Motown memories

As Ronald Isley – the last member of the original line-up – slunk on to stage in white suit and fedora, carrying a cane, he was serenaded by a troupe of dancing girls in blue bikinis.

It was a glorious blast from the past and for one night only I felt transported back to Motown’s heyday of the Sixties and Seventies.

The Isley Brothers, famed for songs such as Twist And Shout, This Old Heart Of Mine and Summer Breeze, were label mates at Tamla Motown with some of the biggest names in music – Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson and The Miracles, Diana Ross and The Supremes, The Four Tops, Martha Reeves and The Vandellas and The Jackson Five.

On Monday, the label celebrates its 50th anniversary – so expect to hear lots of Motown hits on the radio as the world joins in the commemoration.

Fans can also buy a three-disc CD, Motown 50, which was compiled after a public vote to find the label’s most-loved songs.

The man behind Motown is Berry Gordy. With an $800 loan from his family, he founded Tamla Records in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959 (it changed its name to Motown a year later). The name Motown was derived from the city’s nickname as ‘Motor Town’, a reference to Detroit’s position as the hub of the American automobile industry.

Gordy’s passion was music. He ran a record store and dabbled in songwriting, penning Reet Petite, among other hits, for singer Jackie Wilson.

His real strength, however, was in producing and talent spotting. In the years leading up to Tamla’s foundation he built up an impressive portfolio of artists, including The Miracles.

The label had a well-oiled bank of songwriters, most notably Holland-Dozier-Holland which comprised brothers Eddie and Brian Holland and Lamont Dozier. The trio wrote more than 200 songs for Motown between 1962 and 1967, while the likes of Norman Whitfield and Smokey Robinson were almost as prolific.

Music came courtesy of The Funk Brothers, the in-house band at Motown’s Hitsville USA studio. It is often said that if this band of talented session musicians had released all the records they played on themselves, they would have had more No 1 hits than Elvis, The Beatles, The Beach Boys and The Rolling Stones combined.

Ian Donaghy, of York band Huge, says the sheer professionalism of the Motown musicians and artists explains the long-lasting appeal.

“Everything about Motown was so good,” says Ian, 38, who grew up listening to his mum’s Motown records and lists Stevie Wonder as his musical hero. “The records were so well made, they don’t sound dated. They played proper instruments with guitar, piano, trumpets and organs. Songs like that don’t age badly, they are timeless.”

Motown songs feature prominently in any Huge set – and even go down well when the band plays to teenage students.

“We can play Reach Out at a Freshers’ Ball and the dance floor fills. If Motown was going to disappear it would have done so by now,” says Ian.

Huge’s sax player, Dave Kemp, once met Berry Gordy at a party. Ian tells the story: “Dave was touring with Chris Rea and was at a party when he spotted Berry Gordy. He was quite overawed but wanted to go over and speak to him. So he went up to him and asked: ‘Have you been busy then?’. He was so desperate to talk to him, but didn’t know what to say. Berry just replied: ‘Yeah’.”

Norman Fowler is another Motown devotee. Norman, a retired head teacher, is also known as York musician Steve Cassidy, who cut a record with John Barrie in the Sixties and shared the bill with Cliff Richard and Adam Faith. He is still writing music and performing today.

He says: “Motown helped reinvigorate rock’n’roll music. It helped revive interest in rock’n’roll with all that brass.”

Favourite acts of the era included Gladys Knight and Stevie Wonder, while his favourite album was Stevie Wonder’s 1976 classic, Songs In The Key Of Life. “Every track is a masterpiece,” says Norman.

York music fan and writer Mike Bennett, left, author of pop trivia book Anorak Of Love, said the sheer popularity of Motown diminishes its appeal for him. “If I heard Baby Love it would never get me on the dance floor, I’ve heard it a million times.”

However, he does express a liking for early Stevie Wonder and The Happening by The Supremes, which reached no 6 in the UK charts in 1967.

He says: “Motown’s popularity was rooted in the fact it hadn’t been done before. It was rooted in the blues and featured largely black artists.”

It helped too, says Mike, that The Beatles were fans.

“The Beatles liked it. Twist And Shout was a song by the Isley Brothers.” The Fab Four also covered Motown classics such as You’ve Really Got A Hold On Me, Money and Please Mr Postman.

Mike’s favourite Motown story concerns Marvin Gaye. “He was married to Berry Gordy’s daughter, Anna, and when they divorced she got all the proceeds from his 1978 album Here, My Dear. It was slated by critics at the time, but has now been reappraised as a classic.”

Nick Banks ran Sound Effect records in King’s Square, York, during the Seventies, and recalls that people in York loved the Motown sound. “The 1970s were a heyday for Motown, they had many number one records.”

Nick remembers selling Tamla Motown box sets, snapped up by loyal fans. “They featured lots of number one singles from Motown artists and were a limited edition. I remember it was a cardboard box in blue. They were quite expensive, but we must have sold between 75 to 100 of them.”

Like most music fans, Nick believes the magic of Motown will live on.

“Just look at the West End and the success of the show Dancing In The Street. Most people know some Tamla Motown music – and like it.”

•Huge play the Grand Opera House, York, on January 24 and 31.

•Hear the sounds of Motown in How Sweet It Is, at the Grand Opera House, York, on January 29. Tickets £16.00 & £17.50 on 0844 847 2322.