From award-winning author Andrea Davis Pinkney comes the story of the
music that defined a generation and a movement that changed the world.
Berry Gordy began Motown in 1959 with an $800 loan from his family. He
converted the garage of a residential house into a studio and recruited
teenagers from the neighborhood-like Smokey Robinson, Mary Wells, Marvin
Gaye, Stevie Wonder, and Diana Ross-to sing for his new label.
Meanwhile, the country was on the brink of a cultural revolution, and
one of the most powerful agents of change in the following decade would
be this group of young black performers from urban Detroit. From Berry
Gordy and his remarkable vision to the Civil Rights movement, from the
behind-the-scenes musicians, choreographers, and song writers to the
most famous recording artists of the century, Andrea Davis Pinkney takes
readers on a Rhythm Ride through the story of Motown.