'Til the Needle Breaks

After more than half a century, the music of Motown not only thrives, it transcends generations. The iconic sound of Motown has led a handful of scholars to write, teach, lecture and share the music, history and business of Motown on their campuses. In its golden age, from 1959 to 1972, the sound Berry Gordy pioneered at Motown Records in Detroit was the soundtrack for Black America. The Motown sound spawned a legion of talented young performers, many from the Motor City. The Four Tops, Stevie Wonder, the Jackson 5 and Martha and the Vandellas were among the early stars. There were chart toppers like Barret Strong's "Money (That's What I Want)," the Marvelettes' "Please Mr. Postman," the Vandellas' "Dancing in the Street" and the Temptations' "Just My Imagination." At its height, the music of Black Detroit could be heard emanating from radios and phonographs across the country. Sometimes buoyant, sometimes urgent, often gospel-tinged but always cool and infectious, the lyrics and rhythms of Motown opened a window into the Black experience of the segregated 1960s. Motown became a household word and changed a generation. Today, a small group of dedicated scholars are considered among the nation's leading authorities on Motown. In this article, a cultural anthropologist, a musicologist, a historian and a communications/ethnic studies expert share with "Diverse" some of the challenges and curiosities that come with being keepers of the Motown legacy.