In this special edition of The Culture Show, marking the 50th anniversary of Motown Records, actor Martin Freeman - an obsessive Motown fan - makes his trip of a lifetime. Visiting both Detroit and Los Angeles, he encounters some of the major and minor characters who played a part in the massive success story that was Motown.
In Detroit he meets, among others: Duke Fakir, the last surviving member of the original Four Tops; Sylvia Moy, who wrote the lyrics for Stevie Wonder's Uptight; Motown producer Clay McMurray, who used to work in quality control for the label and pushed for the release of Stevie Wonder's My Cherie Amour; former DJ Scottie Regan who, from the label's earliest days, played Motown records to a largely white radio audience; and Martha Reeves, lead singer of Martha And The Vandellas, who now sits on Detroit City Council.
In addition, to Freeman's absolute delight, he also meets three of the original Funk Brothers, the backing musicians who were vital to the development of the Motown sound in the 1960s. And guitarist Eddie Willis, bass player Bob Babbitt and drummer Uriel Jones stage an impromptu gig for him.
From Detroit, Freeman travels to Los Angeles, following the same path that Motown itself took when the label moved west in 1972. Here he meets three of The Jackson 5 - Marlon, Tito and Jackie Jackson; Mary Wilson of The Supremes and Otis Williams of The Temptations, who talks movingly about the recent death of the brilliant producer and writer Norman Whitfield, the man who brought funk to Motown. Songwriters Lamont Dozier and Brian and Eddie Holland talk to Freeman about their string of hits for the label, including Where Did Our Love Go and Reach Out I'll Be There; and Martin also meets one of the first white artists to release a record on Motown, Chris Clark.
With musical interludes throughout, the film tells the story of Motown from a fan's perspective. Freeman's encounters with the people behind the scenes are, for him, just as thrilling as his conversations with the biggest stars. This programme will be a treat for anyone who loves Motown music.
Did you know? Producer Berry Gordy launched Tamla Records in 1959. A year later he launched a sister label - Motown. Both labels were based at the Hitsville building in Detroit, Michigan (pictured), where the Motown sound was created.
More, more, more, Motown;this is the type of programing we need! Showing real people,real lives and real raw talent. Martin did well considering his time constraints and budget. When he picked "Smokie's Tears of a Clown" as his all time favourite a shiver went up my spine.Let's see more of Motown, there are lots more stories to be told.Well done Martin,and congrats to Beeb2 The Culture Show for making it happen. At last, TV that engages. C.J.
Sorry but it was terrible he really didnt have a clue,so much wrong,like there was only 5funk,Brothers read up a bit better before doing something like this,which was a poor display for something as special as this.
January 7th - 10:06amsimon Bell said...
I don't know why this programme was butchered to 30 minutes. I could have watched for hours. Martha Reeves & Chris Clark did not appear. What happened to them??
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