A Motown Timeline: 1980
CHALLENGE AND CHANGE FOR “MR. #1”
This was the year when Berry Gordy evidently paid more attention to the music business – his own, and that of the wider music world – than he had for some time.
His company was boosted by revenues from Diana Ross’ most successful LP release since her Lady Sings The Blues soundtrack, and by Stevie Wonder’s seventh Top 10 album, Jermaine Jackson’s first, and the Commodores’ fifth. Moreover, the Motown founder himself returned to the charts, as co-writer and co-producer of the Temptations’ first back-to-Motown release, “Power.”
September 1980: three titans of Motown, together
He began 1980 by celebrating Motown’s, uh, 20th anniversary (the company’s first 45 came out in January 1959) at home and abroad. By year’s end, Gordy had upended the senior management of his business operations, with longtime confidant Michael Roshkind departing and record industry veteran Jay Lasker arriving.
Gordy was also a public presence at various music industry functions, including those organised by retail trade group NARM and the philanthropic T.J. Martell Foundation for Leukemia Research.
In addition to the ongoing chart achievements of Motown’s established acts like Ross and Wonder, newer talent prospered on the road, such as Rick James – touring with Prince – and the Commodores. The firm also prevailed in its 1975 lawsuit against the Jacksons, even as Michael Jackson’s post-Motown solo career was exploding by way of Off The Wall. But there were hints of future trouble for Gordy, including rumours that 1980 was when Diana Ross’ Motown contract would expire, and that she would leave.
For Motown Industries, estimated revenues rose to $91.7 million in ’80, ahead of the previous year’s $64 million – but the number of employees fell to 215 from 275. (In 1973, the first year that the influential Black Enterprise magazine tracked such numbers, Motown had 375 staff, generating sales of $46 million.)
JOBETE FOR SALE?
Surprisingly, despite the first-hand attention of the boss, the anniversary celebrations and the hits, profits proved elusive. It’s estimated that the record division lost in the region of $3 million in 1980 – and the movie division and recording studios were also in deficit. Which may be why, for a moment, Berry Gordy considered selling reliably-profitable Jobete Music – although in the end, he deferred that decision.
Still, in public, Motown’s maestro seemed relaxed about everything, including his own reputation as a private man. “I’m just not interested in building myself up,” he told Record World’s Sam Graham, “or in doing anything but the simple things that I enjoy. I’m very happy with what I’m doing, and I hope to continue doing exactly that. I’m not going to change it for anything in the world.”
Motown speakers: do you prefer 10” or 8” woofers?
Now, the detail. Below is an effort, selective rather than exhaustive, to convey 1980’s endeavours and progress at Motown. It’s divided into three sections: the first, a chronological run-down of significant dates during those 12 months, followed by examples of notable single and album releases. If a 45 or album topped the Billboard R&B or pop charts, that entry is shown in bold-face italics. Other Motown timelines can be found here.
MOTOWN 1980
January 7: Georgeanna Tillman, one of the original Marvelettes, dies in Inkster at age 35. She suffered from lupus and sickle cell anemia.
January 26: Motown positions 1980 as its 20th anniversary year, and begins the occasion with a 100-page special supplement in trade magazine Record World. This opens with a congratulatory letter from the Mayor of Los Angeles, Tom Bradley.
February 2: Billboard reports that Motown is widening its promotion horizons to include album-oriented rock radio. The company plans releases by British new wave combo the Planets and the first English album by Soviet rockers Black Russian.
February 5: The Temptations re-sign to Motown for recording and management. Their first 45 under the new deal, “Power,” is released in April, co-produced and co-written by Berry Gordy.
February 16: Smokey Robinson’s “Cruisin’” sails to Number One on the Cash Box Top 100. On the Billboard Hot 100, the record hits its No. 4 peak this same week.
February 22: Motown’s refurbished Hitsville studios in Los Angeles hold digital evaluation tests with Sony, 3M and Soundstream gear, pending its upgrade to a digital recording system.
