6.16.2005
Standing in the shadow of Motown
I was in Detroit last weekend, and took the opportunity to visit the only tourist spot there that held any interest: Hitsville USA, the original home of Motown Records. The word "home" is fitting; the label began in a two-story house in a neighborhood on the north side of downtown, eventually expanding into eight different houses in the neighborhood before moving to an office building downtown and eventually to Los Angeles. Today, two homes serve essentially as a museum -- the original house that once held the offices and was home to founder Berry Gordy and his family, and the house next door that housed the studio.
A friend had told a story about visiting there many years ago, and made it sound as if the people there did not expect visitors. Things are a little better today. They have brochures, give tours and sell merchandise. Still, for a place that was essentially the birthplace of northern soul music in the country, it leaves a lot to be desired. The tour starts in a cinderblock walled room filled with folding chairs, where visitors watch a video about the label. They then are taken upstairs to see a few walls filled with old black and white photos, Michael Jackson's sequined white glove and a few record covers. A preserved chunk of the Gordys' upstairs apartment completes that part of the tour, before people are hustled downstairs to see an office and some ancient vending machines.
Then comes the best part of the tour, and the main reason anyone is there -- Studio A, the place where every Motown record was recorded between 1959 and 1972. The tiny space, essentially a refurbished garage, was immortalized in the 2002 film Standing in the Shadows of Motown, which saw the reunion of the original Motown backing band, the Funk Brothers, in the studio. The space holds a lot of history. Photos of various recording sessions are hung around the space, and they give you a sense of just how packed the room could be with musicians. The adjoining control booth -- itself a converted kitchen -- still has grooves worn into the floor by the tapping feet of the engineers and producers who listened as the grooves were laid down.
Just standing in Studio A made it worth the trip, but I was amazed that Motown hasn't done more with the space. In a way, it's nice to see that it is essentially preserved the way it was when it was home to the label, but the possibilities for interactivity (how about a recreated control booth where people could do hands-on mixing of Motown classics, much like those used at the American Jazz Museum in Kansas City?) are mind-blowing.
A friend had told a story about visiting there many years ago, and made it sound as if the people there did not expect visitors. Things are a little better today. They have brochures, give tours and sell merchandise. Still, for a place that was essentially the birthplace of northern soul music in the country, it leaves a lot to be desired. The tour starts in a cinderblock walled room filled with folding chairs, where visitors watch a video about the label. They then are taken upstairs to see a few walls filled with old black and white photos, Michael Jackson's sequined white glove and a few record covers. A preserved chunk of the Gordys' upstairs apartment completes that part of the tour, before people are hustled downstairs to see an office and some ancient vending machines.
Then comes the best part of the tour, and the main reason anyone is there -- Studio A, the place where every Motown record was recorded between 1959 and 1972. The tiny space, essentially a refurbished garage, was immortalized in the 2002 film Standing in the Shadows of Motown, which saw the reunion of the original Motown backing band, the Funk Brothers, in the studio. The space holds a lot of history. Photos of various recording sessions are hung around the space, and they give you a sense of just how packed the room could be with musicians. The adjoining control booth -- itself a converted kitchen -- still has grooves worn into the floor by the tapping feet of the engineers and producers who listened as the grooves were laid down.
Just standing in Studio A made it worth the trip, but I was amazed that Motown hasn't done more with the space. In a way, it's nice to see that it is essentially preserved the way it was when it was home to the label, but the possibilities for interactivity (how about a recreated control booth where people could do hands-on mixing of Motown classics, much like those used at the American Jazz Museum in Kansas City?) are mind-blowing.
