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.