Who was the first white artist to sign for Motown Records?
It is difficult to overstate the vital importance of Motown Records. From its foundation by Berry Gordy Jr in 1959, the Detroit-based label fostered all of the nation’s greatest soul stars. Producing a range of now iconic musicians from Stevie Wonder to Diana Ross, the record label provided an avenue for Black funk, soul, and gospel artists in the United States to have their voices heard on a national scale. Motown was so much more than the ‘hit factory’ it is often referred to as; it was the beginning of a cultural revolution.
Black musicians have always been at the forefront of America’s cultural sector, pioneering styles like blues, jazz, soul, and, of course, rock and roll. Despite all of this, the vast majority of artists dominating the pop charts during the late 1950s and early 1960s were white. The United States was still incredibly prejudiced at that time, and many recording companies and record labels would treat artists of colour very differently from how they might treat white artists like Elvis Presley or Jerry Lee Lewis. As such, the music scenes of cities like Detroit represented an incredible untapped market that Gordy sought to capitalise on.
Until the arrival of Motown, the majority of soul singers in America had been releasing music on obscure, often independent, record labels – names like Ric-Tic or Okeh – who struggled to reach audiences on a national scale. In contrast, Motown quickly proved itself to have a hold over the musical mainstream of the States, producing a countless array of groundbreaking hit singles throughout the 1960s.
From the release of Motown’s first single, ‘Come To Me’ by Marv Johnson, in 1959 to the point that Gordy sold the label in 1988, there were 53 number-one singles on Motown and countless more top ten hits. Of course, the vast majority of those hits were recorded by Black artists. In fact, Motown became an integral part of African American culture during its tenure, famed for supporting and developing Black music, particularly during the time of the civil rights movement.
That is not to say, however, that Motown’s roster has always been exclusively Black. Over the years, several white artists released music via Motown, the most famous of which was probably Frankie Valli, whose northern soul classic ‘The Night’ was released on the Motown subsidiary Mowest in 1972. The very first white artist to release a song via Motown was the Michigan surf rock outfit Nick and the Jaguars, whose track ‘Ich-I-Bon #1’ came out on the label in 1959, back when Motown was still known as Tamla Records.
Although Nick and the Jaguars were the first caucasian act to release a song on Motown, they were not a contracted group. That 1959 single was a one-off deal for a pre-recorded song, and following its release, the band had no follow-up. The first white artist to be signed to a contract with Motown, therefore, was the Kentucky-born vocalist Debbie Dean, who was something of an outlier within Motown’s roster during the early 1960s.
As opposed to the soul and R&B stylings of many Motown artists, Dean leaned further towards the world of rock and roll. After gaining popularity as a live performer, mostly in the Chicago area, Gordy signed her to Motown in 1960 on a three-year deal. Her first single, 1961’s ‘Don’t Let Him Shop Around’, was the first Motown track recorded by a white solo artist and the first release from a contracted white artist.
Between 1961 and 1962, Dean released a total of three singles with Motown: ‘Don’t Let Him Shop Around’, ‘Itsy Bitsy Pity Love’, and ‘Everybody’s Talking About My Baby’. None of these songs were hugely successful, and her contract with Motown was not renewed after the initial three years. Nevertheless, Dean still played an important role in the history of the momentous record label as its first contracted white recording artist.
How many artists were signed to Motown?
From its initial formation as Tamla in 1959 to the present day, over 225 different artists have been signed to Motown Records or its various subsidiaries at one point or another. This list of artists reads like a who’s-who of iconic musicians from the 20th century, including the likes of Diana Ross, Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, and The Isley Brothers, to name only a handful. On top of that, many more artists released their music via Motown as a one-off deal rather than a contract.
Berry Gordy Jr sold the original incarnation of Motown to MCA Records in 1988. Since then, ownership has passed on to Sony Music, which retains the label to this day. In the modern age, Motown continues to release music, with its current roster including pop and hip-hop stars like Vince Staples, Lil Yachty, and Erykah Badu.
