Motortown Revue
Encyclopedia
The Motortown Revue was the name given to the package concert tours of Motown artists in the 1960s. Early tours featured Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, Mary Wells
, The Marvelettes
, Barrett Strong
, and The Contours
as headlining acts, and gave then-second-tier acts such as Marvin Gaye
, Martha & The Vandellas, Stevie Wonder
, The Supremes
, The Four Tops, Gladys Knight & the Pips
and The Temptations
the chances to improve their skills.
Motown's entire roster, and occasionally non-Motown performers such as Dusty Springfield
, The Shirelles
and Patti LaBelle & the Bluebelles
, were featured on the tours. Most of the venues for the early Motortown Revue tours were along the "chitlin' circuit
" in the eastern and southern United States
. In the Deep South
racism
became an issue, as the mostly African American
performers were sometimes attacked or threatened by local white residents. While in the north the Motown artists generally played to mixed audiences, in the South, white and black audiences either attended separate shows, or were allowed to attend the same show as long as each race stayed on either side of a police-guarded rope that divided the performance hall. Motown artists are credited with being among those who broke down these barriers so later audiences would no longer be separated by color.
The revue was filmed during a December 1962 week-long stand at the Apollo Theater
, and in 1963 Motown released audio edits from the films as a series of live LPs. The films themselves have never had an authorized exhibition other than occasional brief snippets in a Motown TV special.
It was from a live Motortown Revue performance that Little Stevie Wonder got his first big hit, the 1963 #1 hit "Fingertips (Pt. 2)". Motown CEO Berry Gordy, Jr.
noted in his biography, To Be Loved, that the Revue was used to showcase Stevie Wonder
in the days before he had his first hit. Also, Smokey Robinson
and the other Miracles composed songs such as "The Way You Do the Things You Do
" and "My Girl" while on the road, which later became hits for The Temptations. The Miracles
, Motown's first star act, always closed the show.
After becoming a major force in the music industry during the mid-1960s, Motown continued to organize group tours under the Motortown Revue name. Later tours from the mid-1960s on covered the entire United States, and the rest of the world as well.
A four-CD
box set compiling the four issued albums of Motortown Revue live performances was released by Motown/Hip-O select in 2002, celebrating the Revue's 40th anniversary. Motortown Revue: 40th Anniversary Collection collected the various artists Motown releases Motortown Revue, Vol. 1 Recorded Live at the Apollo (1963), Motortown Revue Vol. 2 (recorded at Detroit's Fox Theatre
in 1964), Motortown Revue in Paris (recorded at the Olympia Theatre
in 1965), and Motortown Revue Live! (recorded at the Fox Theatre in 1969).
Mary Wells
Mary Esther Wells was an American singer who helped to define the emerging sound of Motown in the early 1960s...
, The Marvelettes
The Marvelettes
The Marvelettes were an American singing girl group on the Tamla label. Motown's first successful female vocal group, the Marvelettes are most notable for recording the company's first #1 Pop hit, "Please Mr...
, Barrett Strong
Barrett Strong
Barrett Strong is an American singer and songwriter. Strong was the first artist to record a hit for Motown, although he is best remembered for his work as a songwriter, particularly in association with producer Norman Whitfield.-His career:Strong was among the first artists signed to Berry...
, and The Contours
The Contours
The Contours were one of the early African-American soul singing groups signed to Motown Records.The group is best known for its Billboard Top 10 hit, "Do You Love Me," a million-selling song that peaked twice in the Top 20....
as headlining acts, and gave then-second-tier acts such as Marvin Gaye
Marvin Gaye
Marvin Pentz Gay, Jr. , better known by his stage name Marvin Gaye, was an American singer-songwriter and musician with a three-octave vocal range....
, Martha & The Vandellas, Stevie Wonder
Stevie Wonder
Stevland Hardaway Morris , better known by his stage name Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and activist...
, The Supremes
The Supremes
The Supremes, an American female singing group, were the premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s.Originally founded as The Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, The Supremes' repertoire included doo-wop, pop, soul, Broadway show tunes, psychedelic soul, and disco...
, The Four Tops, Gladys Knight & the Pips
Gladys Knight & the Pips
Gladys Knight & The Pips were an R&B/soul family musical act from Atlanta, Georgia, active from 1953 to 1989. The group was best known for their string of hit singles on Motown's "Soul" record label and Buddah Records from 1967 to 1975, including "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" and "Midnight...
and The Temptations
The Temptations
The Temptations is an American vocal group having achieved fame as one of the most successful acts to record for Motown Records. The group's repertoire has included, at various times during its five-decade career, R&B, doo-wop, funk, disco, soul, and adult contemporary music.Formed in Detroit,...
the chances to improve their skills.
