Itβs just a house, though it was once his home. But despite the memories and the millions made inside, Berry Gordy had neither time nor interest for the two-family flat at 2648 W. Grand Blvd. in the spring of 1985.
Gordy had moved on, taking his entire Motown Records empire βΜύlock, stock, and baritone sax βΜύto Los Angeles more than a decade earlier. At that time, it was the biggest black-owned business in America. By 1985, however, Motown was losing money for the first time in its history and MCA Records (which now controlled its distribution) was making overtures to buy the company, a suggestion Gordy would have found unthinkable even months earlier.
He had more pressing matters on his mind than the goings-on at βHitsville, U.S.A.β
Esther Gordy Edwards, his oldest sister, had no intentions of forsaking her plush high-rise on Detroitβs riverfront for the glitter of the Golden Coast. One of the few people Gordy truly trusted, Edwards remained behind to handle Motownβs greatly diminished local business and public relations affairs. As he wrote in his 1994 autobiography To Be Loved, βEsther, now the family matriarch, one of my staunchest supporters, understood me and my business motives better than anybody.β
Edwards took over βHitsvilleβ and its adjoining house β one of seven Gordy eventually owned on the block β as her base of operations. Increasingly, though, she found it harder and harder to get any work done.
A constant stream of curious fans and tourists would stroll onto the front lawn to take photos of the fabled blue-and-white building. Many would be emboldened to bang on the front door. βExcuse me, maβam,β they would say to Edwards, βsorry to bother you, but weβve come from (fill in city or country) and weβre huge Motown fans. May we come inside, and maybe take a picture of Studio A?β
Edwards and her secretary, Doris Holland, attempted to accommodate their visitors, giving impromptu tours and going so far as to thumbtack publicity pictures and posters of the labelβs stars along the walls. But the epiphany came one afternoon when a long tour bus pulled up in front of the house and dozens of uniformed men piled out.
βHer famous quote, and itβs on a wall in the museum, is the day that she looked out and said, βIt looked like the entire British Navy was on the front lawn of βHitsville,β β relates Robin Terry, Edwardsβ granddaughter, who this year assumed the title of Motown Museum CEO. βThat was the day she called her brother and said, βBerry, I think we made history and didnβt even know it.ββ
Edwards died in 2011 at the age of 91, but her inspiration and extensive collection of Motown memorabilia continue to define the museum, which officially marks its 30th anniversary April 15.
It was the very definition of a βsoft openingβ in 1985. Youβd be hard-pressed to find any mention of its first day in the local papers. Just two years later, the Motown Museum was declared a Michigan State Historic Site β and today, itβs better than ever.
A string of significant early contributions β including a black fedora, single sequined glove, and $125,000 check from Michael Jackson β gave the nonprofit institution credibility and publicity. A major renovation in 1995 added a gallery space and restored the early Motown offices as well as the upper-level flat where a young Gordy and his family lived (including the orange sofa Marvin Gaye crashed on after all-night recording sessions).
Heard it Through the Headphones: Motownβs hottest acts recorded in the famed Studio A, launching the careers of everyone from the Supremes, Temptations, and Four Tops to Little Stevie Wonder, Martha and the Vandellas, Marvin Gaye, and the Jackson 5. At right, a Steinway restored by Paul McCartney came back to the museum in 2013.
Now the museum β which for many years had little to show besides the legendary, timeworn Studio A and Edwardsβ pin-up posters β features a small video theater, walls covered with framed photos and artifacts, new display areas, and a well-appointed store (where, of course, youβd better shop around).
The museum also got a boost when the studioβs 9-foot 1877 Steinway grand piano came back home in 2013 β refurbished courtesy of Sir Paul McCartney.
βWeβve still got a long way to go, but weβre getting there,β says Terry, who worked as a docent at the museum while still in high school. βIβve been around this place as long as itβs been in existence,β she says. βMy sisters and I became my grandmotherβs tour guides. People came in and were interested, and we would walk them through. That was just our world.β
After leaving the museum to establish herself in the non-musical business world, including PR and marketing positions at CCS and Focus: HOPE, Terry returned as deputy director in 2002 partly because of Edwardsβ faltering health.
βI think that 30 years ago, my grandmotherβs vision was to protect this place,β she reflects. βWhat was important to her was documenting in American history what took place in βHitsville,β what these people did, because somehow in her great wisdom she knew it was going to be important for generations to see it and to know it.
βMy vision is about building upon what she put in place and really returning this space to the community, because thatβs what Motown was all about. It was the epicenter for creativity. If you were in music anywhere in this city, you knew if you could make your way to that blue βHitsvilleβ door β and they let you in β you suddenly had an opportunity to transform your life.β
The museumβs 30th anniversary promotions underscore Terryβs goal:
β’ βMotown Mic: The Spoken Word 2015,β a four-week poetry slam competition at βHitsvilleβ in April. βTalented young Detroit poets come out,β Terry explains. βThatβs one way weβre re-engaging the community.β The finale will be held in June.
β’ A first-ever Motown membership card, dubbed β$30-for-30,β expected to not only unite the labelβs global fandom but also entice the majority of Detroiters who have driven past the museum for years but never ventured inside. (Terry estimates that, unlike such museums as the DIA, more than 75 percent of Motownβs visitors are tourists.)
βItβs part of a campaign called βI Am Motown,β a fairly inexpensive card that gives the owner all kinds of benefits, including free admission for the holder and a guest,β says Terry.
Add its annual entrepreneurship summer camp for young performing arts students and its current exhibit, βBoulevard to Broadway,β tracing Gordyβs ambitious strategy to expand the Motown sound to film and stage, and it appears the museum is determined to find new ways for people to come and get these memories.
The Motown Museum may have faced its sternest test last October when the touring production of Motown the Musical premiered at the Fisher Theatre. The event lured such label legends as Smokey Robinson, Stevie Wonder β and yes, even Gordy himself β back to Detroit, and the museum hosted the gala reception.
βThere was a lot going on,β recalls Detroit native and bass guitarist Nicholas Mancuso, who came on board as museum executive assistant and project coordinator two months before the big event. βI was just acclimated right away into the music, into the culture. And it just works. Because itβs βHitsville,β it just works. I couldnβt be happier being here.β
Yet the subtle pressure to get all the details right remains constant. When the tour guide points out the βoriginal desk where Martha Reeves worked as a secretary before signing her recording contract,β you never know who might be listening.
βYes, itβs the original desk, but itβs been moved,β says Reeves, who frequently escorts groups through the facility and was instrumental in getting a portion of West Grand renamed βBerry Gordy Boulevardβ during her time as a Detroit city councilwoman. βIt was in the A&R department, which has been altered for the museum. Iβm especially proud to take people where I know how the company began. I know the inside and Iβm able to share that. Sometimes I feel like a spy.β
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