Maxine Powell: The forgotten figure who defined Motown
Motown Records had an unparalleled grip on the American music scene back in the 1960s, so it is no surprise that discussions surrounding Hitsville USA inevitably turn to its countless hit records. After all, Berry Gordy’s Detroit label amassed hundreds of hit singles over the years, launching a plethora of stars from Diana Ross to Stevie Wonder, and encapsulating the spirit of soul at that time. In all the malaise of the pop charts, however, it can be easy to forget the behind-the-scenes staff that made Motown possible; people like Maxine Powell.
Unparalleled songwriting teams, producers, and even administrators made Motown Records the greatest record label on the planet at that time, it wasn’t just the beloved performances of artists like The Supremes or Marvin Gaye. Maxine Powell was an essential figure in the Motown story, yet you won’t find her name on any record sleeves. After all, Powell had virtually nothing to do with the records Motown put out; her expertise lay within artist management, which was a much-needed aspect of Motown’s operations.
Berry Gordy was not in the business of signing artists who were already stars. As a businessman, he knew that it would be more beneficial for the label and himself to sign unknown artists and mould them into stars over a period of years. As a result, many of the artists who launched their extensive careers with Motown were first signed up during their teenage years, with little or no experience in the music industry.
Stevie Wonder, for instance, eventually became Motown’s flagship artist, but when he first joined the label in 1961, he was just 11 years old. As such, the label had a certain duty of care to its artists, and they also had to try and set these kids on a path to success, which is where Maxine Powell comes into the picture.
A performer and model during the early 1940s, Powell relocated to Detroit post-war, where she eventually set up the Finishing and Modelling School in 1951. Teaching young performers skills like elocution and performance, Powell simultaneously worked as a talent scout. It was during this period that she became acquainted with the Gordy family. During the early 1960s, Berry Gordy asked Powell to give some guidance to the roster of young artists at Motown.
In essence, Powell’s job was to turn these budding young artists, many of them from low-income backgrounds without any previous knowledge of show business, into talented performers. “They did come from humble beginnings,” Powell shared in a 2007 interview. “Some of them from the projects, some of them were using street language, some were rude and crude.”
Nevertheless, Powell was intent on treating every artist who came through her door with an equal level of respect and support. “No one is difficult,” she shared. “Each person is a beautiful, unique human being. So if you have a problem and you’re acting negative, you have been conditioned.” Her approach clearly worked, too.
During her time at Motown, Powell mentored everybody from Smokey Robinson to Michael Jackson, forming an utterly essential influence on the stars who put Motown on the musical map. Mary Wilson of The Supremes once claimed Powell taught them much more than performing skills, saying she gave Motown’s artists “tools for us as human beings.”
So, while she might not have stolen the limelight in quite the same way as Berry Gordy, or any of the beloved artists who came under the Motown umbrella, Maxine Powell was as essential to the success of Motown as anybody else. She captured the essence of the label, and reflected the kind of artist development which often goes overlooked in accounts of the iconic Detroit label.
