ABSTRACT
The Motown sound is, of course, famously clean and straightforward; its creation involved a complex system of methodically checking for clarity on both state-of-the-art hi-fi speakers and cheap, tinny car radio speakers (because these latter speakers were the conduits of pop music for most teenage listeners), 1 and girl group music from Motown is arguably the most polished of all. At Motown, the beat had to be strong and steady, singers’ diction impeccable, and melodic hooks prominent and catchy. Motown’s resourceful house band and sound engineers made imaginative use of everyday items such as combs and ballpoint pens for percussive effects and often took over the toilets adjoining the studio for records that required echo. Earl Van Dyke, keyboard player and leader of Motown’s house band, explains the origins of the backbeat on the Supremes’ 1964 hit “Baby Love”:
After it became a hit, somebody wrote about the genius of handclapping on the backbeat. Said it was a new sound, revolutionized pop music. Hell, it wasn’t even handclapping. Ain’t no way we gonna pay twelve people session fees to clap hands. It was two by fours, man, two by fours hooked together with springs and some guy stompin’ on them to make a backbeat. We knocked that song off in two takes. 2
