Motown 60 Sunday Night

Of course the Gordy family would be behind it. This is their legacy, but they'll back anything honoring Motown whether its good or not. This special is geared toward the average viewer, not the dedicated Motown fan. I'm not expecting a Motown 25 or Motown 40.

It's odd. There has been no word or mention of the Motown documentary yet. When this special taped back in February word was the Motown documentary was going to air on Showtime in April, yet here we are entering the last full week of April and not a word has been spoken. In fact, this whole Motown 60 celebration so far has been a huge let down. The Grammy Awards Motown tribute was a joke. I doubt I'll be enthralled with this Motown 60 Grammys special. I'm hoping the documentary will be good (whenever that airs), but that'll have a Gordy slant to it. After that, what else is there since clearly Universal doesn't give a damn nor clear to do anything in terms of music? Their "Motown Did It First" campaign is nothing but Instagram stories, but where's the music?

I said it before and I'll say it again...Motown 60, like Motown 50, is going to be a huge wet fart.

Two days of rehearsals and her segment was completely cut from Motown 60. And when the Motown stars were asked to stand, no recognition at all?

To be a fly on the wall at her house this evening.....

Overnight ratings for last night are in and Motown 60 won it's time slot beating out American Idol. Usually this means more such shows will be planned.

Here's a great way to learn more about the different Motown songwriters:

With an acknowledgement to mistercarter2u who asked this question on another thread, I hope that it is acceptable to give an answer by beginning a new thread.

I don’t know if there is a definitive answer, so I can only offer my personal thoughts. I feel lucky and privileged to have grown up during the sixties which were my formative musical years, and perhaps that is why those memories have stayed with me as they are far clearer and stronger than those from later years.

Musical styles seem to have changed every few years, the Americans had the “British Invasion”, but we also had invasions of American music, which led me to spend my hard-earned pocket money on “Baby Love” on the Stateside label. This was followed later by listening to pirate radio stations, broadcast from ships off the coast just a few miles from where I lived. This was a time of change in so many different ways. The sound of Motown was different, a change from the three guitars and a drum kit sound. For me, it sounded fresh and exciting, and perhaps even exotic compared to what we had grown used to.

On Sunday afternoons one of the pirate stations would play the US Top 50, giving us a chance to hear what was happening in the States. I’ve always remembered the superb series of hits by the Four Tops around the mid-sixties, including my favourite “Bernadette”. Even now, over 50 years later, that track still sends shivers down my spine. I always thought that there was so much more emotion put into this music, raising it above the rest.

Those experiences and memories have stayed with me throughout my life, and at long last I can say that “Baby Love” is far from the only example of Motown in my collection.

Just my humble opinion…

This question is not meant as a diss or anything. I am just curious as to what others on the forum think of Lionel Richie's music and contributions to Motown. I notice that he or his music is never discussed here, so please share your thoughts.