Where did our love go? Book

Since I am a true blue Motown Records freak and have been since I was a kid and mowed lawns (hated it!) for money to buy my 45 RPM singles I decided to read this much praised book about the legendary record label. I pretty much gobbled it up like candy. It was an entertaining and easy book to read and really gives the reader a sense of how Motown Records was born and became so successful. It is quite detailed in describing the business dynamics involved as well as the musical journey. Mr. Gordy, its creator and founder, was certainly a visionary and his timing for the type of music Motown put out in its early (and best) years was perfect. Unfortunately, there is a less happy side to the story, involving grossly underpaid and unrecognized musicians ( I was shocked by how little they were paid to play on some of the classic records of all time!) and artists that were neglected, not developed, or relegated to the bottom of the Motown barrel because other artists seemed to be on a hot streak sales-wise. A few genuinely tragic stories are included, especially that of the inimitable Mary Wells (who was key to putting Motown on the map and charts), who one wishes would have put stayed longer with Motown and continued collaborating with Smokey Robinson instead of splitting for a lucrative deal with a label that only provided a few good songs to her (check out the Motownish "Ain't It the Truth") and failed to take her to the next level of her career. Also, of course there was the heartbreaking saga of Supreme "Flo", now tragically immortalized in "Dreamgirls". Some of the book's revelations are truly startling: that Marvin Gaye didn't much want to do "What's Goin' On" and then that Motown didn't think it would be commercial enough and only put it out because "What's Going On" was a smash hit. (The album sold better than any album they'd released previously and is considered a "socially conscious", career-defining classic. Motown Records in its early, Detroit-based phase before it was moved to L.A., was a magical sound created largely by jazz musicians from Detroit. Consider but a few of the following classic pop records that sound as good today as when they were recorded: "Dancing in the Streets", "What's Going On"; "My Guy"; "Reach Out (I'll Be There"; "You've Really Got a Hold on Me"; "The Tracks of My Tears"; "Baby Love"; "My Girl" "Where Did Our Love Go"; "Do You Love Me?"; "Fingertips"; "I Want You Back", "I Heard It Through the Grapevine"...and many, many more; even many of the non-hits and B-sides on this label were fabulous. Once the label moved to L.A. they lost some of that original Motown music sound, yet continued enjoying success with The Jackson Five, The Commodores, Lionel Richie, etc. One other interesting point not mentioned in this book is that Motown Records, even fairly early on, was unafraid to tackle issues other labels wouldn't touch. As far back as the late seventies hey put out a song of gay pride called "I Was Born This Way" and even The Miracles recorded a song called "Gay in L.A." Motown was not only a great record label, but a brave, intelligent label. If you love Motown as much as I do, you will probably enjoy this book and its many wonderful photographs included.