MichiganRadio

Aretha, Stevie to Celebrate Motown's 50th ANN ARBOR, MI (Michigan Radio) - Aretha Franklin will be here, The Temptations, Stevie Wonder. They'll all be performing in Detroit this weekend to celebrate the Motown sound.

Audley Smith runs the Motown Museum in Detroit. He says Motown music is as vibrant and as relevant today as it was 50 years ago. Smith says he was recently at a coffee shop when Marvin Gaye's song, "What's Going On," started playing.

Smith says he started singing, and then "a couple cats behind me started humming, the young woman waiting on us started humming, somebody at the other end started singing. It was a beautiful sweet moment of people just enjoying this great music known as the Motown sound."

The Motown sound got its start 50 years ago when Berry Gordy borrowed $800 from his family. He used the money to launch a record label that eventually evolved into Motown Records.

The Motown 50 Golden Gala is Saturday at the Detroit Marriott.

Contact Jennifer Guerra at guerraj@umich.edu

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