February 27: The 1979 Grammy awards are presented at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, but Motown’s nominees, Smokey Robinson and the Commodores, win nothing. Neither does Jr. Walker, nominated for his Whitfield Records release, “Wishing On A Star.”
March 5: The Urban League presents Berry Gordy with the prestigious Whitney M. Young Jr. award at the Century Plaza Hotel, honouring his contributions to the recording industry. More than 1,000 guests are present at the fundraiser; Alex Haley serves as master of ceremonies.
March 25: Motown sponsors a night of entertainment at the National Association of Recording Merchandisers (NARM) conference in Las Vegas. Smokey Robinson, the Commodores and the Temptations perform, and Berry Gordy is presented with a “Mr. #1” award by the trade association.
April 19: At the Mid-South Coliseum in Memphis, Rick James and the Stone City Band continue their national tour, with Prince as opening act. “It was a mismatch,” opines the Atlanta Voice, “because while Rick James is straight out funk, Prince is basically Freak.”
April 19: Billy Preston & Syreeta’s “With You I’m Born Again” climbs into the Top 5 of the Billboard Hot 100 six months after release – and three months after it reaches No. 2 in Britain.
May 10: Interviewed in the trade press, Motown Industries’ vice chairman Michael Roshkind reveals that the company has acquired an audio speaker manufacturer, Qysonic, and is now operating a Motown Sound Systems division.
May 15: EMI Records in London throws a party at the Grosvenor House Hotel for Jermaine Jackson, in town for promotional duties. His single, “Let’s Get Serious,” is en route to the U.K. Top 10.
May 17: Motown Industries’ Michael Roshkind reports that the company is developing projects for all three U.S. TV networks, including a three-hour movie, The Gene Tierney Story, for ABC.
May 23: Smokey Robinson opens at the Greek Theatre for the first of two sellout nights at the California venue. The Los Angeles Times’ Terry Atkinson writes, “ ‘Loose’ would seem to be the best word to describe both Robinson’s informal, easygoing stage presence and the songs he presented from his eight-year solo career.”
May 24: Billboard publishes a special supplement devoted to the Commodores, in which manager Benny Ashburn notes the imminent kick-off of their 95-date U.S. summertime tour. Backing the band onstage for the gospel track, “Jesus Is Love,” are Frances Moore & the East St. Louis Gospelettes.
July 7: Marvin Gaye performs at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland
July 17: Diana Ross’ album The Boss is certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America, for sales of 500,000 copies. It marks the first time Motown has applied for such an RIAA certification.
August 16: Smokey Robinson plays a show at Perkins Palace in Pasadena, California, backed by his Quiet Storm combo. The opening act is Keith & Darrell, who are his nephews.
August 16: Detroit’s Graystone Ballroom is demolished. Once a showplace for top jazz acts in the 1920s and ’30s, it was bought by Motown in 1963 and used as a rehearsal and recording venue. The building fell into disrepair in recent times, and a four-year citizen effort to save it failed.
August 16: The Commodores’ Lionel Richie is reported to be producing tracks on Kenny Rogers’ forthcoming album, including “Lady.”
August 24: Stevie Wonder plays “An Evening of Love” at the Roxy in Los Angeles as a fundraiser for the family of Eula Love, who was killed by police in the city in 1979. Tickets are $100 each (approximately $370 today) at the 450-seat venue.
September: Michael Roshkind resigns as vice chairman of Motown Industries. “His position will never again be filled,” says Berry Gordy. “We’re retiring his number.” Roshkind joined the firm in 1967.
September 2: At London’s Abbey Road studios, a media playback is held for Stevie Wonder’s forthcoming Hotter Than July. Wonder himself is present.
September 4: Robert Coleman, father of Berry Gordy’s first wife, Thelma, dies in Los Angeles at age 64. He was Motown’s director of purchasing and facilities, a post he had held since 1968.
September 5: EMI Records U.K. releases a boxed set of 20 hit singles to celebrate Motown’s 20th anniversary. It includes a bonus 45 with two hitherto-unissued tracks, the Marvelettes’ “Finders Keepers, Losers Weepers” and Kim Weston’s “Do Like I Do.”
