This document discusses Berry Gordy and Motown Records. It explains that Berry Gordy founded Motown Records in Detroit in the 1960s and helped launch the careers of many popular African American artists such as The Supremes, The Temptations, and The Jackson 5. Motown Records had huge crossover success by making African American music popular with mainstream American audiences.

1. June 4, 2012
How historically
significant is a popular
musician? In order to
study the history of an
era, do you need to
know what kind of music
people listened to?

2. Objective:
 Students will examine
the issues around the
establishment of
Motown Records. They
will examine
documents related to
Motown records,
answer
comprehension
questions, and
synthesize their
knowledge by writing a
short response

3. Homework:
 Review for
final
 Create Study
guide
 Complete any
missing work

4. Vocabulary: Berry Gordy
 Songwriter
 Built Motown
records
 Discovered
Smokey Robinson
and the Miracles,
The Supremes, the
Jackson 5, and the
Commodores

5. Vocabulary: Producer
 Like a film
director, but
for music
 Supervises
the recording
of the music

6. Vocabulary: Crossover
 Something that has
appeals to many
groups
 Crossover means
something appeals to
two types of audiences
 Hip-hop and pop
music
 Country and rock and
roll

7. Motown
 Nickname for
Detroit – Motor
City – Motor
town – Motown
 Founded by
Berry Gordy
 African American
owned and
operated

8. Motown
 Hugely successful
 Popular
performers
discovered by
Gordy and
Motown:The
Supremes, Marvin
Gaye, The
Temptations,
Jimmy Ruffin, The
Contours, The
Four Tops

9. Motown
 Hugely successful
 Popular performers
discovered by Gordy
and Motown: Gladys
Knight & the Pips,
The Commodores,
The Velvelettes,
Martha and the
Vandellas, Stevie
Wonder and The
Jackson 5.

10. The Four Tops

11. The Jackson 5

12. The Supremes

13. Gladys Knight and the pips /
Stevie Wonder

14. Berry Gordy and the
Movies
Produced
Lady Sings
the Blues
and The Wiz
Directed
Mahogany

15. Billy Dee Williams
 Career was
started when
Berry Gordy
insisted that
he play a lead
role in “Lady
Sings The
Blues”

16. Diana Ross
 Star with the
Supremes
 Star on her
own
 Star in the
movies

17. The Jackson 5
 Discovered by
Gordy
 Became so
popular they
had a cartoon
show about
them

18. The importance of
Motown
 Made African
American music
popular with all
Americans
 Made African
American musicians
popular with all
Americans
 This is crossover
appeal

19. Check for Understanding:
 Who was
Berry Gordy?
 What is a
producer?
 What does
crossover
mean?

20. Independent
practice:
 Read
summary
 Underline
important
points
 Answer
questions

21. Exit Ticket:
 Who was
Berry Gordy?
 What is a
producer?
 What does
crossover
mean?