The Motown story began not with Motown Records but with Tamla, set up in 1959, when Berry Gordy took the decision to release his own recordings, rather than rely on the big corporations within the music industry. Most of the early artists signed by Berry Gordy recorded on Tamla, including the Miracles, Marvin Gaye, and Stevie Wonder.
Motown was set up a few months after Tamla, and then the two labels became part of the Motown Corporation in 1960. Artists who were signed to Motown include the Supremes, the Four Tops, and Mary Wells.
The Miracle label was founded in 1961, with the Temptations as its main act. It was short-lived, probably because the Miracles were on Tamla and people were confused. The Miracle name was changed to Gordy in 1962, retaining the Temptations, adding Martha & the Vandellas and, later, Edwin Starr.
The Soul imprint was created in 1964, featuring artists including Junior Walker & the All Stars, Gladys Knight & the Pips and Jimmy Ruffin. Some of the best Soul songs were released on this label, rather than on the more Pop-oriented main labels.
The VIP label was also set up in 1964, catering for less well-known artists, including Chris Clark, the Spinners and the Velvelettes. The roster contained artists with a wide range of styles and was also used for a number of UK Pop acts whose recordings were leased to Motown by EMI.
Berry Gordy also set up a small number of subsidiary labels to cater for artists who made music that was not Soul or R&B. He wanted to diversify and make Motown into an all-round music business, following the model set by the big corporations and independents such as Vee-Jay Records in Chicago. It was a laudable ambition, but most of the labels didn’t last long.
Divinity Records was established in 1962 and closed in 1963. As the name suggests, it was focused on Gospel music, with four acts on the roster (The Wright Specials, Liz Lands, the Gospel Stars and the Bernadettes). Only five releases were made.
Mel-o-dy Records was also set up in 1962, as a Soul/R&B label, but was transformed into a label that catered for Country music, featuring a small number of White artists. It folded in 1965.
Workshop Jazz was in operation from 1962 until 1964, with some interesting releases, especially by the George Bohannon Trio. The Four Tops were assigned to the label when they arrived at Motown, presumably to record some smooth Jazz standards. Fortunately, they moved to Motown and started working with Holland, Dozier, Holland.
In the UK and some European markets, most of the releases from the Motown labels were issued on the Tamla Motown label.