September 7: It’s the last night of Stevie Wonder’s week-long “Hotter Than July Music Picnic” concerts at London’s Wembley Arena. Marvin Gaye (then living in the U.K.) and Diana Ross join him on stage, singing “What’s Going On.”
September 18: Bob Marley & the Wailers open for the Commodores at New York’s Madison Square Garden.
October 3: At a press conference at the Motown HQ in Los Angeles, Stevie Wonder discusses his campaign to make Rev. Martin Luther King’s birthday a national holiday. He plans to attend a rally for that purpose in Washington, D.C. the following January.
October 4: Diana Ross’ Diana, produced by Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards, reaches No. 2 on the Billboard Top LPs & Tapes countdown, becoming her highest-charting album since the Lady Sings The Blues soundtrack in 1973.
October 9: The Temptations play at the opening of the new 20 Grand nightclub on Detroit’s East Grand Boulevard. “It hardly seems possible,” wrote Chuck Thurston of the Detroit Free Press, “that time flies by so fast that the Temptations are becoming nostalgia.” The original 20 Grand was destroyed by fire in 1976.
October 11: Unissued as a U.S. single as of now (it comes out 14 months later), Diana Ross’ “My Old Piano” hits its No. 5 peak in the United Kingdom.
October 15: The New York Daily News profiles Billy Davis – known as Tyran Carlo, once upon a time – as music director of leading ad agency McCann Erickson. He was Berry Gordy’s songwriting partner and co-author of Jackie Wilson’s solo breakthrough hits in the 1950s.
October 20: Stevie Wonder’s Hotter Than July is issued simultaneously in markets around the world, three weeks after its U.S. release.
October 23: Milan Williams of the Commodores survives a plane crash as the single-engine aircraft which he was piloting belly lands near Phoenix, Arizona. The band was due to play Tempe the following night.
October 23: Stevie Wonder headlines ShowVote at the Inglewood Forum in Los Angeles, a fundraising concert for the Martin Luther King Legacy Association. Also on the bill: Smokey Robinson, Teena Marie and Jermaine Jackson.
October 25: Diana Ross’ “Upside Down” is Number One on the charts in Australia and Sweden, No. 2 in Canada, and No. 5 in Israel.
October 28: News reports suggest that Berry Gordy is negotiating to sell Jobete Music for $30 million, and that Charles Koppelman and Martin Bandier are the prospective purchasers.
November 1: Diana Ross has three hits on the Billboard Hot 100, including two in the Top 10: “Upside Down” and “I’m Coming Out.” A third Motown Top 10 entry is Stevie Wonder’s “Master Blaster (Jammin’).”
November 8: Argument, the horse that Berry Gordy bought for $3 million with Bruce McNall in 1978, wins the Washington, D.C. International race at Laurel, Maryland.
November 9: Jay Lasker begins work as the newly-appointed president and chief operating officer of Motown Records. He has a three-year contract, said to be worth $675,000 (approximately $2.6 million today).
December: EMI Records announces that 1980 has been Motown’s best business year to date in Britain, with sales of 1.5 million albums and 3 million singles.
December 12: Near the end of his latest U.S. tour, Stevie Wonder plays two nights at the Inglewood Forum in California. “He caressed, titillated, mesmerized, excited and soothed the audience with a joyful noise,” lauded James Bronson in the San Pedro News-Pilot.
