Tamla Motown/Bibliography

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Fitzgerald, Jon. "Motown Crossover Hits 1963-1966 and the Creative Process." Popular Music, Vol.14, No. 1, 1995: 1-11.

Macias, Anthony. "'Detroit was Heavy': Modern Jazz, Bebop, and African American Expressive Culture." The Journal of African American History 95, No. 1, 2010: 44-70.

Shaefer, Silvia Anne. Aretha Franklin: Motown Superstar. Enslow Publishers, 1996.

Smith, Suzanne E. "'Boogie Chillen': Detroit's African-American Cultural History." Michigan Historical Review 27, No. 1, 2001: 93-107.

Smith, Suzanne E. Dancing in the Street: Motown and the Cultural Politics of Detroit. Cambridge; Mass; Harvard University Press, 1999.

Suzanne Smith is the foremost historian now analyzing Motown. Both of these articles are helpful. Smith goes into particular sources on the influence of Motown starting around on p. 94 of “Boogie Chillen.” But then, since “Boogie Chillen” is historiography, she does nothing but discuss ALL of the primary and secondary sources available for this topic in 2001.

Waksman, Steve. "Dancing in the Street: Motown and the Cultural Politics of Detroit." American Quarterly 53, No. 3, 2001: 518-525.

A book review of Smith’s Dancing in the Streets.

Waller, Don. The Motown Story. C. Scribner, 1985. Excellent popular history.

Folsom, Burton W. "Berry Gordy and Motown Records: Lessons for Black History Month." Mackinac Center for Public Policy. 2 Feb. 1998. Web. 31 March 2014.

It would be most appreciated if someone could review this article for CZ. Thanks.

One of the best resources here will be “Boogie Chillen” as this article will point you towards relevant sources that deal with the recording company and the music of Motown. Be aware that “Boogie Chillen” attempts to place Motown in its urban-social context so it discusses a lot of sources about Detroit in the 20th century. You will have to use your critical thinking to weed out what you need from what you don’t need.

There are also many biographies of Berry Gordy, and various artists (such as Smoky Robinson, Stevie Wonder, et al.) associated with Motown, which CZ would appreciate knowing about. Many of these celebrities will have biographies; some even have autobiographies.