Motown

Dozier and his songwriting partners Brian and Eddie Holland wrote the Motown hits "Stop in the Name of Love," "Baby Love" and "You Can't Hurry Love." He died Aug. 8. Originally broadcast in 2003.

Spector, who died Jan. 12, was part of the 1960s girl group that gave us "Be My Baby." She left the music business for some years but returned to recording in the 1970s. Originally broadcast in 1988.

While with Motown, Knight & The Pips turned out a slew of hits, including "I Heard It Through the Grapevine," which they performed at the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival. Originally broadcast in 1996.

Wilson, who died Feb. 8, began singing with Diana Ross and Florence Ballard in 1959. As the Supremes, they helped define Motown sound with a string of hits in the 1960s. Originally broadcast in 1986.

She has a new solo recording out this month, At Last. Knight began her singing career at age 4. Since that modest start, she went on to lead one of the most successful vocal soul groups in America, Gladys Knight and The Pips. The group stayed together for 39 years before disbanding.Among, the group's most notable songs include: I Heard It Through The Grapevine, Neither One of Us, and Midnight Train to Georgia. Knight then launched a solo career. Terry interviewed Knight before a live audience in San Francisco in 1996.

In 1964, Motown, a black-owned record company in Detroit achieved the nearly impossible goal of dominating the American pop and soul charts. Ed Ward looks back on 1965 and Hip-O Select's "Complete Motown Singles" series.

Joe Hunter, who died last week at the age of 79, was one of the Funk Brothers, the session musicians who helped create the Motown Sound. He could be heard on such hits as "Money" by Barrett Strong, "Shop Around" by The Miracles and "Heat Wave" by Martha and the Vandellas. This interview originally aired on Nov. 18, 2002.

Rock historian Ed Ward says that 1964 was a "magical year" for Motown Records.

On his new album, Timeless Love, rhythm and blues legend Smokey Robinson sings hits from the American songbook, including "I Can't Give You Anything But Love (Baby)," "Night and Day" and "More Than You Know." Robinson William "Smokey" Robinson recorded dozens of top 40 hits for the Motown label as a solo artist and with The Miracles.

Rock historian Ed Ward talks about the early days of the legendary Motown record label and salutes some of its first artists who never quite made it.

The legendary songwriting trio, Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier and Edward Holland. They wrote many early Motown hits, and helped turn the company into a powerhouse. Their songs include "You Can't Hurry Love," "Reach Out I'll Be There," "Baby, I Need Your Loving," "Heat Wave" and "Stop! In the Name of Love." Their songs were recorded by Diana Ross & The Supremes, Marvin Gaye, the Four Tops, and Martha Reeves & The Vandellas. In 1990 they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Musicians Joe Hunter and Jack Ashford were part of the group of musicians known as the Funk Brothers whose sound defined Motown in the 1960s and 70s. They worked with such legendary performers as Diana Ross and the Supremes, the Temptations, Marvin Gaye, The Four Tops, Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson, The Miracles and many more. The Funk Brothers are the subject of the new documentary Standing in the Shadows of Motown.

Professor of English and Director of African and Afro-American Studies at Washington University, Gerald Early. He reflects on the meaning of Motown music to whites and blacks.

Gordy and his record label made stars out of musicians including Diana Ross and the Supremes, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, and Michael Jackson. He has written his autobiography, "To Be Loved: The Music, the Magic, the Memories of Motown: An Autobiography."

Martha Reeves is the lead singer of Martha and the Vandellas, the Motown group which made it big in the 60's with such hits as "Nowhere to Run," "Heat Wave," and "Dancing in the Street." Her new autobiography, "Dancing in the Street: Confessions of a Motown Diva," is about her career, her conflicts with other Motown singers and managers, and her experiences touring during the height of the Civil Rights movement.

Rock historian Ed Ward shares some of the lesser known works from the Motown label.

Rock historian Ed Ward looks at Smokey Robinson's early recordings, when he was the lead singer of Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, and one of Motown's top acts.

In her new memoir, Dreamgirl, singer Mary Wilson outlines the history of the girl group, including their contentious legal and financial relationship with Motown Records.

Nelson George is a music writer who is the author of the best-selling "The Michael Jackson Story," and the black music editor for Billboard magazine. His latest book, "Where Did Our Love Go?," is a history of the black-owned company Motown Records. Motown employed a stable of writers, producers, singers, and studio musicians who created what became known as "the Motown sound." This soul sound appealed to both black and white audiences. George argues that that the company's move from Detroit to Los Angeles caused it to lose its sound.