MotownRecords—Funk/Soul

ABOUT

Berry Gordy founded Motown in Detroit in 1959, building a music factory that would become the best-selling African-American-owned business in US history. The "Hitsville USA" studio used a dedicated house band known as The Funk Brothers, whose precision-engineered grooves underpinned dozens of chart-defining singles. Motown's blend of pop accessibility and deep soul feeling made it the most commercially successful soul imprint ever.

PRODUCER NOTES

Motown recordings are among the most polished of the 1960s soul era, but the Funk Brothers' locked-in rhythm section — particularly James Jamerson's bass playing — provides sample material that defies imitation. The bass lines alone are worth digging the entire catalog.

NOTABLE FUNK / SOUL ARTISTS