood and matured. The record label basically changed who the artist really were when they were in their career. The artist just couldn’t bring out their true personality and talent and this was one of the biggest problems with motown even though it was one of Berry Gordy’s main technique to make motown records as big as of a success that it

Music has been widely popular throughout America since the nation’s creation, but ever since the 1920’s, it has become a daily part of our culture. Over the decades, new genres have been created, each as equally popular. Some examples would be jazz, blues, many kinds of rock, surf music, folk, soul, country, funk, disco, electronic, and hip-hop. Without music, today’s world would be very different. That’s why it’s safe to say that music has heavily influenced American society over the years.

“They Produced some of the first ‘crossover’ hits, songs that caught on with both black and white audiences. Soon Motown groups like The Supremes were getting classy booking to play for white audiences in venues like Copacabana” (The Story). Gordy’s insistence upon the upkeep of an artist’s style, manners, and diction was based on the style of White Americans. He knew that to sell music his artists had to appeal to a white audience. Motown records went to great lengths to get favorable press from white publications. The label was extremely active in promoting its artists and music through media by establishing a tight knit relationship with Detroit, which loved Motown and fed into its success greatly. The direct connection of Motown to a community allowed for fans to feel as though they were part of the Motown team. “Thanks to it’s popularity, African-American songs and faces entered the homes of every American in the country, regardless of race,” (The Sixties). Motown achieved crossover success by adding the expectations and style of white Americans to African-American artists and the black sound that America had been rejecting. The sound with the new, cleaned up look of the artists at Motown Records appealed to black and white audiences everywhere. The crossover of Motown opened many doors for African- Americans during this time period by initiating the acceptance of black role models in American society. The African-American base of Motown in addition to the style and sound that appealed to every race allowed for Motown records to play a key role in the Civil Rights Movement not only through the creation of African-American power figures but also through the records it produced to aid in the

The first group of African Americans brought to America came from a mixture of backgrounds with a lot of recognizable differences that changes musical traditions from the soulful sobs of sable street merchants in the 18 hundreds in Philadelphia to the contagious movement to the sound of Motown. African American music has been heard in all of America

During the 1949 all music that was produced was called race records. Billboard magazine introduced a new distinguished genre known as Rhythm & Blues known today as “R&B”. R&B was originally and African American sound that evolved from blues and jazz that involved heavy and insisted beats. This genre of music consisted with lyrics that involved love and human relationships.

If you want to truly understand America, you have to take a look at America’s music; Rock and Roll. The history of Rock and Roll directly mirrors the story of the American people. The mood of the American people can be easily deciphered simply by taking a casual glance at the Rock and Roll popular at that time. Rock and Roll has impacted and mirrored the story of the civil rights movement, war protest, and the American people’s hopes and dreams.

One of the differences between Soul and Motown is Motown is actually a record label and really contains elements of funk and pop. The reason why Soul is different than Motown is because Soul is more Rhythm and Blues, contains more meaningful lyrics and has more of a Gospel feel to the music. Motown is one of the most popular genre in African-American music because of It’s contagious dance rhythms and meaning of lyrics. “Soul music was also strongly linked to the music of the black church. In fact, during the 1960s a distinct pattern emerged among African American artists, who often established careers in gospel music before becoming R and soul artists. Among those who followed this pattern were soul singers Solomon Burke, Wilson Pickett, and Otis Redding.” (“Soul and Motown”). These legends are what makes Soul music so popular because they talk about their feelings and their love interests. “A newcomer took the music charts in 1965 and he goes by the name James Brown. James Brown created his first LP entitled Live At The Apollo in 1963 and received positive feedback from the critics by calling it the most entertaining show in that year.” (“Soul and Motown”). James Brown became a legend releasing songs like “The Payback”, “Superbad”, “Night Train”, etc. Because of his success and influence in the industry he has earned the nickname “The Godfather Of

To start off James Brown had a specific type of music, it was called funk. He is very much considered the founding father of funk music. (Hirshey) Scholars say that funk music goes further than James Brown with its origins, but he is the one that made popular funk music what it is. (Morant 73) Funk music is important to understand because of the influence that it had on the Black community during the Civil Rights movement. It developed from music that made people want to get up and move and had an upbeat

This judgment began unexpectedly to spread as African American music, especially the blues and jazz, became a worldwide sensation. Black music provided the pulse of the Harlem Renaissance and of the Jazz Age more generally. The rise of the “race records” industry, beginning with OKeh’s recording of Mamie Smith’s

The early growth and rapid expansion of popular American music in late nineteenth and early twentieth century America had widespread and irreversible effects on not only the growing black population, but also on America as a whole. The growth and evolution of music in this period, though fraught with racism and obstacles for the black performer, prepared the nation for the cultural revolution that allowed for the improvement of race relations and, ultimately, the gradual acceptance of a multi-racial national identity. Certainly this change did not come about easily, overt racism dominated the minstrel show even as it provided employment opportunities for black performers; revisionist histories

When people think of African American music it is most commonly associated with rap and R&B. However, most do not know that the influence of their music runs much deeper in the American history. As slaves were brought over, their music changed the styles and evolved much of the music that is heard today. From soul to blues, to even the overall-wearing hillbilly sitting on the porch playing his banjo, they were

The 1960’s were a very important decade for not only Rock and Roll music but cultural reasons. Political leaders were getting assassinated. Because of cultural issues many artists in the 1960’s tend to start writing more about social and political aspects. Television also became a huge part of the music world during this time period with the Ed Sullivan show starting to broadcast bands, and then music festivals and concerts started to come along and develop. There were many popular artists during this time period such as Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, The Rolling Stones, Everly Brothers, Frank Sinatra, Stevie Wounder and Johnny Cash. By the 1964 other artists from around the world including The Beatles, and The Rolling Stones were also included

The classic blues in the early 1920’s such as music created by Bessie Smith gave African American female singers a voice by the ability to discuss their personal lives through song. Her emotionally charged lyrics and her delivery gave the deep blue mood that is associated with blues music. This can be compared to the rise of hip hop which presented a picture of

Rhythm and blues, also known today as “R & B”, has been one of the most influential genres of music within the African American Culture, and has evolved over many decades in style and sound. Emerging in the late 1940's rhythm and blues, sometimes called jump blues, became dominant black popular music during and after WWII. Rhythm and blues artists often sung about love, relationships, life troubles, and sometimes focused on segregation and race struggles. Rhythm and blues helped embody what was unique about black American culture and validate it as something distinctive and valuable.