Where Did Our Love Go?: The Rise and Fall of the Motown Sound (Music in American Life) - Softcover

George, Nelson

Softcover

ISBN 10: 025207498X ISBN 13: 9780252074981

Publisher: University of Illinois Press, 2007

Synopsis

Where Did Our Love Go? chronicles the rise and fall of Motown Records while emphasizing the role of its dynamic founder, Berry Gordy Jr. First published in 1986, this classic work includes a new preface by Nelson George that identifies Motown’s influence on young recorders and music mogels of today, including R. Kelly, D’Angelo, Sean Combs, and Russell Simmons.

Gordy’s uncanny instinct for finding extraordinary talent--whether performers, songwriters, musicians, or producers--yielded popular artists who include the Supremes, the Jackson Five, Smokey Robinson, the Miracles, the Temptations, Marvin Gaye, the Four Tops, and Stevie Wonder. Not shy about depicting Gordy’s sometimes manipulative and complex relationships with his artists, George reveals the inner workings of the music business and insightful material on the musicians who backed these stars. The large cache of resulting Motown melodies is still alive in commercials, movies, TV programs, and personal ipods today.

About this title

About the Author:

Nelson George is an executive movie producer and the prolific, best-selling author of The Death of Rhythm And Blues, Hip Hop America, and other books. He is co-executive producer of Vh1’s Hip Hop Honors and a consultant to Black Entertainment Television’s news division.

From Library Journal:

George offers a concise history of Berry Gordy's Motown Records, emphasizing Gordy's enterprising and social-climbing bents. He deals with Motown's inception in the late 1950s; the creation of its hit-making machinery that propelled such acts as the Supremes, the Temptations, and Marvin Gaye to stardom; and its decline in the 70s. Though much of this material has been presented in other books, George has conducted interviews which provide insights into the label's history. Best are his sections on Berry Gordy's entrepreneurial background and his discussion of the musicians who backed the Motown stars and helped to create the Motown sound. An interesting book, written in a spritely style, this will give general readers an equitable glimpse of the Motown Empire. David Szatmary, Continuing Education, Univ. of Washington, Seattle
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: University of Illinois Press
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 025207498X
• ISBN 13: 9780252074981
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 304