In 1959, Hitsville, USA—the company better known as Motown Records—was founded in Detroit, Michigan by Berry Gordy, Jr. Several factors contributed to Motown's rapidly becoming one of the most successful record companies in the United States. Gordy's entrepreneurial skills and his belief in economic independence played a great role in Motown's success, American community, Motown moved quickly into the vanguard of the popular music industry.
Motown's status as an independent company allowed Gordy considerable freedom to oppose recording industry convention. He rejected the practice that was common in the late 1950s and early 1960s of having established recording stars remake songs originally produced within and for limited markets. Gordy insisted that the musical performances recorded by Motown was an essential part of this appeal, and he devoted the necessary resources to this endeavor.
Another crucial factor in Motown's success was Detroit's well-developed public school music-education program, which provided the company with a deep and talented pool of artists and technicians. The roots of this program reached back to the turn of the century, when a trained soprano and Detroit native named E. Azalia Hackley adopted early groups—the Supremes, the Temptations, and the Miracles—came together and originally rehearsed at their high schools.
In addition to Gordy's business acumen and the talent produced by the local school system, the invention and growing popularity of electric instruments also played a noteworthy role in Motown's rise to prominence. African American musicians were among the first to use the electric bass, for example, crafting a distinctive sound that too, Motown Records helped to initiate, and simultaneously benefited from, landmark shifts in popular music culture.
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