By fayette (152.163.188.68) on Tuesday, April 15, 2003 - 02:27 pm:

let's use our imaginations and pretend that
hitsville and all the key people has all
returned to detroit(berry gordy,smokie,hdh,
whitefield etc,) do you think we can still
have the motown sound if the artist that
are present today recorded there. and what
singer or group of today do you think may
be able to pull the motown sound off??

By John Barry Sheffield (195.92.168.165) on Tuesday, April 15, 2003 - 02:39 pm:

I know what You are saying, but THE MOTOWN SOUND has stood the Test of Time and always will do!

John

By Larry (216.23.183.2) on Tuesday, April 15, 2003 - 02:55 pm:

Fayette,

My feeling on your question is that it's not a fair question and I don't mean any disrespect to you by saying this. The thing is, comparison's aren't fair to anyone. The situation back then, the lives of the artists, the events of the day, the socio-political scene (and so many more variables) culminated in what Motown put out at the time.

It can never be duplicated. It will never happen again, ever, nowhere, NOT like it did back then.

Now, whether the sound can be pulled off? Well, are you asking whether you can get musician's together to get a sound and feel like (a) particular Motown song? Possibly, but, you'd either have to work 20 times as hard to 'try' to capture the essence and magic of what WAS a most natural thing at the time, or through some divine wonder get a bunch of jazz minded players who for dough will lay down pop parts and who will groove like Jamerson and Benny did together and.... well you see what happens??

I keep coming back to a flat NO.

How can you recapture individuals caught like a snapshot in time and surrounded by the unique events of that time? Never gonna happen.
Physically impossible.

That's fine for me as long as we have the music.

By KevGo (64.115.26.80) on Tuesday, April 15, 2003 - 03:06 pm:

If I may quote my dear Mom, Katherine Goins - "Classic music never goes away".

The Motown Sound has been incorporated into so many songs and productions (from the Foundations' "Baby Now That I've Found You" & "Build Me Up Buttercup" to After 7's "Nights Like This")that it has become part of the American music fiber.

But to answer your question, Fayette - when Standing In The Shadows Of Motown is released on DVD and VHS next week, buy a copy and check out the scene where the Funk Brothers are performing "You Really Got A Hold On Me" with Me'shell Ndegeocello in the Detroit Hitsville Studio ("The Snakepit"). To me, it's a close to the original record as you will get.

Kevin Goins - KevGo

By fayette (205.188.209.38) on Tuesday, April 15, 2003 - 05:55 pm:

thanks kevin, but i think larry is way too
personal. the key word i use was, use your imagination. i was just wondering if there
is any artist out there today that can
maybe bring us a little of the motown
sound. i grew up with the motown sound.i
understand that the artist of that time period
can never be replaced. i was just wondering.
to myself and posted. again kevin thanks,
i'll do

By STUBASS (64.12.97.7) on Tuesday, April 15, 2003 - 06:04 pm:

HEY "ANGEL": TO ANSWER YOU'RE QUESTION...WHAT DO YOU THINK THAT WE'RE ALL DOING HERE???...OF COURSE IT HAS!!!...STU...P.S. PLEASE DON'T FORGET YOUR "ANGEL" RESPONSIBILITIES!!!...

By stephanie (64.63.221.236) on Tuesday, April 15, 2003 - 06:07 pm:

OK I would say that the VOICES who could carry on the Motown sound would be
Gerald Levert
Rueben (one of the people on American Idol)
Mariah Carey
Mariah has a lighter voice than Whitney she is too bombastic for the Motown sound.
I think Melissa Etheriddge could do something with the Jr Walker sound and Bonnie Raitt...
I know Im going to get killed for this but with the right sound Michael Bolton
Aretha Franklin
Freda Payne
If you can find a young girl with a light voice like Diana Ross but her voice is so unique its hard to find someone like that. I wish to god Dusty Springfield had been at Motown just to see how she would have sounded. They did a great job with her in Memphis with Brand New Me and Son of a Preacher Man I could see Dennis Coffey playing guitar behind and her and Jamerson and Babbitt on the guitar with her. She did an awesome version of When the Lovelight Starts Shining Through his Eyes on one of her compilations.

I hate to say it but there are not that many young voices I can think of who can hold up to the Motown sound. There will never be another Levi Stubbs...there are some Diana's out there but not too many Levi's...
Steph

By fayette (205.188.209.38) on Tuesday, April 15, 2003 - 06:12 pm:

thank you steph, you know what i meant lol.
and stubass you keep that up i'm going to
take you home to meet the folks lol.

stubass's angel

fayette

By janebse (68.63.4.162) on Tuesday, April 15, 2003 - 06:42 pm:

I think the Motown sound has lasted, and I think it is an essential part of American music and the American character. I don't think of it as a separate entity but as part of the whole American scene, and a sound which fully expresses the American character. It is America, and as such is timeless. It's not really the "sound of young America," but the sound of all America. It is something so much greater than people realize. i think it is this quality that makes people keep going back to it and not really listening to whatever is happening today.

