ARTS AND CULTURE
Motown Music
LESSON AC.8
REFLECT Ask yourself these questions before the lesson to spur your thinking about the topic and focus texts. • What type of music do you enjoy? • What do you know about Motown music? • Can you name any Motown artists? If so, who’s your favorite?
FOCUS TEXTS • Life magazine cover, “Motown: The Music That Changed America” •The song “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell (choose an online version)
MOTOWN THE MUSIC THAT CHANGED AMERICA
SHARE THE TEXTS Start the lesson by studying the Life magazine cover (scan the QR code at left for a full-sized version) and listening to the song “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” with students.
THE SUPREMES ★ THE JACKSON 5 STEVIE WONDER ★ THE TEMPTATIONS SMOKEY ROBINSON ★ MARVIN GAYE…
BUILD BACKGROUND KNOWLEDGE Share the following background on Motown, encouraging discussion and questions.
In 1959, Berry Gordy, Jr., started a record company called Motown in Detroit, Michigan. The company was originally named Tamla Records, but Gordy changed it to honor the Motor City, which is Detroit’s nickname. Gordy started the company with a $800 loan from his family. As the company grew, he extended contracts to many Black artists, whose genres included
rhythm and blues, soul, and rock and roll, including The Temptations, Diana Ross and the Supremes, The Jackson 5, Stevie Wonder, and Marvin Gaye. Those artists paved the way for more contemporary genres such as hip-hop. Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell’s “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” is an upbeat, inspirational Motown song
Berry Gordy, Jr., in front of the original headquarters of Motown
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