Podcast: Tribute to Motown record company
Motown is an American record company. It was founded by Barry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on January 12, 1959 and became a legal entity as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960, in Detroit, Michigan. Her name, a combination of the words Motor and Town, also became a nickname for Detroit.
In the 1960s, Motown and its subsidiaries were the most successful in introducing the sound that became known as Motown Sound, a type of soul music with a distinct influence on pop music. During the 1960s, it was a resounding success for a small record company. For many decades, Motown was the most profitable African-American business in the United States. Today, Motown is one of Universal’s labels and features artists from the modern black scene (R&B and hip-hop).