top Motown Music ringtones
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Top Motown artists
Every now and then in pop music, a record label or recording studio pumps out so many hits that it defines its own genre. As the first record label owned by an African American, the Detroit-based Motown Records did just that, and these days “the Motown sound” has entered the dictionary as the gold standard for smooth R&B, soul and disco sounds. The history of Motown is as legendary as its artists—everyone from the Jackson Five to Marvin Gaye recorded for Motown, and the found Berry Gordy was a larger than life personality famous for both nurturing his artists and pushing them to produce hits as fast as they could. Gordy broke into the music industry as a songwriter, co-writing the hit “Lonely Teardrops” for Jackie Wilson and the Matadors. Writing songs for other people didn’t yield enough money for the ambitious Gordy, and he realized the real cash was in production and royalties. This mentality formed the financial backbone of Motown. The entire Gordy family got in on the act, and The Matadors changed their name to The Miracles and their lead singer, Smokey Robinson, became Motown’s vice president. The hits started coming at once, beginning with Barrett Strong’s “Money (That’s What I Want)” in 1959. Motown’s first platinum hit was “Shop Around” by The Miracles; Hitsville U.S.A. would go on to crank out 110 Top 10 singles from the likes of Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross & the Supremes, The Temptations, Gladys Knight & the Pips and The Four Tops.
- 47 Ringtones Stevie Wonder
- 24 Ringtones Marvin Gaye
- 19 Ringtones Diana Ross
- 18 Ringtones Jackson 5
- 16 Ringtones Four Tops
