Motown Records, also known as Tamla Motown outside of North America, is a record label originally based in Detroit, Michigan. Founded by Berry Gordy as Tamla Records on January 12, 1959, the company was incorporated as Motown Record Corporation in 1960. The name, a portmanteau derived from the words motor and town, is also a nickname for Detroit.
Motown played an important role in the racial integration of popular music, as it was the first record label owned by an African American to primarily feature African-Ame