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    The document discusses Hitsville U.S.A, the original Motown recording studio in Detroit. It describes how Berry Gordy founded Motown Records in 1959 and established Hitsville U.S.A. to develop musical talent. Many Motown artists recorded hit songs at Hitsville that reached the top of the music charts. Though Motown later relocated to Los Angeles, Hitsville preserved Detroit's important role in the music industry and promoted diversity and optimism during the civil rights era.

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    The document discusses Hitsville U.S.A, the original Motown recording studio in Detroit. It describes how Berry Gordy founded Motown Records in 1959 and established Hitsville U.S.A. to develop musical talent. Many Motown artists recorded hit songs at Hitsville that reached the top of the music charts. Though Motown later relocated to Los Angeles, Hitsville preserved Detroit's important role in the music industry and promoted diversity and optimism during the civil rights era.

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    The document discusses Hitsville U.S.A, the original Motown recording studio in Detroit. It describes how Berry Gordy founded Motown Records in 1959 and established Hitsville U.S.A. to develop musical talent. Many Motown artists recorded hit songs at Hitsville that reached the top of the music charts. Though Motown later relocated to Los Angeles, Hitsville preserved Detroit's important role in the music industry and promoted diversity and optimism during the civil rights era.

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    40 views5 pages

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    The document discusses Hitsville U.S.A, the original Motown recording studio in Detroit. It describes how Berry Gordy founded Motown Records in 1959 and established Hitsville U.S.A. to develop musical talent. Many Motown artists recorded hit songs at Hitsville that reached the top of the music charts. Though Motown later relocated to Los Angeles, Hitsville preserved Detroit's important role in the music industry and promoted diversity and optimism during the civil rights era.

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    Chugh 1

    Manshant Chugh
    Dr. Aaron Martin
    Honors 1000
    November 19, 2015

    Where are we going? : Hitsville U.S.A


    Our group selected Hitsville U.S.A to be the site as the base of our essay Where are we
    going?. I personally voted for Hitsville U.S.A because I had no idea what it was, which drove
    my curiosity to find more about it. I readily agreed with my groups choice of visiting this
    location, because I was told that it is related to the music history of Detroit and it personally
    intrigued my interest of music. As I started researching on the Hitsville and Motown music, I
    found out that Hitsville is not an ordinary musical landmark but it is a treasure of musical history
    of Detroit. This treasure of music preserves the old memories and the studio ,the music
    composed here made it to top 100 in music charts several times. Detroit is a city rich in major
    historical events, places and ideas that changed the world in which we live today. That being
    said, Hitsville U.S.A can be seen as true depiction of the historical Detroit. Hitsville USA can be
    used to understand the idea of our place in the world around us, where we are going.
    In 1959 Berry Gordy, with $800 loan from family co-op, went on to form his own record
    studio named Tamla records, which then was changed to Motown records.1 Berry inherited his
    entrepreneurial skills from his parents and the idea to set up a record studio from working on an
    assembly line in an auto plant. Just like a car is put up together from scratch and the final product
    1 Berry Gordy - Motown's Hit-Making Songwriter.2015

    Chugh 2

    is a polished and good looking car, he wanted to brush up the skills of amateur artists and make
    them stars. He envisioned a process by which a kid could walk in one door an unknown off the
    street and come out the other a polished performer.2Motown went on to become highly
    successful because it resonated the core values of Detroit: Unity in diversity. Motown was a
    black owned and centered project which catered to the needs of the diverse America.3 Hitsville
    provided the music artists of the time, a golden opportunity to polish and present their talent in
    front of the world. It provided people with many different kinds of music. Across the United
    States, the mid 1960s were plagued by excruciating urban violence.4 The songs of Motown and
    events of 1960s seem inexorably linked in the popular consciousness.5 The enthusiastic music
    production demonstrated the strive towards progression and optimism of melancholy people and
    the nation as a whole. The Motown was further popularized with the establishment of Hitsville.6
    With a great number of songs that topped the music charts, Hitsville rose to a great fame. This
    famed company didnt stay in Detroit for long, it was relocated to Los Angeles by Berry Gordy
    around the time of riots in 1967.7 The main reason for moving to Los Angeles was that Motown
    was a big company now and most of the artists the company featured, eventually became stars

