A Brief History of Soul Music

1
A Brief History of Soul Music

• Timeline of African American Events in History
  During the Motown Era
• History of Motown Music
• A Few of the Many Motown Artists
• Examples of Motown Music
• Test Your Skills- A Quick Quiz on the History of
  Soul Music

2
Timeline of African American Events in History
During the Motown Era

• 1954 U.S. Supreme Court rules unanimously in
  Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka that racial
  segregation in public schools violates the 14th
  amendment.
• 1955 Rosa Parks refuses to surrender her seat
  when ordered by a local bus driver, leading to
  the Montgomery bus boycott of 1955-56.
• 1957 The Southern Christian Leadership Conference
  is established by the Rev. Martin Luther King,
  Jr., and others, to coordinate and assist local
  organizations working for the full equality of
  African Americans.
• 1959 Singer Ray Charles records Whatd I say,
  which exemplifies the emergence of soul music,
  combining rhythm and blues with gospel.

• 1959 Motown Records is founded in Detroit,
  Michigan, by Berry Gordy, Jr. The Motown Sound
  dominates black popular music through the 1960s
  and attracts a white audience as well.
• 1963 The Civil Rights Movement reaches its climax
  with a massive march on Washington, D.C. They
  demand the government to pass the Civil Rights
  Act.
• 1964 MLK Jr. is the youngest person, 35, to
  awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
• 1968 On April 4th MLK Jr. is assassinated in
  Memphis, Tennessee.

3
History of Motown Music

• Berry Gordy Jr. started Motown Records in 1957
  after his record store in Detroit went bankrupt.
• Instead he turned to songwriting and RB acts.
• The name Motown was an abbreviation of Motor
  City and was located at 2648 West Grand
  Boulevard, called Hitsville, U.S.A.
• Most of the performers were teenagers from
  Detroits housing projects and run down
  neighborhoods.
• Gordy was able to transform those raw talents
  into dazzling new artists who stunned the pop
  music world.
• Motown had 110 Top 10 hits and artists such as
  Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Dianna Ross and the
  Supremes, The Temptations, and The Jackson 5.

• By 1973 when Gordy left the company at age 46, he
  had built the Nations largest black-owned
  entertainment conglomerate.
• By the late 1960s the label was The Sound of
  Young America.
• Motown combined elements of blues, gospel, swing,
  and pop with a thumping backbeat for new dance
  music.
• Motown radically altered the publics perception
  of black music, which for years had been kept out
  of the main stream.
• White youths and black youths were captivated by
  the rhythmic new sound.

4
A Few of the Many Motown ArtistsClick on the
button in each picture to get more information on
each artist.

• The Temptations
• Marvin Gaye

• Dianna Ross The Supremes
• Stevie Wonder

5
Examples of Motown MusicOnce you click on the
button below and are on the website click the
right link to bring you to old school Motown.
Enjoy!
6
Do you have what it takes to be an official
SOULMAN or SOULWOMAN? Lets see! Take this
quick quiz and test your skills! Good Luck!

• What year was Motown
• Records founded?
• 1942
• 1980
• 1959

7
I am sorry you are incorrect.But you still are
smooth! Look at those moves! Please try again!
8
I am sorry you are incorrect. But you still are
smooth! Look at those moves!Please try again!
9
You are correct!You are the original SOULMAN or
SOULWOMAN!!! Get Down!
10
Pick the words that best describe Motown Sound

• Heavy with loud instruments
• Blues, gospel, and pop mixed
• Rap with offensive lyrics

11
I am sorry you are incorrect. But you are still
smooth! Look at those moves! Please try again.
12
You are correct! You are the original SOULMAN or
SOULWOMAN!!!Get down!
13
I am sorry you are incorrect. But you are still
smooth! Look at those moves! Please try again!
14
Which of these artists is a Motown artist?

• a) Stevie Wonder
• b) Madonna
• c) Snoop Dogg

15
You are correct! You are the original SOULMAN or
SOULWOMAN!!! Get down!
16
I am sorry you are incorrect. But you are still
smooth! Look at those moves! Please try again.
17
I am sorry you are incorrect. But you are still
smooth! Look at those moves! Please try again.
18
I hope you learned a lot about the history of
soul music and enjoyed your Motown
experience!!!One Love!
19
Sources

• Timeline of Historical Events
• www.npr.org/news/specials/blackhistorymonth/timeli
  ne/html
• History of the Origin of Motown Records and Music
• www.africanamericans.com/MotownSound.htm
• http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motown
• Various Motown Artists (more Information on each
  artist)
• www.history-of-rock.com
• Examples of Motown Music
• www.motown.com
• Images from Google Images and Clip Art
• Sounds from Clip Organizer
• This Hyper Media project was created by Leanne
  Paquet