Motown

Check out our selection of 15 great Christmas albums by Black musicians that will add some soul to your holiday season from Christmas Eve all the way until Boxing Day!

Wanda LaFaye Rogers, famously known as Wanda Young, co-lead singer of Motown group The Marvelettes, has died at age 78. 

DETROIT (AP) — Get ready, because the Motown Museum is back in business. The Detroit building where Berry Gordy Jr. built his music empire reopened its doors to the public on Wednesday. It had been closed since March due to the coronavirus pandemic. And visitors flocked to Hitsville, U.S.A. LIKE US ON FACEBOOK. FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM & TWITTER. […]

Without Motown Records, the entire landscape of modern Black music would be radically shifted. The label’s founder,  Berry Gordy, Jr., will be turning 90 this Thanksgiving as the label celebrates its 60th year. SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER:  Gordy was born in 1929 and raised in Detroit, Mich. Dropping out of high school, Gordy, who […]

War and racial tensions were at an unsettling high when Marvin Gaye released "What's Going On?" back in 1971. In 2019, a similar struggle exists.

DETROIT (AP) — The Motown mogul who launched the careers of numerous stars like Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross and Michael Jackson has announced his retirement. The Detroit Free Press reports Berry Gordy said he had “come full circle” at a 60th anniversary event for Motown Records on Sunday. The 89-year-old Detroit native built Motown Records […]

What a great way to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Motown – by putting the iconic music in a family-friendly animated series. Since November of 2018, great music and animation have merged on Netflix with “Motown Magic.” Now, you can watch the complete first season on the streaming network, which features 52 newly-recorded versions of the famous songs by contemporary acts […]

Smokey Robinson began his career in the ‘50s while in high school, later becoming a part of one of Motown Record’s first recording acts. Today is the talented singer, songwriter, and producer’s birthday. William Robinson was born February 19, 1940 in Detroit, Mich. His first group, then known as the Matadors, began making noise around […]

Smokey Robinson is still not through lettin’ folks know he’s not happy with the Jennifer Lopez haters who don’t believe she should’ve been part of the Motown tribute/salute at the Grammys on Sunday. The bottom line is that Smokey believes people who think there’s something wrong with a Hispanic woman showcasing Motown completely misses the point. He reminds […]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Stevie Wonder jammed with his harmonica, John Legend crooned while playing the piano and Ciara pranced onstage dressed like Rick James on Tuesday night at Motown Records’ 60th anniversary concert. Wonder closed out the all-star lineup performing more than a half-dozen songs at the “Motown 60: A Grammy Celebration” at the […]

Black Twitter wasted no time expressing their rage over the Grammys Motown tribute featuring Jennifer Lopez. Many questioned why The Academy of the Recording Arts didn’t call on a legendary urban/R&B artist to represent the historic label. As we previously reported, Motown OG Smokey Robinson came to Lopez’s defense prior to her hitting the Grammys stage on Sunday night. […]

Before they were known as The Supremes, the trio of Florence Ballard, Mary Wilson, and Diana Ross were part of a group known as the Primettes. On January 15, 1962, the trio was signed to Berry Gordy’s Motown Records en route to a stellar career and a number of hits. The Primettes were an off-shoot […]