    2 Berry Gordy - Motown's Hit-Making Songwriter.2015


    3 Cruz, Gilbert. Motown. Time. Time Inc., Dec. 2009.
    4 Martelle, Scott. "Chapter 16: Death of the Covenants."
    5 Bindas, Kenneth J.. Michigan Historical Review 26.2
    6 Group collaboration

    7Classic Motown. History

    Chugh 3

    and started performing in movies. Berry Gordy also added movie production to his list of career
    after music production, so moving to Los Angeles was in the best interest of the record company
    and Berry Gordy himself.
    Detroit, during 1960s was a center of attraction to a diversity of people. Hitsville served
    similar purposes, being the center of attraction to a variety of people who wanted to become stars
    and had interest in singing. Artists knew that Berry Gordy was the perfect man to be approached
    for the purpose. Berry Gordy was successful in providing the artists, a medium to become stars,
    as all of the songs produced by Motown records topped the Pop charts. Berry Gordy carried out
    all his ventures with complete dedication and hard work. Besides training artists and recording
    them, Berry worked on their overall personality development and wanted them to be well
    rounded.8 Berry Gordy, using his organizational skills, made Hitsville a place which included all
    the aspects of business.The complex was home to a round-the-clock recording studio, home of
    the marvelous Funk Brothers house band, which gave Motown its characteristic sound, as well as
    a rehearsal hall, music publishing, record promotion, a booking agency, the finance department,
    and an area for teaching artists.9
    After touring and analysing the Hitsville U.S.A, I learned about a historical treasure that
    provided this country and the world with some of the best soundtracks ever. The Hitsville U.S.A
    was established by Berry Gordy with his aspirations to provide the world with well rounded and
    polished artists, which went a long way, making Motown records one of the biggest and most
    successful black owned and centered business. Like Detroit, Hitsville incorporated and catered to
    8 Cruz, Gilbert. Motown. Time. Time Inc., Dec. 2009. Web. 19 Nov. 2015.
    9 Berry Gordy - Motown's Hit-Making Songwriter.2015

    Chugh 4

    the needs of diverse people. Hitsville always stayed true to the spirit of diversity of Detroit as
    well as of America. E Pluribus Unum is the quintessence of the American spirit, which stands
    for Out of many, one.10 This symbolizes that out of many states of America and the diversity it
    features, all sum up to be one nation, in a similar way Hitsville U.S.A brings together diversity in
    values, music, and is central to the identity of Detroit.

    10 Herron, Jerry. Microsoft powerpoint, November 16 , 2015

    Chugh 5

    Works Cited

    Bindas, Kenneth J.. Michigan Historical Review 26.2 (2000): 182184. Web
    Berry Gordy - Motown's Hit-Making Songwriter. Motown Museum. Web. 17 Nov. 2015.
    <https://www.motownmuseum.org/story/berry-gordy/>
    Martelle, Scott. "Chapter 16: Death of the Covenants." Detroit: A Biography. Chicago, IL:
    Chicago Review, 2012. N. pag. Print.
    Classic Motown. History -. Web. 18 Nov. 2015. <http://classic.motown.com/history/>
    McCollum, Brian. "Hitsville First, then America." Detroit Free Press Mar 22 2012. ProQuest.
    Web. 19 Nov. 2015 .
    Cruz, Gilbert. Motown. Time. Time Inc., Dec. 2009. Web. 19 Nov. 2015.
    Herron, Jerry. Microsoft powerpoint, November 16 , 2015
    Group collaboration, Guidelines to the problem solving rubric

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