Revisiting the tumultuous decade that almost saw the organization that had been the leading and most successful Black business in history almost go bankrupt as it struggled to find its voice. #motown #1970s #blackhistorymonth #BHM #marywilson #singlesawarenessday #valentines #valentinesday #podcasting

The British Invasion. The Wall of Sound. Surf Music. Motown. Acid Rock. Stax/Volt. Girl Groups. All of these words and phrases immediately conjure up music scenes that were all birthed from the 1960’s, and regardless of what these genres all have morphed into currently, they will forever be linked to that decade.

Cover of The Boss, 1979, Diana Ross. Photo by Douglas Kirkland. Courtesy of Motown/UMG.

For individual acts, there is always a challenge your audience grew up and has to spend more time and money on other things, like rent and textbooks, even if you were to alter your sound to change with the times. Imagine attempting this when your are one of the biggest music labels in the world.

The Supremes, 1970. (l-r) Cindy Birdsong, Jean Terrell and Mary Wilson.

Last year’s program focused on the initial Motown period, from their beginnings in 1959 to when it left for Los Angeles from Detroit in 1972. This year, I am focusing solely on the 1970’s decade. As someone who used to live in the Motor City, I do remember hearing lifelong older residents talk about what killed Detroit in the 1960’s: the loss of union jobs to cheap overseas labor, the dismantling of the public transit system, the 1967 riots and Motown pulling up shop.

The Jackson 5, 1973. Photo courtesy of Don Cornelius Productions/Soul Train.

Of course, it isn’t fair to blame founder and label head Berry Gordy for the move. The industry had forced Motown to change dramatically from the several hundred dollars in a basement indie label to a powerhouse entertainment company that employed hundreds of primarily Black men and women. The entire music business was moving to California, and even labels that didn’t set up offices there.

The Miracles, 1973. Courtesy of Motown/UMG.

As Motown expanded it’s reach into films and television, the music part of the business did take a significant hit and legal headaches. This wasn’t just due to the expansion: acts like Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder fought for and won control of their careers. The production staff often didn’t know how to market these acts to new audiences: the artists all grew up and changed with times as well, sometimes in a very different directions. The most visible example of this was The Jackson 5. When they were the hot new young people’s act, it was like nothing had changed. Then, as they literally shot up like weeds and matured, Motown ignored repeated requests for better material and the group was pretty much waiting until their contract expired.

Cover of The Bitch is Black, 1975, Yvonne Fair. Courtesy of Motown/UMG.

In what may have been the poorest idea in an effort to expand their business, the label went after acts and formed subsidiaries that had nothing to do with Black R&B, Soul and Pop, and to almost universal results, all of them failing, including a Country label, Mel-O-Dy, a Jazz label, Workshop, and a Rock Label, Rare Earth, the latter being the only one that produced a single hit act. Not only did the Motown A&R employees not know what to do with their established artists, these other signings, by and large, proved they were adrift at sea.

The Undisputed Truth, 1972. (l-r): Billie Ray Calvin, Joe “Pep” Harris and Brenda Joyce Evans. Courtesy of Motown/UMG.