UI Press | Nelson George | Where Did Our Love Go?: The Rise and Fall of the Motown Sound

Where Did Our Love Go?

The Rise and Fall of the Motown Sound

An inside look at Motown and its founder, available again

Where Did Our Love Go? chronicles the rise and fall of Motown Records while emphasizing the role of its dynamic founder, Berry Gordy Jr. First published in 1986, this classic work includes a new preface by Nelson George that identifies Motown's influence on young recorders and music mogels of today, including R. Kelly, D'Angelo, Sean Combs, and Russell Simmons.

Gordy's uncanny instinct for finding extraordinary talent--whether performers, songwriters, musicians, or producers--yielded popular artists who include the Supremes, the Jackson Five, Smokey Robinson, the Miracles, the Temptations, Marvin Gaye, the Four Tops, and Stevie Wonder. Not shy about depicting Gordy's sometimes manipulative and complex relationships with his artists, George reveals the inner workings of the music business and insightful material on the musicians who backed these stars. The large cache of resulting Motown melodies is still alive in commercials, movies, TV programs, and personal Ipods today.

"George's reporting is first-rate and there are juicy anecdotes, nuggets of gossip and trivia along with the straight corporate history. . . . This is a book for pop music fans, anyone curious about the recording industry, and fans of Dreamgirls who want to know the true story."--Philadelphia Daily News

"A can't put down study of Berry Gordy and Motown. This is it, no punches pulled, as important a piece of pop history as has been published."--New York Daily News

"Leagues beyond other volumes written about Motown."--Detroit Free Press

Nelson George is an executive movie producer and the prolific, best-selling author of The Death of Rhythm and Blues, Hip Hop America, and numerous other books. He is coexecutive producer of VH1's Hip Hop Honors and a consultant to Black Entertainment Television's news division.