By STUBASS (64.12.97.7) on Tuesday, April 15, 2003 - 06:46 pm:

FAYETTE: WHATS FOR DINNER???...OR PERHAPS..."GUESS WHO'S COMING TO DINNER"???...STUBASS...(ANGEL DADDY AND PROUD OF IT)

By fayette (205.188.209.38) on Tuesday, April 15, 2003 - 06:51 pm:

stubass,your angel fayette is going to cook
you some rooster knees and rice for your dinner


your future wifey
fayette

By STUBASS (64.12.97.7) on Tuesday, April 15, 2003 - 06:56 pm:

WELL FAYETTE: WE'LL HAVE TO CONSULT WITH YOUR SISTER "ANGELS" BEFORE ANY MATRIMONIAL PLANS ARE COMMENCED...AFTER ALL...STUBASS HAS BIG RESPONSIBILITIES...BUT A QUESTION FOR YOU!!!...HOW DOES A ROOSTER KNEEL DOWN TO PRAY WITHOUT ANY KNEES???...STUBASS

By fayette (152.163.188.68) on Tuesday, April 15, 2003 - 07:24 pm:

stubass always skin the knees before boiling

By STUBASS (205.188.209.38) on Tuesday, April 15, 2003 - 07:27 pm:

YOU MEAN THAT WHEN I CAME HOME WITH SKINNED KNEES AS A KID...MY MOM COULD HAVE DUMPED ME IN A POT OF BOILING WATER???...STU (STRAP ON THE KNEEPADS)BASS

By fayette (152.163.188.68) on Tuesday, April 15, 2003 - 07:33 pm:

yeah if your knees look like rooster knees.
stubass

By Larry (216.23.183.2) on Tuesday, April 15, 2003 - 07:43 pm:

What happened here?

I was trying to figure out how my misinterpretation got misinterpreted and now,
I'm reading about Knee Pads, Strap On's and boilin' it skinless! Let's get back to the music! ;)

By STUBASS (64.12.97.7) on Tuesday, April 15, 2003 - 07:49 pm:

LARRY: TO QUOTE A LINE FROM A WELL KNOW LIGHT OPERA (MUSIC)....."MELODIES TOMORROW...KNEE-PAD STRAPS TONIGHT"!!!...STU(THREE TENORS IN ONE)BASS

By fayette (152.163.188.68) on Tuesday, April 15, 2003 - 08:26 pm:

lol stubass tell em

By Ralph (209.240.198.62) on Tuesday, April 15, 2003 - 08:51 pm:

This is getting way too funny....

By steph (64.63.221.23) on Wednesday, April 16, 2003 - 02:38 am:

Can I be a Stubass Angel..forget Charlie...
Stephanie

By R&B (138.238.41.128) on Wednesday, April 16, 2003 - 10:03 am:

HEY FAYETTE,IT WOULD BE INTERESTING TO GET WHITNEY IN THE MOTOWN STUDIOS WITH SMOKEY PRODUCING SOME GREAT SONG THAT HE HAD WRITTEN JUST FOR HER!

By STUBASS (205.188.209.38) on Wednesday, April 16, 2003 - 10:37 am:

STEPHANIE: YOU INSIGHTFUL POSTS AND CHEERFUL PERSONALITY...ALONG WITH YOUR LOVE OF MUSIC AND ALL AROUND CONGENIALITY QUALIFIES YOU...NOT IN THE LEAST FOR "ANGELHOOD"!!!...BUT...THE FACT THAT YOU ARE ONE COOL CHICK HAS MOVED YOU TO THE FRONT OF OUR CURRENT GROUP OF PLEDGES!!!...DO YOU FEEL THAT YOU CAN LIVE UP TO THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF STUBASS "ANGELHOOD"...IN THAT I KNOW THAT YOU ARE A VERY BUSY PERSON???...I LIKE THE IDEA...AND PERHAPS THIS CAN BE RESOLVED ONE WAY OR ANOTHER TODAY!!!...I LIKE YOUR SPIRIT KID!!!...STU(HANDING OUT MORE CIGARS)BASS

By Bob Olhsson (12.77.95.185) on Wednesday, April 16, 2003 - 12:07 pm:

This is an interesting subject.

To the person, everybody I was working with at Motown during the '60s sincerely believed that we were making dance records for teen-agers that would probably never be heard again after they dropped off the charts. It's a testament to the extraordinary underlying character and integrity of everybody involved that what we created is treated as something special 40 years later.

I believe part of the reason for this is that I almost never saw anybody taking the fans who bought our records for granted. The records were an honest expression of who we were and we brought as much sincerity and quality to every recording as we were capable of.

Can Motown happen again?

ABSOLUTELY!

Would it sound the same?

I would never expect the real thing to sound the same because it would be different people in a different time. The same people, as you can hear in SITSOM, sound exactly the same except I think they play a bit better than I remember from the 1960s!

