Introduction to the Motown Special Issue: The Way You Do the Things You Do

ABSTRACT Motown’s reputation as an assembly-line factory of pop hits oversimplifies its range and expressive depth. Examining both its most prominent successes and wayward obscurities, this article carves out new spaces for research into Motown’s aesthetic profile. As an introduction to this special issue, it sets up topics such as Smokey Robinson’s dual capacities as a performer and writer, the symbiotic relationship between the Beatles and Motown, and the emergence of Diana Ross as a major Hollywood star with an Oscar nomination for Best Actress. Founder Berry Gordy’s ambition ultimately led the label to California with disappointing results. And yet the 1960s seems to shape itself around Motown’s heady energies, beginning with teen romance and expanding into fraught social commentary. Its influence on hip-hop has yet to motivate scholars, but an accompanying bibliography gets things started.