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The Latest Breaking News from Motown

‘I can out-dance Bowie and Jagger!’ Martha Reeves on Motown, Dancing in the Street and smashing crockery with Dusty Springfield

Now 84, the voice of Heat Wave and Jimmy Mack is releasing a new album. She answers your questions on Marvin Gaye, popularising the roundabout and why she hates cover versions of her songs

The Guardian - UK

“The most important and influential bass guitarist in the 66-year history of the Precision”: Fender honors legendary Motown bass great with recreation of James Jamerson’s workhorse bass

Jamerson’s beloved Precision Bass has been recreated in all its vintage, warm-voiced glory

Guitar World

Commoders hitmaker Ronald LaPread dies aged 75 after ‘sudden medical event’

The longtime Commodores bassist, whose playing helped power some of the biggest soul and funk hits of the 1970s and 1980s, passed away in New Zealand.

BANG Premier

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The Michael Jackson Biopic Is Back at No. 1, and its star Larenz Tate Thinks Black and Brown Audiences Need Unity Right Now - INTERVIEW

As 'Michael' danced back to the top of the box office this weekend, the success of the Michael Jackson biopic is way more than a fun story and great numbers. For Larenz Tate, the actor who plays Motown founder Berry Gordy, the film's success is also a reminder of what…

Latin Times

“A barometer is if I wouldn’t say it out loud, then I probably wouldn’t use it as a lyric”: How Olivia Dean’s joyous breakthrough song was crafted

Setting out her stall as one of the greatest artists of the 2020s, Olivia Dean’s 2023 breakthrough cribbed from the past to evoke the euphoria of falling in love

MusicRadar

NBA Playoffs Takeaways: Cavaliers Steal Game 5 in Overtime After Questionable No-Call

The Cavaliers will have a chance to close out the series against the Pistons on Friday night.

Sports Illustrated

Motown’s Black women songwriters and producers were the invisible architects behind the pop music juggernaut

During the 1960s, in a country divided by racial strife, the music of Berry Gordy Jr.’s Motown Records helped bring people together.

The Conversation

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“It was too successful really - we weren’t cut out for it. We were fish out of water”: How the Boo Radleys wrote one of the most optimistic radio hits of the ‘90s, with fresh insight from its singer

Wake Up Boo! defined the halcyon summer of 1995 - but its hit-potential wasn’t immediately obvious

MusicRadar

Olivia Dean review – soul-pop superstar shimmies into a classy and commanding first arena tour

The glam set design, gleaming brass and Motown moves are knowingly retro, but Dean’s performance is immediate, vulnerable and natural – the work of a singular artist

The Guardian - UK

Motown girl group Martha and the Vandellas not only recorded an anthem for the civil rights era – they fought for fair pay and proudly called themselves divas

The CBS television show “It’s What’s Happening Baby” aired a music video featuring Martha and the Vandellas performing their hit song “Nowhere to Run” to kick off its national broadcast dedicated to Detroit on June 28, 1965.

The Conversation

"He started trying to play chords on it and he said ‘Malcolm! Bob! What’s wrong with this instrument? It only plays one note at a time!’": Dissecting the musical magic of Superstition, the song Stevie Wonder just couldn’t let go

“He played it to Motown, and they said, 'No way is Jeff Beck getting this song, it's too good’”

MusicRadar

K-Pops! Is Such A Sweet Father Son Movie But That’s Only Partly Why I Enjoyed It

It was cute!

Cinemablend

“James asked if I wrote the bassline – he was mad at me for not getting a cowriting credit”: How Allen McGrier brought his Jamerson-approved Detroit swagger to a classic R&B ballad

Bassist Allen McGrier grew up in the shadows of Motown and the Jamerson family in particular

Guitar World

“He played it to Motown, and they said, 'No way is Beck getting this song, it's too good’”: Dissecting the musical magic of Superstition, the song Stevie Wonder just couldn’t let go

Exploring the mechanics of the song which was taken to mega-success by Stevie Wonder - much to Jeff Beck's frustration

MusicRadar

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MusicRadar

“I wasn’t told I shouldn’t listen to the Beatles. At the same time I was exposed to this incredible Motown music, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye and all of that”: Living Colour’s Vernon Reid on inspirations, unsung heroes and the emotional power of a sample

The visionary guitarist walks us through the memories, sounds and people who shaped him as a player – and the sounds we hear on his bravura solo album, Hoodoo Telemetry

Guitar World

“He is the funkiest bass player that ever lived. Every note a mighty oak, a bull elephant, a bomb”: William ‘Billy Bass’ Nelson, Funkadelic bassist who coined the band’s name, dies aged 75

Flea has led tributes to the Funkadelic bassist, who was one of the founding architects of funk’s most audacious musical revolution

Guitar World

“Those who were waiting forOriginto recreate an Ampeg Flip-Top will be delighted – it’s as good as you’d hope”: OriginEffects BASSRIG Fifteen review

OriginEffects has concentrated the revered Ampeg B-15 into a pedal. Has it worked?

Louder

“We were being thrown to the dogs. It felt like our hard work was being chucked away for this crap idea that girls couldn’t possibly be decent musicians”: They were American rock pioneers loved by David Bowie. But they’ve been virtually forgotten today

Before the Runaways and the Go-Gos was Fanny – the all-female band David Bowie called “extraordinary”

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The Independent UK

Why America’s ‘comeback city’ deserves to be your next trip

Detroit hasn't just risen from the ashes, it's now one of America's top destinations. Here’s how to make the most of the city

The Guardian - UK

My big night out: I went to a White Stripes gig with a colleague – and she became my best friend

On that brilliant night at Ally Pally 21 years ago, Laura and I decided to go to Detroit on holiday. Since then there have been countless adventures: road trips, dive bars, rock camps …

BANG Premier

Diana Ross was a big influence on the Spice Girls

Melanie C has revealed Diana Ross' influence on the Spice Girls.

Guitar World

“To think that Jamerson could compose this entire bassline spontaneously and still be locked into the groove is astounding. That's his genius”: How Motown hit-maker James Jamerson funked up a Christmas classic on this 1968 holiday gem

The Temptations' funky cover of Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer captured Jamerson at his peak powers, before personal problems began to take their toll

International Business Times UK

Motown Christmas Special 2025: List of Celebrity Guests and When to Watch the NBC Holiday Revival

The Motown Christmas Special 2025 returns to NBC with star guests, classic performances and a confirmed air date. Here's when to watch and who is performing.

BANG Premier

Smokey Robinson claims accuser recently 'stole thousands of dollars of valuables' from him

Motown icon Smokey Robinson has claimed a woman accusing him of sexual assault recently stole "thousands of dollars" worth of valuables from a storage unit belonging to him.

The Independent UK

Smokey Robinson faces fresh accusations of sexual assault from male and female former employees

Motown singer has denied all allegations against him

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