Hitsville: The Making of Motown

I mean...seriously... I thought I was fairly familiar with most of thees songs....but the mark of a great documentary is hearing something familiar in a new and different way....

I mean....the way they break down the arrangement of The Temptation's " My Girl" is a revelation....hearing those classical music arrangements...they were there the whole time and I never noticed it.....that's what this film does.....as Bill Hader's Stephane character would say..." It Has Everything"

My only beef...and it's a small one...is that the story ends mid-70's....so they don't even touch disco....or losing the Jacksons....no mention of the second wave of Motown in the mid-80's ....but then this would have to have been a mini-series...

.

Documentary of the remarkable story of Berry Gordy.

Berry was the musical genius behind the formative years of Motown, he provides on screen narration with large contributions from Smokey Robinson.

As a child Berry was always interested in making money and started selling newspapers to white-folk, he did well and pulled in help from his brother to increase sales. But this backfired, you see because 1 black youth was cute but 2 started to look like a threat.

Berry briefly worked at Ford and so we see how car assembly techniques influenced his music production. Berry's skill was song writing and taking talented artists and bringing out the best from them to become superstars. We also see how Smokey Robinson was a special part of the Motown story, he had the idea of producing their own records instead of taking a tiny commission from other companies.

The 'Hitsville USA' studio looked like an ordinary house, this was where they started recording. Motown sounded different and there was a reason, the secret was recording in their echoey bathroom. The film includes historic film footage, including photos and audio clips of meetings where the music making machine 'family' would decide which singles to release.

Don't think of this as a film about black music, more about the sound of America. Deserves an Oscar in the documentary category.

Very rarely is there a film or documentary that begs for more background and material to be presented, most are in need of serious editing to eliminate needless repetition or boring monologues by so-called subject experts or narrators. (Virtually any Ken Burns doc) However, Motown Records is such an incredible story with has so much material and so many fascinating stories about the talented performers, musicians, writers, arrangers and execs who made Motown Records well deserving of it's "Hitsville USA" slogan. Loved the footage that was shown but 1:52 isn't nearly enough time to the subject give proper credit it deserves.

There have been a number of music documentaries that have covered the era in focus but I give this documentary high praise not just for presentation but on the focus of what actually drove Barry Gordy to start the Motown enterprise and to grow it.

Let me explain upfront I don't have the musical background or training required for making a truly honest assessment of the documentary but being that much of the focus is on the human element behind the music I can point out some key things.

On the entrepreneurial side, learning from failures, perseverance, belief in oneself, and having a vision is embedded in the story. Having everyone in the enterprise share that vision and understand it even more so.

I appreciate how he gives his parents credit for raising him with the values needed to be a success. Civil rights is discussed but ultimately having a vision that is color blind is shown to be more important. The diversity he brought to his enterprise and the use of everyone's talents shines through as well.

The music is great too and making wish there was a Motown collection that I can purchase or a soundtrack to the documentary with all the full songs on it.

It is a helpful watch for anyone considering starting a business regardless of field. Barry Gordy shares credit with Smoky Robinson and others but for me it was clear he was the one driving the train..

P.S. Looking forward to comments from professional in the industry as well.

Co-writers/directors Benjamin Turner and Gabe Turner have delivered the definitive documentary about the musical phenomenon of Motown from its quiet birth by Berry Gordy in 1958 Detroit through its growth in global importance to its relocation to Los Angeles in the 1970s.

But the film is so much more than an overview of some of the most important singers and performers whose careers blossomed under the aegis of Berry Gordy (who narrates the film with Smokey Robinson!): it is a tribute to the impact that 'record company' had on the rise of black performers on the global stage. The script is witty, insightful, sensitive, and eloquent. The film shares films clips of performances by such stars as Diana Ross and the Supremes, Smokey Robinson, Stevie Wonder, Mary Wilson, Martha Reeves, Little Richard, Michael Jackson and the Jackson 5, the Temptations, Gladys Knight and the Pips, Marvin Gaye - and on and on.

The manner in which Berry Gordy and Smokey Robinson open the survey of the history of civil rights is distinguished and is one of the most accessible demonstrations of that deeply needed transition in cultural equality that has been created. Very highly recommended on many levels.