SELECTED SINGLES (by release date)
January 25: Stone City Band, “Strut Your Stuff,” Gordy 7179
February 1: Quiet Storm, “Only You (Part I),” Tamla 54310
February 1: Keith & Darrell, “Kickin’ It Around,” Tamla 54309
A choice of up-and-coming acts (typos included)
February 12: Stevie Wonder, “Outside My Window,” Tamla 54308
February 25: Smokey Robinson, “Let Me Be The Clock,” Tamla 54311
February 25: Jermaine Jackson, “Let’s Get Serious,” Motown 1469 (#1 R&B, #9 pop)
March 28: The Planets, “Break It To Me Gently,” Motown 1485
April 8: The Temptations, “Power,” Gordy 7183
April 11: Teena Marie, “Behind The Groove,” Gordy 7184
May 20: Diana Ross & the Supremes, “Medley of Hits,” Motown 1488
May 27: Smokey Robinson, “Heavy On Pride (Light On Love),” Tamla 54313
June 13: Rick James, “Big Time,” Gordy 7185
June 20: Diana Ross, “Upside Down,” Motown 1494 (#1 R&B, #1 pop)
June 20: Jermaine Jackson, “You’re Supposed To Keep Your Love For Me,” Motown 1490
June 27: High Inergy, “Make Me Yours,” Gordy 7187
August 1: Teena Marie, “I Need Your Lovin’,” Gordy 7189
August 22: Diana Ross, “I’m Coming Out,” Motown 1491
August 22: The Commodores, “Heroes,” Motown 1495
September 5: Stevie Wonder, “Master Blaster (Jammin’),” Tamla 54317 (#1 R&B, #5 pop)
September 5: Mira Waters, “Rock And Roll Me,” Gordy 7186
September 29: Diana Ross, “It’s My Turn,” Motown 1496
October 10: Switch, “Love Over And Over Again,” Gordy 7193
October 24: The Temptations, “Take Me Away,” Motown 1501
November 14: The Commodores, “Jesus Is Love,” Motown 1502
November 14: Tata Vega, “You Keep Me Hangin’ On,” Tamla 54316
December 3: Stevie Wonder, “I Ain’t Gonna Stand For It,” Tamla 54320
SELECTED ALBUMS (by release date)
February 5: Dr. Strut, Struttin’, Motown 931
February 12: Grover Washington Jr., Skylarkin’, Motown 933
February 12: The Stone City Band, In ’n’ Out, Gordy 991
February 12: Teena Marie, Lady T, Gordy 992
February 12: The Planets, Planets, Motown 934
February 25: Smokey Robinson, Warm Thoughts, Tamla 367
March 18: Jermaine Jackson, Let’s Get Serious, Motown 928 (#1 R&B, #6 pop)
March 18: Various, 20/20: Twenty No. 1 Hits From Twenty Years At Motown, Motown 937
March 18: Switch, Reaching For Tomorrow, Gordy 993
April 18: Ozone, Walk On, Motown 938
April 18: The Temptations, Power, Gordy 994
April 18: Syreeta, Here’s My Love, Tamla 372
May 22: Diana Ross, Diana, Motown 936 (#1 R&B, #2 pop)
May 22: Black Russian, Black Russian, Motown 942
June 4: The Commodores, Heroes, Motown 935
July 16: Rick James, Garden Of Love, Gordy 995
August 14: Michael Urbaniak, Serenade For The City, Motown 944
August 14: Grover Washington Jr., Baddest, Motown 940
August 14: High Inergy, Hold On, Gordy 996
August 14: Teena Marie, Irons In The Fire, Gordy 997
August 14: The Temptations, Give Love At Christmas, Gordy 998
September 29: Stevie Wonder, Hotter Than July, Tamla 373 (#1 R&B, #3 pop)
October 7: The Dazz Band, Invitation To Love, Motown 946
October 7: Ahmad Jamal, Night Song, Motown 945
October 23: Switch, This Is My Dream, Gordy 999
November 14: Jermaine Jackson, Jermaine, Motown 948
November 14: Soundtrack, Loving Couples, Motown 949
Wrong notes: to err is human, but when U.K. trade magazine Music Week marked Motown’s 20th anniversary in February 1980, it made a fabulously silly error. "The intriguingly named Jobete Music is yet another American company named after the offspring of its founder,” it wrote. “In this case, it’s the three daughters of Berry Gordy: JOanna, BErtha and TEmerity.” In truth, the music publishing division was named after one daughter and two sons: Hazel JOy, BErry and TErry.