Motown turns 50

That's half a century of bringing the world some of its greatest songs. Marcel Anders met up with Lionel Ritchie, Beyonce and Chris Cornell to talk about their personal and professional experiences with the label

'It was run by a tyrant'
- Lionel Richie (singer, song-writer)

What made the label special for you?
There's Harvard, Yale, Brown, Oxford, you know, I can name you some great universities. And you go there because of what they have to offer academically. What Motown represented to me, was Motown University. I didn't join them in Detroit; I joined them in LA. And I was not a songwriter, I was not a lead vocalist, I couldn't read or write music and still can't read or write music.
But I walked in the door that day, and there were the legends of the business sitting around having coffee and telling the craziest jokes in the world. There's Marvin Gaye over by the coffee machine, there is Smokey Robinson coming down the hall, there's Stevie Wonder in the middle of the hallway telling some great story about something. So one by one I learned little tidbits from each one of them. These are the instructors of Motown University.
And you ask Marvin Gaye one question: "What conservatory did you graduate from?"
And he said: "What the hell is that?"
And you ask Berry Gordy what business school did he graduate from, and he goes: "Are you kidding me, kid?"
And all of a sudden I realise this is special. I have the greatest instructors in the world that don't teach at any university. Holy cow! So what did they do for me? Let's start with the first thing: Without The Commodores, having an excuse to even walk in the doors of Motown, there wouldn't be that opportunity. To walk in the door with The Commodores and now have a reason to be in the halls of that building, I would not be Lionel Richie today.
What I learned business-wise, what I learned artistry-wise, what I learned as a... as a... just how to travel, how to tour, how to write, the secrets of writing, that all came out of that crazy building. And these guys meant... you know, as I went to my mom and dad: "We're the black Beatles and we're gonna take over the world." You know what Berry Gordy said? "I'm Berry Gordy, this is Motown Records, we're gonna take over the world." And he didn't know me at that time, and I didn't know him, but we said the same phrase, two different times in life. And here I am today, a part of that story and both of those visions came true.

Because a label like that would be impossible these days, wouldn't it?
Impossible, impossible. First of all to amass that much talent in one... excuse me, that much talent, that much ego. Imagine keeping it all together. You understand me? And then... and then... I mean, remember, we didn't have the internet. They know about The Commodores in the Middle East at a time when there were absolutely no record stores in the Middle East. We didn't sell records, I didn't get a royalty cheque from the Middle East, ok? (chuckles) But yet that little, tiny company sold the entire world all the music in the world. Now, how did that happen? Great music! Great music and we had the radio to be the big conduit to that. But most importantly it was run by a tyrant. And I said that in my... in my Vanity Fair article. They said: "Tyrant is a pretty heavy word." I said: "Keeping all of us together is a pretty heavy job." You know, this man was... what we call... I'll use a better word: dad. You know. And you don't cross dad. Dad had one phrase that would terrify me every day of my life at Motown: "What do you have next, kid?" I said: "But I've got a number one record right here, Mr Gordy." - "What's next?" - (laughs) He would never say: "Congratulations." And I loved that, which meant... What's next on the drawing board? And that's what kept me, that's how I was trained. You know, that is instilled in me today. It's amazing.

So being on Motown gave you the best education in showbiz?
Ever. First of all: Best education, and it wasn't free, ok? Trust me, it required your dedication and every single day of your breathing life if you really wanted it. You know, you thought it was gonna be a free ride. "I signed to Motown Records." Right, ok, and from then on you'll miss Christmas, you'll miss Thanksgiving, you'll miss Easter, you'll miss the family reunions (chuckles), you'll miss everything you know that's normal in your life, to graduate form this university.

It was more than just music, it was a 'lifestyle'
- Beyonce (R&B singer, song-writer)

What is your first memory on being exposed to this music? I mean, this great music coming out of Detroit in the 60s and 70s...
There will never be music made like the music that was made in Motown. It was such a moment in time. And I grew up listening to it; I was trained, you know, with Motown. My father read all the books, my father played us all of the videotapes.
It was more than just music, it was a lifestyle, and it was history. It was these passionate, talented young women and young men that were... they took over the world and they crossed over. And it was glamour, it was hot fashion, it was soul, it was everything. And it's magical, even the way they recorded it, like everything about it, the way they've got the songs, you know. The writers would all go and get songs and they wouldn't get paid unless it got placed on the record. Everything about it is just, it's amazing. And it can never be duplicated; it's just a moment in time that's special.

'The Motown period had such a huge influence on rock music'
-u00a0Chris Cornell (rock musician)

Can you recall your first encounter with Motown material? And how important are these tunes for everything that is popular music in 2008?
Well, it's in everything, just because the influence was so broad and there was so much music that came out of it. And it's in... like right now, pop music and this sort of new R&B and new soul music, which sounds very different to me, still owes a huge debt to it. But I think rock music owes just as much. And rock music I always see of being of cyclical of things kind of go back and then they move forward a little bit and then they go back and then they move forward a little bit. And things are always being recycled. You know, you basically look back 15 years and ahead, a little bit at the same time. And I think like the Motown period had such a huge influence on rock music, just the beat aspect of it, just the straight forwardness of it, the minimalism and kind of the rawness of it, from the drums, the rhythm, the singing. And it always sort of finds its way to like the forefront of every genre of music. Rock music especially.

- Planet Syndication