Author Archives: Todd C.

More than just the hits. How Berry Gordy, Jr. made the Motown miracle. In just under 30 years Berry Gordy, Jr. had taken the $800 (approximately $7,650 in 2023 dollars) loan from his family credit union and turned it into …

The accidental secretary becomes a hitmaking singer. Martha Rose Reeves never intended to do secretarial work at Motown. Like many aspiring singers, she had a series of day jobs but she spent her nights gigging at various Detroit nightclubs singing …

Home to much of the U S automotive industry, Detroit is often called the “Motor City” so it makes some sense that soon after establishing Tamla Records on 12 January 1959, Berry Gordy, Jr., a man looking to make his …

It’s the last day of this trip and, other than one brief photo stop to serve as the overture, I’m going to start this post with the cadenza because I heard a symphony in the middle. I made my first …

Forty-four days before I left for Michigan, the United Auto Workers began a labor action that their first directly elected president, Shawn Fain called a “Stand Up Strike.” I have to believe that he chose this term to deliberately evoke …