In Performance at the White House: Motown Sound

SHOWTIME! We continue our series of ‘In Performance at the White House’ – a series of concerts created to showcase the rich fabric of American culture in the exclusive setting of the nation’s most famous home. To see last weeks post, Red, White and Blues, click here.

Motown Sound

“In Performance at the White House: Motown Sound” is a PBS music special taped in the East Room of the White House. President and Mrs. Obama hosted the concert in recognition of Black History Month and the legacy of Motown, the distinctive soul-infused pop music sound, style and presentation that was born in Detroit and embodied by the Motown Records label.
Hosted by Jamie Foxx the concert includes performances by Foxx, John Legend, Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson, Natasha Bedingfield, Sheryl Crow, the group Gloriana, Nick Jonas, Ledisi, Amber Riley, Mark Salling, Seal and Jordin Sparks.

The Motown Records label was invented by music entrepreneur Berry Gordy and it launched a historic cultural shift in the racial integration of popular music, with crossover hits and artists such as Marvin Gaye, Diana Ross and The Supremes, Smokey Robinson, Mary Wells, The Four Tops and many others. It transformed a whole generation musically and it’s rich legacy continues to be felt today.

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This is part of a 10-week series that we will be running on our blog, with the music videos conveniently separated into individual performances so that you can save and download your favourite artists, or the whole show if your prefer. Creation 5’s YouTube feature lets you download videos so you can watch offline when you’re travelling and enjoy great music on-the-go. Don’t forget that you can download Creation 5’s YouTube In-app purchase absolutely FREE, which normally costs €4.49 ($4.99), as we currently have a promotion running in celebration of hitting 450,000 downloads on the App Store!

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In Performance at the White House: Motown Sound (Full Show)

01. Intro [President’s speech]
02. Jaime Foxx, Nick Jonas, Seal and John Legend – Medley of the Temptations
03 Sheryl Crow – I want you back (The Temptations)
04 Nick Jonas – I Can’t Help Myself (The Four Tops)
05 Ledisi – My Guy (Mary Wells / Smokey Robinson
06 John Legend – I Heard It Through The Grapevine (Marvin Gaye)
07 Natasha Bedingfield, Jordin Sparks and Ledisi – Stop! In The Name of Love (The Supremes)
08 Seal – My Girl (The Temptations)
09 Natasha Bedingfield – Tracks of My Tears (Smokey Robinson & the Miracles)
10 Amber Riley – Livin’ For The City (Stevie Wonder)
11 Gloriana – Aint No Mountain High Enough (Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell)
12 Jordin Sparks – You Can’t Hurry Love (The Supremes)
13 Sheryl Crow & Smokey Robinson – You Really Got A Hold On Me (Smokey Robinson & the Miracles)
14 Stevie Wonder – You Are The Sunshine of My Life
15 All Performers – Dancin’ In The Street

President Obama explained the origins of Motown in his opening speech: “Over the years this room has hosted some of the most talented musicians in the world from clasical to country…but Motown is different. No one knows exactly where jazz began. Nobody knows who the first person was to sing a freedom song, but we know where Motown came from. We know it was born in the basement of a house on West Gran Boulevar in the motor city, Detroit. And we know it started with a man named Berry Gordy, who is here with us tonight. Berry could recognise talent and potential better than anyone else in the business. It began with Smokey Robinson, who stopped by the Motown House with a group of friends calling themselves The Miracles. Then came one of Smokey’s neighbours, a high school senior named Diana Ross. One of the Miracles brought along his little brother who invited a 10.year-old blind boy named Stevland Hardaway Judkins to tag along. And then there was a group called The Jackson 5 fresh from amateur night at the Apollo. Motown’s blend of tight lyrics, catchy melodies and deep soul began to blur the line between music that was considered either black or white.”