The music WOULD have the same effect and there is nothing each of us wants more than for another generation to have the same kind of experience we shared with each other and with our fans.

By Jay (167.167.44.218) on Wednesday, April 16, 2003 - 03:35 pm:

Test of time???

Just ask Berry Gordy.

He just cashed in for another $100 Million!

By SisDetroit (68.42.209.170) on Wednesday, April 16, 2003 - 03:55 pm:

And just think I shook the hand that held the money. :o)

I used to like some of the music my parents listen to, and they looked our music. I just can't get to the music of today. I always try to be open minded. But most of the music is noise to me. From what I've been reading on some newer artist, I think the music will get better within the next couple years. Responses by HW gives me hope.

By Sis (68.42.209.170) on Wednesday, April 16, 2003 - 03:56 pm:

**liked our music.

By Nish (170.224.224.38) on Wednesday, April 16, 2003 - 04:12 pm:

This is a great thread. I usually like to move in a more abstract direction when tackling this topic. Will the musical elements of the Motown sound be reduplicated? not really. But, the overall spirit, what it stands for, (for me it stands for the great proposition that capturing the popular imagination does not necessarily equate to producing crap, you can still have a sophisticated musical bed, and incredibly unique and rich vocal performances).

Note for note, the sound can't be duplicated. In spirit, where there is young creativity and know-how and people who live for the music, it can happen.

As far as Motown standing the test of time, it continues to, but I think we also figure into that equation. If I let people know the great sounds I'm listening to and enjoying, they will enjoy it too. The music is lovable. People just have to know about it.

By Kegtapper (65.58.38.119) on Wednesday, April 16, 2003 - 05:26 pm:

Can Motown stand the test of time??

It already has. People are still digging up Motown tunes from artists already gone. And asking for more. The younger generation is discovering it in a round about way (Samples & Hip Hop) but none the less wondering about the past.

This may cause them to look up or read about "How Things Actually Were" - The racial strife, the music, (the Afro's the clothes are already making their second time around). It seems that Motown has not only left a legacy to the Black Music history, but to the United States history and the world.

Have you ever heard Japanese Karaoke singing Motown As Well as many other countries that do not really speak english but can sing MOTOWN tunes. Even Jackie Chan loves Motown.

Interesting enough, the past is still sought by all, sites like Ritchies, and Soulful can almost assure that we will not forget BG and the spirit that the Motown Sound embodies.

EC MAYO

By Larry (216.23.183.2) on Wednesday, April 16, 2003 - 05:42 pm:

Amen!

By fayette (64.12.97.7) on Wednesday, April 16, 2003 - 06:03 pm:

i think in answering this post would be
the saying (motown is forever). the reason
for saying use your imagination is i would like
to see the motown sound in our younger artist such
as usher,whitney,boys to men,etc.we all know that motown is pure history.i would love for the younger generation to feel the magic of motown
that we experienced. i never forget the way
my heart raced when i went to see a tempts
concert and the five mikes on one stand was
placed on stage, or see all three orginal
supremes on stage,and pretending to be one
of them. i learned about harmonizing from
rehearsing some supremes tunes at my best
friends house as a teenager.now to me that
would make motown forever.hope you guys
feeling me on this

By KevGo (64.115.26.80) on Wednesday, April 16, 2003 - 06:20 pm:

Fayette:
All I can say is we learned from the best because they were the best.

Motown epitomized entertainment to the highest letter. Music that was always excellent and performances that were meant to excite and inspire.

No matter what these legends went through OFF the microphone, they were always on time and in tune ON the microphone. That's why Smokey's lyrics to "Tracks Of My Tears" and "Tears Of A Clown" are so poignant - these songs were a reflection of their lives.

That's why, sadly, artists in the younger generation that you mentioned (for the exception of those who post on the forum and a few performers) may not or ever be able to feel what we experienced with Motown. I can say there are a couple of young acts (B2K comes to mind)that are exciting in their own way. But because there is such a disconnect younger folks have with the past for whatever reason having them imagine what we loved and experienced would be a stretch.

Kevin Goins - KevGo

By medusa9e (66.73.12.6) on Thursday, April 17, 2003 - 08:21 pm:

There will never B another "MOTOWN" sound like the original... imitate..well..maybe Angie Stone, Jaheim, DeAngelo, maybe they could pull it off, BUT the Funk Bros. would have 2 B "THE BAND"

By Derrick (63.187.128.166) on Thursday, April 17, 2003 - 08:44 pm:

Gerald Levert sounds more like his father , who with with the O'Jays but a new recording of "Backstabbers" from Gerald in the original Motown studio would be extraordinary !

He is the best candidate for carrying on the traditional Motown sound . Hall and Oates should be signed too !

As for the original Funk Brothers as old as they are now , keep on truckin' !

By fayette (205.188.209.16) on Thursday, April 17, 2003 - 08:50 pm:

i think whitney can pull off a little holland
dozier and holland hmmmmm