Reading Comprehension

PT157 · S4 · P1 · Q4 Motown

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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.

Topic

Motown Records’ rapid rise to success and influence in American popular music.

Framework

Highlight Noteworthy

Main Point

Motown Records became a major force in popular music thanks to Berry Gordy’s innovative vision, Detroit’s deep pool of musically trained talent, and the early adoption of new musical technologies—factors that both defined and broadened the sound and appeal of Motown. (Most Valuable Sentence: Last sentence of the final paragraph, which sums up Motown's impact—)

P1: Introduction and Context

Motown Records was founded in Detroit in 1959 by Berry Gordy, Jr., whose leadership and Detroit’s rich musical community propelled the label to early success.

P2: Motown’s Independence and Strategy

Motown’s independent status let Gordy break with industry norms; he believed in reaching wide audiences directly with original performances, not relying on remakes by mainstream stars, and he prioritized technical quality.

P3: Importance of Detroit’s Musical Education

Detroit’s strong public school music programs, with roots in early 20th-century community leaders, produced many of the talented musicians, arrangers, and groups that formed Motown’s backbone.

4.

Based on information in the passage, it can be inferred that the author most likely believes which one of the following?

  1. Gordy's own expertise in the

    Too Strong

    The second scary phrase here, "highest possible", was actually said at the end of the 2nd paragraph: Gordy believed that maintaining the highest possible technical quality in Motown's recordings was an essential part of this appeal. But nothing in the passage said that Gordy had any technical expertise of his own or that it would ensure the highest possible quality.

    11% picked this

  2. The great popularity of Motown

    Unsupported

    This answer says that the cause of Motown's popularity was the scarcity (dearth = shortage) of innovative popular music being produced by other companies. We can't find any line in the passage supporting that causal connection.

    2% picked this

  3. The revolution in popular music

    Too Strong

    We do hear in the final paragraph that the growing popularity of electronic instruments "played a noteworthy role in Motown's rise to prominence". So we could potentially have seen a Flip the Causal Difference-Maker answer that sounded like, "had electric instruments not been growing in popularity, Motown might not have risen as much to prominence". But this answer is making it sound like the passage said that, "Motown musicians' use of the electric bass caused the revolution in popular music brought about by the use of electric instruments". We were told that African American musicians' experimentation with the electric bass ultimately led to a revolution in pop music, but the passage isn't saying that this was only African American musicians who were Motown musicians. And it's too dramatic to say that the revolution in pop music would have never occurred if Motown musicians hadn't used the electric bass.

    8% picked this

  4. Correct

    Gordy's unconventional ideas would have

    Why this is right

    This does a Flip the Causal Difference-Maker with the first sentence of the 2nd paragraph. We're told that, Motown's status as an indie company allowed Gordy considerable freedom to oppose recording industry convention. In other words, "the fact that his company wasn't a subsidiary of a major recording company allowed Gordy considerable freedom to enact his unconventional ideas." Thus, if we flip that causal statement, we get what this answer says, "If his company had been a subsidiary of a major recording company, then we would have had less freedom to implement his unconventional ideas."

    Skill tested: Author Opinion · how this choice captures the passage's function is the move to repeat next time.

    79% picked this

  5. Motown songs would have been

    Too Strong

    In order to support the idea that Motown songs would have been equally popular even if they had been performed by established artists from other record companies, we would need to find support text that says, "having unknown artists perform on the songs had nothing to do with the popularity of Motown songs". We don't have anything like that. To the contrary, the passage makes it sound like relying on the local Detroit musical talent was a big causal factor in Motown's success.

    0% picked this

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