Get Informed
Did you know that metro Detroiters have accomplished some significant "firsts" and have helped shape modern music, transportation, sports and other things? Get informed about all the great things that have been born, bred and perfected in our own backyard.Music>Legacy
Detroit is a city of rhythm - whether it's the resonance of automated assembly or the sounds generated by passionate artists and musicians.
MUSIC
links and info
Want to experience Detroit's music heritage and legacy?
Check out our "Experience It" features on Detroit's music-centric attractions to learn about Detroit's role as the world's hub of musical innovation.
Click here for information on experiencing Detroit's music scene
Aretha Franklin
Movement Festival
FIRSTS and facts
- Detroit gave the world Motown and techno. It exported world-class musicians to other genres like jazz, blues, gospel, rock and hip-hop. Detroit is the city that not only built cars and companies, but the sounds that revolutionized the world.
- Combining the words "motor" and "town," Berry Gordy coined the word "Motown" in 1960 and put Detroit on the international music scene. Motown Records churned out hit after hit and launched the careers of Stevie Wonder, Four Tops, Supremes, Smokey Robinson and Marvin Gaye to name a few. Using his experience as a former assembly line worker for Ford Motor Company, Gordy ran his company like a well-oiled machine making it one of the most successful record labels in the country during the '60s and '70s
- Detroit's Black Bottom and Paradise Valley, located on Detroit's lower east side, was the center of African American business and social activity during the '30s, '40s and '50s. Top national jazz acts, including Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Billy Eckstine, Billie Holiday, Cab Calloway, Dinah Washington and Josephine Baker performed at venues like the Graystone Ballroom and Paradise Theatre (now Orchestra Hall).
- In 1968, James Cleveland and others founded the Gospel Music Workshop of America, the largest national gospel music convention across the nation, and held in Detroit. To experience this sound, click here.
- Three Detroit artists, Derrick May, Juan Atkins and Kevin Saunderson, are primarily responsible for the introduction of techno to the world. In fact, Juan Atkins is credited with coming up with the term "techno."
- Detroit hosts Fuse-In: "Detroit's Electronic Movement," formerly known as Movement and the Detroit Electronic Music Festival. This annual event is the largest electronic music festival in the world, drawing audiences from across the globe.
- Detroit is one of the top five cities contributing music artists to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame - 23 Detroit artists/groups that have been inducted.
- Detroit was the location of a number of live recordings including Kiss "Alive" and Bob Seger's "Live Bullet" albums.
Steve Wonder & Marvin Gaye
Motown Museum
Kid Rock