The Way You Do The Things You DoThe description and playlist below are from the weekly radio show (A Brief History Of…) that my friend and I host on WSUM 91.7fm Madison. We selected songs we felt were either historically important or just representative of each specific topic. Please comment if you feel we missed something or just to give your opinion. Remember, however, that we do this show in an hour (about 50 minutes of music). Track length is a major factor in our decisions (shorter is usually better). Thanks!
A Brief History of…Motown examines the conflicts over style and lyric content between Berry Gordy Jr., the avaricious founder of Motown, and his artists. Gordy found a successful style in the early 1960s as the first person to market African-American rhythm and blues to a primarily white audience. Throughout the tumultuous decade that included the peak of the civil rights era, many artists became famous with Gordy’s musical formula, but with tight lyrical constraints. …
A Brief History of…Motown examines the conflicts over style and lyric content between Berry Gordy Jr., the avaricious founder of Motown, and his artists. Gordy found a successful style in the early 1960s as the first person to market African-American rhythm and blues to a primarily white audience. Throughout the tumultuous decade that included the peak of the civil rights era, many artists became famous with Gordy’s musical formula, but with tight lyrical constraints. …
