Why did Motown have their artists record SO MANY standards and show tunes?

Once again, I'm realizing that sometimes stuff that went down at Motown seem a bit puzzling because we are so far removed from the context of the times in which those thing happened. Fortunately, [[or UNfortunately for my ever-shrinking living space) I love collecting old magazines and book from the 60s and 70s. I've learned a lot of things that make Motown's operating procedure make a lot more sense.

The Andantes being on almost EVERYONE's records? Easy. That was pretty much an industry practice that allowed records being performed by young amateurs to gain a more professional sound. Many of the young groups welcomed it. So Motown was just following something that everyone else had been doing.

How about the way Motown had its artists record so much of that old-people's music and [[whaaaa?) showtunes? I think all of us have figured out the reasoning, but again, if you didn't grow up back then, you're kind of stumbling around without a proper context.

Recently, I found an EBONY Magazine article [[a nice big one) that really, I mean really, does an exceptional job of putting into perspective why those standards and showtunes could be so crucial to a group's career and longevity. What do you do when the hits dry up? Cuz' if you're singing teenage music, trends change so fast, you're liable to find yourself on the junkheap of Yesterday's Trendsetters faster than you'd imagine.

The article profiles Martha & the Vandellas, the Supremes, the Four Tops as well as groups like Curtis Mayfield and the Impressions and Little Anthony & the Imperials. The Marvelettes and Shirelles are also mentioned. It's a great article that I posted on YouTube.

It's rather long so I pared it down to the main points. You may not care at all about all this backward-looking history, so you've already moved on to another thread. If you are even just a bit interested about what made Motown do some of the things they did, check it out here:
https://www.youtube.com/@Tomovox_PAM...gles/community

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Your post pretty much sums up one of the main reason why Motown 's artists did so many show tunes. Remember that Motown Records was pitching their music at the largest possible audience [which included the White 'mainstream' along with the Black Soul Music fans]. Also consider that both Marvin Gaye & The Four Tops loved 'supper club music' [remember The Tops Were a 'Jazz supper club' group before recording for Motown & Marvin Gaye wasn't interested in R&B at all before launching his string of hits in the early '60s].

PS: I enjoyed your YouTube post.

As you were getting to it and as Motown Eddie said, the goal was to enlarge the audience. The money was in the supper club venues such as Las Vegas, the Copa, the Coconut Grove, etc. The fans didn't patronize these places, but their parents did, as in more affluent and white. If the parents found the acts acceptable, there'd be no pushback to their kids listening to and buying the product. Back to the Motortown Review tours, there were white kids attending the shows down south who would have been skinned alive if their parents knew. These parents were not the ones visiting the supper clubs, but this was one instance where the trickle down effect worked to bring them into the fold.

There were some acts that didn't like or want to do standards. These acts generally didn't have cross-over success. BG had his eyes on the prize for the bigger picture. Motown signed quite a few big name stars, many of whom were past their prime, but were veterans of the supper club circuit. This brought an air of prestige to the label and opened doors for the label's younger acts. The supper clubs were also a gateway to television where the standards were sung for the people holding the money.

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Originally Posted by Motown Eddie

Your post pretty much sums up one of the main reason why Motown 's artists did so many show tunes. Remember that Motown Records was pitching their music at the largest possible audience [which included the White 'mainstream' along with the Black Soul Music fans]. Also consider that both Marvin Gaye & The Four Tops loved 'supper club music' [remember The Tops Were a 'Jazz supper club' group before recording for Motown & Marvin Gaye wasn't interested in R&B at all before launching his string of hits in the early '60s].

PS: I enjoyed your YouTube post.

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Thank you for reading the YouTube post! As lengthy as it is, that's maybe a third of the entire thing. I was surprised at how in-depth and all-encompassing the writing was.

What I find quite remarkable [[though I shouldn't) is that Marvin Gaye's recording of "Ramblin' Rose" was completed 21 March 1965 [[DFTMC) but Nat King Cole's version was only released on 16 July 1962. I had thought Nat's version was much earlier than that - funny how time slips away.

all the early rockers seemed to record standards quickly after hitting the big teen 45 RPM market a few times....Bobby Darin, Connie Francis, The Platters, Elvis, Bobby Rydell, Paul Anka....Motown just followed suit...

why have the groups/artists play small clubs like the Copa? only for reputation building...the Supremes could have probably made more take back to Detroit $$$ playing 2 nights in large college auditoriums or theatres than a week at the Copa....I can understand the average bus load of 1 or 2 hit wonders doing the smaller clubs maybe even in pairs....but Motown acts had large draw capacity by '64..the big hall concert business was definitely growing at a galloping pace in the 60's... the 70's seemingly was the real big bang...and biggest star standard continues today...arena shows.

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Originally Posted by gman

all the early rockers seemed to record standards quickly after hitting the big teen 45 RPM market a few times....Bobby Darin, Connie Francis, The Platters, Elvis, Bobby Rydell, Paul Anka....Motown just followed suit...

why have the groups/artists play small clubs like the Copa? only for reputation building...the Supremes could have probably made more take back to Detroit $$$ playing 2 nights in large college auditoriums or theatres than a week at the Copa....I can understand the average bus load of 1 or 2 hit wonders doing the smaller clubs maybe even in pairs....but Motown acts had large draw capacity by '64..the big hall concert business was definitely growing at a galloping pace in the 60's... the 70's seemingly was the real big bang...and biggest star standard continues today...arena shows.

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If you read the article it'll shed more light on the importance of the small clubs. In fact it makes exactly the point of why playing small clubs like the Copa was more lucrative for the Supremes that the youth-oriented auditorium gigs. The big halls got you the young crowd and if you had a fool-proof method of knowing you were going to have nothing but hits then sure, you could get away with just focusing on the youth set. But an act could go cold unexpectedly. Then you're not going to get those big arena gigs. The experience of Little Anthony & the Imperials in the article illustrated that. It's just interesting to learn about this history from the old articles.

Motown is easier to understand if you think of it as the publicity department of an artist management company.

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Originally Posted by bob_olhsson

Motown is easier to understand if you think of it as the publicity department of an artist management company.

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In short, do whatever raises your profile and yields a nice profit, with music coming in a distant third?

No, it was all about advancing the artists' careers as they and their fans grew older. I'm not at all sure that Motown ever profited from just record production. The "majors" I worked with never put as much effort and money into their productions.

Deborah Cox demonstrated her ability to move beyond R&B and Dance when she released, Beyond the Moon. It's a jazz album and beautifully orchestrated and performed. But she has been able to move into Broadway as well. I just think that singers need to invest in themselves for their own professional longevity. I think Madonna has trapped herself. I don't know her new music and went to one concert where I didn't know any of the music, plus the fact she was 2 hours late...I don't need that.

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Originally Posted by bob_olhsson

No, it was all about advancing the artists' careers as they and their fans grew older. I'm not at all sure that Motown ever profited from just record production. The "majors" I worked with never put as much effort and money into their productions.

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Many thanks for the clarification.

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Originally Posted by bob_olhsson

No, it was all about advancing the artists' careers as they and their fans grew older. I'm not at all sure that Motown ever profited from just record production. The "majors" I worked with never put as much effort and money into their productions.

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That's exactly one of the points that article expressed. But honestly, I think because people tend to stick to lifelong personal speculations and theories. It's just easier and less complicated that way.

Did anyone at Motown think that their hit songs would eventually become standards as well? Or was the prevailing attitude that these songs were disposable fleeting product to be sold in as many units as possible but likely to be quickly forgotten by the consumers who bought them [[or heard them on the radio)?

I don't remember anybody thinking Motown records would even be on the radio five years later.