Rock’n’Roll Unravelled Show
Birth of Motown Records radio show

The story from its beginnings in 1959 to the label’s arrival in the UK as Tamla Motown in 1965 – Birth Of Motown Records

First broadcast 1 October 2018
…..on Access North West

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Birth of Motown Records
The original broadcast, including all the songs played in the show.
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COMPANION BLOG
For Birth of Motown Records
Contains links to all the songs mentioned in the show.

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Artists/bands mentioned in
Birth of Motown Records

Birth of Motown Records radio show

It all started in 1959 when Berry Gordy Jr took out an $800 loan and set up the Tamla record label. A year later he formed the Motown corporation and record label. Motown signed a number of artists and bands from 1950s R&B and doo wop groups and turned them into 1960s soul legends; these artists included the Temptations, Four Tops and Marvin Gaye.

The label went from strength to strength in the 1960s, resulting in the Marvelettes delivering the first American #1 with Please Mr Postman and the Supremes generating international success.

In America the recordings were released on a variety of labels, Tamla, Motown, Gordy, Soul and a host of others. In the UK it was a different story, Berry Gordy Jr combined the names of two of his early labels and all the UK releases were on the Tamla Motown label. The first Tamla Motown release came in the March of 1965 with the Supremes’ Stop In the Name of Love.

PLAYLIST

1 Four Tops – Baby I Need Your Loving
2 The Miracles – You’ve Really Got a Hold on Me
3 The Marvelettes – Please Mr Postman
4 Martha and the Vandellas – Heatwave
5 Jr Walker and the All Stars – Cleo’s Mood
6 The Contours – Do You Love Me

About…
The Rock’n’Roll Unravelled Show

How rock’n’roll came about, it’s transition into rock music in the mid-1960s and the array of rock genres which followed in the late 1960s and ‘70s.

Blues, R&B, rock’n’roll, rock, prog, folk rock, country rock, psychedelia, glam, early metal, punk, new wave +++… will all find their way into the shows. Plus artists and bands, some well known and others who are more on the cult side. Stories behind classic singles and albums, record labels, venues, gigs… Not forgetting the people behind the scenes: producers, managers, promoters, writers, Svengalis – the people who made it all happen.

If it’s relevant to the music of the 1950s, ‘60s and ‘70s, I’ll be talking about it.
All this and great music, although, some you’ll recognise and some you might well be hearing for the first time.

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Rock’n’Roll Unravelled

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ABOUT THE BOOK – Rock’n’Roll Unravelled
In its unique three-part format
Timeline – What Happened Today? – Pocket Histories
Derek Shelmerdine‘s Rock’n’Roll Unravelled tells the story of rock’n’roll from its roots to mid-1970s punk.
Not just the music but also accounts of events such as the Vietnam War and Civil Rights struggle, are included because they had a strong influence on the music of the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s.

RECORD COLLECTOR MAGAZINE’S REVIEW
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Record Collector magazine review “Shelmerdine has made a painstaking effort to document pretty much every event that would prove significant in shaping popular music … a comprehensive guide… invaluable.”

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Other Radio Appearances

Birth Of Motown Records
First broadcast on Access North West 1 October 2018

For all Derek Shelmerdine‘s
Rock’n’Roll Unravelled Shows and appearances on all radio stations