How Was Motown Soooooooo Prolific????

**daviddesper** · 09-14-2017, 11:49 PM

This is a question I have had in mind for years but have never been sure how to phrase it. So tonight I am inspired to at least give it a try after reading the Blinky thread and the praises for all the various re-issue labels that have been so kind to us. So here is my question...........

HOW IN THE WORLD DID MOTOWN DO IT??????

I am referring to the question of how did they find the time to record as incredibly extensive a body of music as they did? See if you can follow my thought process here.....

The Supremes recorded what was it.......25-30 albums in their career, not to mention all the unreleased material that is still coming out in droves; other top-drawer acts such as Stevie, Marvin, the Temps, the Tops, Martha all recorded double digit albums; the next tier of acts [[Marvelettes, Junior, Gladys, etc.) all had 8-10 albums; countless other artists had anywhere from 3-5 albums; and then there were the many that managed only one or two. And as we all know, some incredibly talented artists such as Blinky and the Velvelettes never got an album at all!!!!

Yet we have found out in these recent beautiful, blissful years that even the most obscure artists may have recorded as many as 40-50 songs during their time at Motown. If someone like Blinky recorded enough for a possible double CD, then imagine how many songs Diana and the girls must have recorded!!!

When you consider how long it takes to write a quality song-both the lyrics and the music; then to arrange it; then to go over it with its chosen artist; then to rehearse it; then to record it; then to possibly re-record it because it wasn't yet up to Motown's standards; it seems to me as if even one routine album track would have required days if not weeks of work.

So all of that means that in the 12 years or so spent in Detroit [[I am only addressing the big bang heyday of Motown for the purposes of this discussion) they must have recorded thousands of songs. So I am asking........ how did they do it?

Knowing as we all do how beautifully crafted just about any Motown song is, how intricate the arrangements and orchestration can be, how did they physically find the time to record that many songs with that many artists in just 12 years?????????

Even if the studio was open 24/7 and even if 6-8 acts were in the building working at a fever pitch every minute of every day, I don't see how it would have mathematically been possible.

Can anyone see through all my crazed [[but yet VERY COMPLIMENTARY) rambling and explain to me how this incredible feat was accomplished?

**DJMoch** · 09-15-2017, 12:02 AM

I honestly have no idea, but it boggles my mind just how much came out of the Motown factory during its lifetime, and the fact that all of the music [[both released and unreleased) was simply amazingly creative and unique, and on a level of quality that no one in history has been able to match. It's simply mind-blowing to me.

And honestly, I don't think anything like that will ever happen again in anyone's lifetime. Nothing from here on out will ever approach the scope, and the level of imagination, proficiency and talent that Motown gave the world. Absolutely nothing.

Edit: to simply add, "Ain't no place like Motown!"

**DJMoch** · 09-15-2017, 12:12 AM

Originally Posted by daviddesper

If someone like Blinky recorded enough for a possible double CD, then imagine how many songs Diana and the girls must have recorded!!!

Just as an example of the sheer volume of output with regards to The Supremes, I had made an iPod playlist containing all of the Diana Ross Solo/DR & The Supremes/70s Supremes tracks that I own [[in all their various remixes, mono and stereo LP versions, and so on), and even with discounting live tracks and performances, I have well over 1000 songs in there. Now mind you, a lot of those are repeated through different stereo/mono mixes and unreleased versions that have made their debut years after the fact, but I think you'd agree that despite that, that's a HELL of a lot of music by just one of Motown's greatest groups.

Honestly, I simply can't wrap my head around the sheer volume of music that came out of The Snake Pit. It was a powerhouse, and frankly, they're superhuman!

That's the only explanation I can give!

**daviddesper** · 09-15-2017, 12:33 AM

It has only been half an hour since my post but I am gratified to read already that there are others who are similarly mystified, yet appreciative, as I am.

Bedtime now. Looking forward to checking in another time for whatever other thoughts our many fans may have.

**Boogiedown** · 09-15-2017, 12:53 AM

It does boggle the mind . It's fantastic what was accomplished with so many acts , so many compositions.
I might argue though that the sum total greatness of all these tunes seems slightly exaggerated. I'm wondering what more might have emerged if Motown didn't slow down a bit , to perfect some of those also rans that just needed more devotion to become another AINT NO MOUNTAIN HIGH ENOUGH . And I think of the elaborate works of Norman Whitfield as I write this .

But I concur, Motown was an unbelievable phenomena . The list of hits seems unreal. A once only in history occurrence . Gratitude abounds !

