Berry Gordy founded Motown after securing a family loan 50 years ago

Ber-Berry was the name given to the Gordy family savings fund.

In order to receive money from it, any member of the Gordy clan had to deliver a speech justifying a loan and pass a unanimous family vote.

Gordy passed and the $800 he received led to the creation of Motown Records.

Initially named Tamla Records, Gordy renamed it Motown in honour of the nickname ‘motor town’ given to his home city of Detroit in Michigan.

From the start, Motown possessed the family air that had spawned its very creation – by Gordy’s side was William ‘Smokey’ Robinson, a burgeoning songwriter and singer who fronted a group called The Miracles.

Driving force

Members of Gordy’s family also jumped onboard his latest venture, which, for Gordy, followed a brief career in boxing, manual labour and song-writing.

Gordy’s desire to work for himself was one of the greatest driving forces behind the creation of Motown.

He had received disappointing sums of money for writing songs and despite co-writing hits for Jackie Wilson (‘Lonely Teardrops’, ‘Reet Petite’) he saw his creative and financial future in Motown.

Within five years, Motown had created hits and cultivated stars out of a modest building Gordy had purchased and dubbed ‘Hitsville USA’.

Within the building a ‘production line’ led to chart smashes and hit makers.

	Song writing and production teams like Holland-Dozier-Holland helped to create the so-called 'Motown sound'

Motown sound

Song-writing teams like Holland-Dozier-Holland and Barratt Strong and Norman Whitfield worked with delegated artists and collectively brought the identifiable ‘Motown Sound’ to life.

That sound was relayed by some of the finest musicians in Detroit, The Funk Brothers, a sprawling group of talented instrumentalists.

Gordy ensured that his acts looked as smooth and polished as they sounded.

Unlike other record labels of the time, he employed choreographers like Cholly Atkins to teach his performers to dance either in unison, or for the soloists, to fill the stage with their presence.

Maxine Powell was recruited, and succeeded, in polishing the so-called ‘diamonds in the rough’ in her deportment school.

'Young America'

The end result was that Gordy’s vision became the most successful black-owned record label in the world.

In Motown, Gordy created a by-word for an era of modern music, one he dubbed the ‘Sound of Young America’.

Gordy’s ability to spot talent brought us an array of stars whose work has endured over the decades – from The Contours, Marv Johnson, Mary Wells, The Marvelettes, The Vandellas, The Supremes, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles.

The line-up continued with The Four Tops, The Temptations, Kim Weston, Tammi Terrell, Edwin Starr, Gladys Knight & The Pips, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie.

Caribbean influences

The Caribbean music scene also found itself influenced by the Motown sound.

Richard Stoute of Barbados was known as the 'Soul King of the Caribbean' and built his career around the sound of Motown.

"We depended very much on the Motown sound," Stoute told BBC Caribbean.

Hear Richard Stoute's interview with BBC Caribbean's Mike Jarvis

Stoute said that that Motown made a significant contribution to Caribbean music in terms of arrangements, style, diction, and clarity.

"What's happening today in terms of singing cannot be compared with what happened yesteryear," Stoute said.

"I'd like to see that comeback."

To mark Motown’s 50th anniversary, BBC Caribbean Service will broadcast two special editions of Caribbean Magazine.

Listen again to part one looking at the history of Motown

On 30 January BBC Caribbean Magazine will hear from music-makers from around the Caribbean, who will share their personal relationship with Motown and give their opinion on its impact and cultural influence on the region.