Motown's entire roster, and occasionally non-Motown performers such as Dusty Springfield
Dusty Springfield
Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'BrienSources use both Isabel and Isobel as the spelling of her second name. OBE , known professionally as Dusty Springfield and dubbed The White Queen of Soul, was a British pop singer whose career extended from the late 1950s to the 1990s...
, The Shirelles
The Shirelles
The Shirelles were an African-American girl group that achieved popularity in the early 1960s. They consisted of schoolmates Shirley Owens , Doris Coley , Addie "Micki" Harris , and Beverly Lee...
and Patti LaBelle & the Bluebelles
Labelle
Labelle is an American all female singing group who were a popular vocal group of the 1960s and 1970s. The group was formed after the disbanding of two rival girl groups in the Philadelphia/Trenton areas, the Ordettes and the Del-Capris, forming as a new version of the former group, later changing...
, were featured on the tours. Most of the venues for the early Motortown Revue tours were along the "chitlin' circuit
Chitlin' circuit
The "Chitlin' Circuit" was the collective name given to the string of performance venues throughout the eastern and southern United States that were safe and acceptable for African-American musicians, comedians, and other entertainers to perform during the age of racial segregation in the United...
" in the eastern and southern United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. In the Deep South
Deep South
The Deep South is a descriptive category of the cultural and geographic subregions in the American South. Historically, it is differentiated from the "Upper South" as being the states which were most dependent on plantation type agriculture during the pre-Civil War period...
racism
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
became an issue, as the mostly African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
performers were sometimes attacked or threatened by local white residents. While in the north the Motown artists generally played to mixed audiences, in the South, white and black audiences either attended separate shows, or were allowed to attend the same show as long as each race stayed on either side of a police-guarded rope that divided the performance hall. Motown artists are credited with being among those who broke down these barriers so later audiences would no longer be separated by color.
The revue was filmed during a December 1962 week-long stand at the Apollo Theater
Apollo Theater
The Apollo Theater in New York City is one of the most famous, and older, music halls in the United States, and the most famous club associated almost exclusively with Black performers...
, and in 1963 Motown released audio edits from the films as a series of live LPs. The films themselves have never had an authorized exhibition other than occasional brief snippets in a Motown TV special.
It was from a live Motortown Revue performance that Little Stevie Wonder got his first big hit, the 1963 #1 hit "Fingertips (Pt. 2)". Motown CEO Berry Gordy, Jr.
Berry Gordy
Berry Gordy, Jr. is an American record producer, and the founder of the Motown record label, as well as its many subsidiaries.-Early years:...
noted in his biography, To Be Loved, that the Revue was used to showcase Stevie Wonder
Stevie Wonder
Stevland Hardaway Morris , better known by his stage name Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and activist...
in the days before he had his first hit. Also, Smokey Robinson
Smokey Robinson
William "Smokey" Robinson, Jr. is an American R&B singer-songwriter, record producer, and former record executive. Robinson is one of the primary figures associated with Motown, second only to the company's founder, Berry Gordy...
and the other Miracles composed songs such as "The Way You Do the Things You Do
The Way You Do the Things You Do
"The Way You Do the Things You Do" was covered in 1989 by the band UB40. It was the sixth single from their 1989 album Labour of Love II. The song was released in 1989 in the major of the European countries .-Track listings:7"-Single...
" and "My Girl" while on the road, which later became hits for The Temptations. The Miracles
The Miracles
The Miracles are an American rhythm and blues group from Detroit, Michigan, notable as the first successful group act for Berry Gordy's Motown Record Corporation . Their single "Shop Around" was Motown's first million-selling hit record, and the group went on to become one of Motown's signature...
, Motown's first star act, always closed the show.
After becoming a major force in the music industry during the mid-1960s, Motown continued to organize group tours under the Motortown Revue name. Later tours from the mid-1960s on covered the entire United States, and the rest of the world as well.
A four-CD
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
box set compiling the four issued albums of Motortown Revue live performances was released by Motown/Hip-O select in 2002, celebrating the Revue's 40th anniversary. Motortown Revue: 40th Anniversary Collection collected the various artists Motown releases Motortown Revue, Vol. 1 Recorded Live at the Apollo (1963), Motortown Revue Vol. 2 (recorded at Detroit's Fox Theatre
Fox Theatre (Detroit)
The Fox Theatre is an ornate performing arts center located at 2211 Woodward Avenue in downtown Detroit, Michigan, near Grand Circus Park. It was originally completed in 1928 as the first movie palace in the world to have sound systems for films. It was listed on the National Register of Historic...
in 1964), Motortown Revue in Paris (recorded at the Olympia Theatre
Paris Olympia
The Olympia is a music hall in the 9th arrondissement of Paris. Located at No. 28, Boulevard des Capucines, its closest métro/RER stations are Madeleine, Opéra, Havre – Caumartin and Auber....
in 1965), and Motortown Revue Live! (recorded at the Fox Theatre in 1969).