One Nation Under a Groove: Motown and American Culture Book

Gerald Early, an award-winning music, sports, and popular-culture scholar, brings us a concise study of Motown Records, one of the most famous and successful black-owned businesses in American history, and, arguably, the most significant of all American independent record labels.Early tells the story of the historical and cultural conditions that made this record company possible, including the dramatic shifts in American popular music, changes in race relations and racial attitudes, and the rise of a black urban population. Early concentrates in particular on the 1960s and 70s, when Motown had its biggest impact on American musical tastes and styles. In addition, he provides an up-to-date bibliography of the major books that have been written about Motown Records specifically, and black American music generally. With new appendices featuring interviews with four of the major creators of the Motown Sound: Berry Gordy, Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross, and Marvin Gaye.Gerald Early is Merle Kling Professor of Modern Letters in the Department of Arts and Sciences at Washington University. His book, The Culture of Bruising: Essays on Prizefighting, Literature, and Modern American Culture, won the 1994 National Book Critics Circle Award for criticism.Read More