Motown7

Motownhow to shake your tail featherMotor City Soul Club

On Northern Soul (and how to shake your tail feather)

If there’s anything Detroiters know how to do, it’s how to tap our feet and nod to the beat. And so often in history, those beats are made right here. Local history expert, music tastemaster, and Motor City Soul Club co-founder Dan Austin joins me on the podcast to talk about Northern Soul, a genre that encompasses Motown – but there’s so much more to discover. How do you find it? What’s notable about it? He’s also talking about the return of the Motor City Soul Stomp this Saturday evening...

Paul RiserMotown🎧

Legendary Motown Funk Brother Paul Riser On Playing With Stevie Wonder & How The Music Biz Has Changed

Paul Riser has played trombone, wrote songs and arranged music with some of the biggest names in popular music. As a member of the fabled “Funk Brothers,” the mostly anonymous house band for Motown Records during its heyday, he worked with the likes of Marvin Gaye, The Four Tops, The Supremes and Smokey Robinson. Riser will appear at the Detroit Institute of Music Education on Friday, Feb. 8 2019 from 1-3 p.m., 1265 Griswold, for a “Paul Riser Masterclass” on lessons learned from his in...

Jamerson BassMotownMotown Sound

An Amazing Piece Of Motown Musical History Will Be Up For Auction

One of the must-do movies to see for any Detroiter – or Detroiter at heart – is to watch the movie “Standing in the Shadows of Motown.” If you’ve watched that 2002 documentary, you’ll know it wasn’t just the voices you may have heard – Martha Reeves, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson -but it was also the band that made that iconic Motown sound a reality. When they swap modern day artists for sets, you realize the Motown sound is much like the city itself, powered not just by the star...

MotownPlease Mr. PostmanRobert Bateman

Motown's First Engineer And "Please Mr. Postman" Songwriter Robert Bateman Dies

“Wait a minute Mr. Postman… Wait Mr. Postman…” If you grew up in Detroit in a certain era and don’t know that song, it’d be a surprise. And sadly, the Freep reports, one of the songwriters behind “Mr. Postman,” Motown’s first pop hit, has passed of a massive heart attack at age 80 in Sherman Oaks, California where he had been hospitalized while traveling. He also was Motown’s first engineer and is a member of the R&B Hall of Fame. Bateman also was in front of the microphone and recorded for...

Davison AvenueDetroitDetroit Institute of Arts

10 Impressive Detroit Firsts

In our 315-year history, Detroit has seen and done a lot. Its reputation for innovation and trendsetting is well-deserved. The city and its people have been on the cutting edge of advancements in multiple sectors throughout Detroit’s history. From the first paved road to the first try-colored traffic light, check out what awesome firsts Detroit gave the world. 1. First mile of paved road in America With Detroit’s history in the automotive and manufacturing industry, it shouldn’t come as...

DetroitDetroit Jazz FestHart Plaza

5 Ways Detroit’s Growing Music Festival Scene Is More Awesome Than Any Other

Well party people, August is here and the days are still long – long enough to keep our rage hats on and get down festival style here in Detroit. As the creator of more than just one genre of music, Detroit’s done pretty well for itself in the music department. Though we don’t host any Lollapalooza style teen meet-and-greets or Coachella fashion shows, Detroit has its own eclectic little mix of events that know and love what the city has to offer. Which, in all honesty, is nothing short of a u...

Berry GordyBerry Gordy MansionDetroit

LOOK: You Can Own Berry Gordy’s ‘Motown Mansion’ For A Smooth $1.295M

Berry Gordy’s Detroit home, named the ‘Motown Mansion’, just entered the real estate market, and if you have $1,295,000 (or close to it) lying around, you can own it. The mansion is located at 918 West Boston Boulevard in Detroit and sits on 2.2 acres of prime property in the historic Boston-Edison neighborhood. Gordy’s home lives up to the sophisticated images that the word ‘mansion’ evokes.   Nels Michelson built the 10-bedroom, nine bathroom house in 1917.   Measuring 10,500 s...