Motown...anyone else a huge fan?

cdrums21

Gold Member
I was inspired to post this thread after watching an infomercial on Motown. Man...what great music. When I was a kid, my uncle was heavily into Motown groups like the Supremes, The Temptations, The Four Tops, to name a few. Those songs are some of the most well written and memorable songs I can think of. Great bass lines by the legendary James Jamerson (check out "Reflections" by the Supremes for example), wonderful lyrics and melodies...just awesome. Anyone else influenced at all or a fan of the Motown stuff?
 
Oh definitely. That crazy back beat is what got me into drumming...and it's probably one of the first grooves I started playing when I began drumming. Good stuff.
 
Definitely. I use to go to the Civic Center in Baltimore and watch all of the Motown Groups.
I saw The Four Tops, Little Stevie Wonder, when he was little. Flip Wilson, the comedian, was an opening act for Gladys Knight and the Pips. I think we paid 5 bucks for a whole afternoon of a Soul Review. Then I saw Standing in the Shadows of Motown, the story about the Funk Brothers. This was the studio band that played for all of these groups from Motown. They played on more number one songs than all of the other major groups combined and never got any mention on any of the albums. If you haven't seen this DVD, you owe it to yourself for the story, the music, the legend.
 
Everyone's probably going to disagree with me on this, but I have always been a bigger fan of other soul like James Brown, Otis Redding, Sam and Dave, some Bill Withers, ect., and I feel Motown music is almost "too" smooth. I think soul is much better with some grit and feeling, pouring a whole lot of emotion of it. Now all of these guys have had their own "smooth" music to, but for the most part its gritty. I still enjoy and respect Motown but I feel it could have been better without the glossing over of everything

But I guess thats really just my personal preference. Maybe I haven't heard enough Motown either, it was well before my time.
 
Well you picked some great "other" musicians that's for sure. I loved all of those guys too, but they were kind of on the bluesy side which is OK. But for a lot of us older timers, if you liked dancing then Motown was the way. All great stuff but indeed there were other avenues.
 
Um yeah! My parents collection of Motown records mixed with some British invasion records was my first exposure to music that I really loved and really influenced me. I must have spun those on the turntable with the big old 70s headphones on a million times. And having a parent who grew up in Detroit during the Motown years helped too. It wasn't my generation but great music is great music. It's timeless.
 
Sounds like zzdrummer is more of a Stax kind of guy than Mowtown. Very cool stuff too and equally as important in the history of modern American music. Might also throw in a plug for the music that came out of Chess studios in Chicago in the 50's thru early 70's.
 
Clint,

My first exposure playing drums was soul music. My uncle owned a teen dance club in the 60's called The Broad Cove. My first concert was Jr. Walker and the All Stars (Shotgun) Great groove and discipline required to play it right.

I also recommend "Standing in The Shadows of Motown" with The Funk Brothers. I actually bought the DVD off eBay.
 
OMG HUGE Motown fanatic here. My dream, to be in a Motown band, complete w/ horns, Jamerson and Smokey clones, oreo cookie guitar section, blackground vocalists, the whole enchilada. Tracks of my Tears, Can't Get Next to You, I'll Be There, Bernadette, What Becomes of the Brokenhearted, Papa was a Rollin Stone, I Want You Back, Aint No Mountain High Enough, What's Goin On, I Was Made to Love Her....Are some of my favorite all time songs
 
OMG HUGE Motown fanatic here. My dream, to be in a Motown band, complete w/ horns, Jamerson and Smokey clones, oreo cookie guitar section, blackground vocalists, the whole enchilada. Tracks of my Tears, Can't Get Next to You, I'll Be There, Bernadette, What Becomes of the Brokenhearted, Papa was a Rollin Stone, I Want You Back, Aint No Mountain High Enough, What's Goin On, I Was Made to Love Her....Are some of my favorite all time songs

Papa was a rolling stone is freakin' awesome. It gives me chills...the whole arrangement man. "Papa was a rolling stone....wherever he laid his hat was his home....and when he died.....all that he left us was alone...." Great lyrics, great song.
 
The very first concert I ever saw was when my Mom took me with her to see the Supremes. I was just a little kid but I still remember it, especially the drummer. I guess that's when I first saw anyone playing the drums.
That music has such a lively, happy sound to me. And, it still sounds fresh somehow.
 
Yeah, I have been listening to a lot of "oldies" in general lately. It's such "real" music, you know?

If I could be in any cover band, it would be a full out motown/soul band with the costumes/dance moves/backup singers and everything as well... I think you could prolly make a crapload of jack around where I live with a group like that.

~B
 
My favorite band is Aerosmith followed by Led Zep, Tool, Rage, Metallica, AC/DC, etc. However, I love Motown, Stax, and all that great stuff that inspired all music that followed it. Such a great groove and feel. When I hear it, it reminds me how great it is. Very much one of the most important eras in music.
 
I love Motown. I grew up in the Detroit area and that stuff was always on the turntables at the house. Along with the British invasion and Elvis and Buddy, Chuck ETC....I grew up listening to some great music.

I also like the Atlantic Soul records(Drifters, Aretha Franklin ETC.) Along with Stax, Chess, Some of the Phil Spector stuff....some great music there.

I also want to say that I have recently "Discovered" Brenda Holloway. She should have been the biggest star from Motown...But Diana Ross came around and started to have a "relationship" with Gordy so Brenda fell off the radar. She was smoking hot back then.
 
Brenda Holloway eh? I'll have to check her out.
 
Back
Top