BBC - Soul Deep The Story of Black Popular Music (2005) Part 3 The Sound of Young America Diana Ross

This foot-stomping six-part series - made by the BBC team who produced the critically-acclaimed “Lost Highway”, “Walk on By” and “Dancing in the Streets” series - charts the evolution of soul music, with a fascinating combination of rare archive footage and over 100 contemporary interviews. In the words of its greatest performers, producers and songwriters, “Soul Deep The Story of Black Popular Music” is a search through time and place for the roots of black music, the genetic blueprint for nearly all other forms of modern popular music. From rhythm & blues, soul, Motown, funk and hip hop, we learn the story of the rise…and further rise of black music—the biggest single influence on global popular culture today. “Soul Deep” is the story of the beat that made the dance floor jump, the sax that made ears ring and the songs that made us laugh and cry. It's the story of legends like James Brown, Otis Redding, Sam Cooke and Ray Charles, and of the music that changed the world. Central to the rise of soul music as a global phenomenon was the independent record labels, from Stax Records in Detroit to Atlantic Records in New York. The importance of the producer in record making is exemplified by Berry Gordy, founder of Motown Records, who single-handedly managed to create the most prolific 'music-making factory' the world has ever seen, producing artists such as The Four Tops, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross and The Jackson 5. Now, after years of struggle for mainstream acceptance, soul music is one of the biggest musical genres in the world and a billion-dollar industry. This landmark documentary reveals how black music has achieved the enviable position of not having to compromise on its 'blackness' or its attitude.

Part 3 The Sound of Young America Diana Ross

This episode is about Motown's golden age from 1959 - 1967. It traces the Detroit label's extraordinary rise from cottage industry to mighty record giant before chronicling its fall from pop innocence. The Motown sound and its incredible flood of 1960s hits unquestionably changed the landscape of pop. With the Supremes, Martha Reeves & the Vandellas, the Temptations, the Four Tops, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, the label rewrote the cultural rule book and created THE sound of young America. Ultimately, it was Motown svengali Berry Gordy who cleverly, brilliantly and ruthlessly concocted a formula that appealed as much to Blacks as to Whites, creating bright-eyed assimilationist soul. As well as celebrating this music, this film also digs beneath the shimmering pop surface to investigate the machinations at work in the Motown camp. Motown's relationship with Chicago's music scene is also investigated. This program unveils an intriguing musical dynamic that existed between these two industrial northern cities in the mid 1960s. Interviewees include Mary Wilson, Etta James, Martha Reeves, Jerry Butler and Barney Ales.

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