Motown sound
Detroit's signature genre
The Motown sound is the distinctive style of rhythm and blues music produced by Motown Records in Detroit during the 1960s and early 1970s.
It blends gospel vocal harmonies, driving bass lines, orchestral strings, and polished production into a sound that crossed racial boundaries in American pop music.
The Supremes, Temptations, Marvin Gaye, and Stevie Wonder exemplified the style: That tambourine on every beat is pure Motown sound.
- handclapsPalms struck together audibly
- Smokey RobinsonMotown singer-songwriter, Miracles leader
- overdubbingAdding layers to recordings
- vocal harmoniesSimultaneous complementary melodic lines
- tambourineJingling handheld percussion instrument
Stevie Wonder · Marvin Gaye · R&B · The Supremes · Berry Gordy · Diana Ross · civil rights movement · racial integration · The Temptations · soul music · vibraphone · call and response · Four Tops · orchestral arrangements · global influence · crossover · Detroit · youth culture
- American Singingspirituals, blues, country, gospel, barbershop
- MotownBerry Gordy, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross, Smokey Robinson
- Sound Elementsguitar tone, bass tone, reverb, distortion, chorus effect
Motown soundlo-fi
Imperfect audio quality, informally
garage rock · punk rock · unpolished · unplugged · DIY aesthetic
Motown soundMississippi blues
Southern folk music tradition
country blues · field recordings · acoustic blues · Texas blues