PDX: "Motown: The Sound of Young America" at the Oregon Historical Society

"I was never concerned about anything but my music being heard by all kinds of people. And if some didn't understand it, they just didn't understand it. But I knew that ultimately they would." -- Berry Gordy

We recently visited "Motown: The Sound of Young America" at the Oregon Historical Society.

The GRAMMY Museum-curated exhibit will be in town through March 26th.

As an exhibit created by another museum, it is missing any context or connection to Oregon. The music is well-known enough that any visitors should have their own memories.

And while it is easy to think specifically of the '60s and '70s, they are an active label today, with bands and hits through the years.

In addition to seeing information on Boyz II Men of "Motownphilly" fame, there is a guitar from Ray Parker Jr and clothes from MIGOS.

Yes, Stevie Wonder is represented -- as he should be -- but there is a broader scope and the exhibit makes that clear.

I appreciated (but did not take full advantage of) the interactivity. One of the first things you encounter is a set of mics so you can sing along with The Supremes on "Stop! In the Name of Love."

If you find it a little awkward to do that, learning how to dance with The Temptations (and being able to see yourself on video while doing it) may be worse.

Think it over.

As enjoyable as it was to see the various instruments and outfits, one aspect that really enriched the experience was video footage with multiple artists talking about their experiences.

The exhibit also gave some context, with information on competitors like Stax and Atlantic, and the direction of the music world before Motown.

Having just read Andrea Davis Pinkney's Rhythm Ride: A Road Trip Through the Motown Sound, so with some background on how those costumes were made and those dance moves were choreographed, I found the exhibit extra interesting.

One thing that was missing was any criticism; it had a very positive focus.

In Smokey Robinson's interview, asked about the level of talent in Detroit, he said that other cities had just as much talent, but what they didn't have was Berry Gordy. As someone who found, developed, and promoted talented musicians, that seem like a good thing.

Certainly he helped some performers get rich and famous, but there are also accusations of some artists being cheated out of royalties, and in Talk to Me (2007), one of the first things you hear from DJ Petey Green is a scathing criticism of Berry, though it is not clear whether it is fair.

I think there could be room for some reasonable exploration of that topic (it is pretty unlikely that Gordy was worse than other heads of labels, for example), but it doesn't happen here.

That is merely an observation, not a strong criticism. I enjoyed the exhibit and recommend it.

Accessibility: I will be writing about the other exhibits next week, and will go more into it then, but this particular exhibit is on the first floor with clear passageways, so should be easy to navigate. While you do hear music, it is not overpowering. It should be a very manageable experience.

COVID: There were some other masks, but it was not strictly enforced. Fortunately it was not crowded, and maintaining distance was easy.

https://www.ohs.org/museum/exhibits/motown-the-sound-of-young-america.cfm