Originally Posted by Lord Larehip

There have been quite a number of books on the Detroit soul/rock/jazz scene. I really have nothing new to add to it. Detroit was an incredible musical Mecca for decades. Going from the Paradise Valley days to the Fortune Records days to Motown to the founding of metal and punk with the advent of the MC5 and the Stooges.

But it all fell apart after the riots of '67. Not right away but it began a gradual decline that nothing has been able to stop. As for Gordy moving Motown to LA, that happened around '71. I can't really blame him. The writing was on the wall and he knew it. Bob Dennis left Motown in part because he knew by '68 that Motown was pulling up stakes and he didn't want to go to LA. He still lives here in the Detroit area. Martha Reeves still lives here because I saw her at a record store last year. Barrett Strong still lives here and he wrote all those Temptation songs--"Just My Imagination" "Ball of Confusion" "Cloud 9" "Psychedelic Shack" etc. He was the cousin of Nolan Strong who was lead singer of Nolan Strong & the Diablos who recorded for Fortune Records--one of the greatest doo-wop groups EVER. John Lee Hooker recorded for Fortune as did Flaming Ember before they moved to Hot Wax. So did Skeeter Davis, the country singer, her very first records were on Fortune.

Yeah the Funk Bros got left behind but I don't think most of them wanted to go to LA. Dennis Coffey sure didn't. Some criticize Gordy's move but I think it was one of necessity. He'd have had to move sooner or later. Detroit is in SERIOUS decline today. It's so bad I don't know how they are going to get out of it. But some parts of it are actually very nice. But huge swaths are now deserted--like a nuclear bomb hit it or something. Eerie.