After all, its motto, for a while at least, was “The Sound Of Young America”. While no record label worked harder for success than Motown – a political story in itself – company boss Berry Gordy knew that the label’s music had to at least partially represent the young idea just as keenly as it delivered great grooves. Motown and politics were slow to acknowledge each other, but when they did the results were explosive.
The 60s youth revolution was vitally important, and if you were trying to sell music to the kids, you had to be aware of it or be totally, like, square. Motown’s peak era came during the 60s, when even this record company, with a firm eye on the balance sheet, would have been obliged to acknowledge the transitions taking place in a society obsessed with youth. All decades are a period of change, but some change more than others.