**greg jones** · 09-15-2017, 03:15 AM

I believe that this shows that Motown was a once in a lifetime phenomenon. It can't be pinned down to one thing to explain the how as it was multi-faceted. It will probably be another couple life times before this can happen again.

It was Berry Gordy's talent of being able to pick the people with the most talent and nurture that talent. Whether it was in musicians, talent, recording engineers, bookkeepers, promotion people, etc. He only chose the best. Were they correct 100 percent of the time. No, like any other company they had their flops and missed the boat and lost to other record companies. However, their success averages were still far above the norm of the other record companies.

It was Berry Gordy's idea from working in the car companies to set up an assembly line process where a good song was recorded by many at Motown before choosing what the best version.

A few years ago someone asked Harry Weinger at Universal "Aren't You finished reissuing Motown?" Harry's answer, "No way. Motown spent over 20+ recording 24/7/365, there's always something new to find."

**RanRan79** · 09-15-2017, 08:55 AM

I won't even try to wrap my brain around how they did it. I'm just glad that they did. The enjoyment I have received from Motown music over the course of my life is indescribable.

**Quinn** · 09-15-2017, 09:14 AM

Originally Posted by daviddesper

This is a question I have had in mind for years but have never been sure how to phrase it. So tonight I am inspired to at least give it a try after reading the Blinky thread and the praises for all the various re-issue labels that have been so kind to us. So here is my question...........

HOW IN THE WORLD DID MOTOWN DO IT??????

I am referring to the question of how did they find the time to record as incredibly extensive a body of music as they did? See if you can follow my thought process here.....

The Supremes recorded what was it.......25-30 albums in their career, not to mention all the unreleased material that is still coming out in droves; other top-drawer acts such as Stevie, Marvin, the Temps, the Tops, Martha all recorded double digit albums; the next tier of acts [[Marvelettes, Junior, Gladys, etc.) all had 8-10 albums; countless other artists had anywhere from 3-5 albums; and then there were the many that managed only one or two. And as we all know, some incredibly talented artists such as Blinky and the Velvelettes never got an album at all!!!!

Yet we have found out in these recent beautiful, blissful years that even the most obscure artists may have recorded as many as 40-50 songs during their time at Motown. If someone like Blinky recorded enough for a possible double CD, then imagine how many songs Diana and the girls must have recorded!!!

When you consider how long it takes to write a quality song-both the lyrics and the music; then to arrange it; then to go over it with its chosen artist; then to rehearse it; then to record it; then to possibly re-record it because it wasn't yet up to Motown's standards; it seems to me as if even one routine album track would have required days if not weeks of work.

So all of that means that in the 12 years or so spent in Detroit [[I am only addressing the big bang heyday of Motown for the purposes of this discussion) they must have recorded thousands of songs. So I am asking........ how did they do it?

Knowing as we all do how beautifully crafted just about any Motown song is, how intricate the arrangements and orchestration can be, how did they physically find the time to record that many songs with that many artists in just 12 years?????????

Even if the studio was open 24/7 and even if 6-8 acts were in the building working at a fever pitch every minute of every day, I don't see how it would have mathematically been possible.

Can anyone see through all my crazed [[but yet VERY COMPLIMENTARY) rambling and explain to me how this incredible feat was accomplished?

David,to make an extremely long story short I suggest you check out Harold Keith Taylor's "Motown Music Machine".It was published around 2003-2004 and gives great insight which would answer your question[[s).He was hired in 1964 by Hitsville's technical wizard Mike Mclean and he talks about everything in intimate detail.He's such a great storyteller you wish you worked there yourself.He spoke on the different versions of "Love Is Like An Itching In My Heart" we are just recently hearing and "Didn't I" which he also recorded.I won't tell the stories behind those songs,you should read the book.He found employment at Stax Records too and compared the business practices of the two legendary labels.It's out of print, but you should be able to find it cheap on the marketplace,make sure you have a PayPal.Happy Hunting.

**mysterysinger** · 09-15-2017, 01:58 PM

The Motown Music Machine is £30 [[used) on UK Amazon and has very mixed reviews.

**Motown Eddie** · 09-16-2017, 02:57 PM

Not only was Motown prolific they were also consistent. During the height of the company's mid '60s run, they dominated the Soul & Pop charts with some of the era's greatest music and left behind a wealth of terrific B-sides, album cuts [[not to mention the great songs that were left in their vaults). Even if we never find out how Motown did so much fine music, we're sure glad they did.