Episode 11: Detroit, Michigan

In this episode, we explore the musical history of Detroit. Starting with the world-famous Detroit Symphony Orchestra, we explore the city’s contributions to Jazz and hard bop, its influence on recording, songwriting and production through Motown records, and its dominance of the rock charts in the 70s from Bob Seger, Ted Nugent, Grand funk and others. We will also explore Detroits deep influence on underground and punk music, starting with the MC5, through Iggy and the Stooges, Coldcock, the Mutants, and on to the Gories, the Dirtbombs, and the white stripes. We will also visit Detroit’s beat heavy techno and hip hop contributions. I look forward to seeing you next time on the Musicscope!

Transcript

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In 1701, on a spot of land nestled between Lake Erie and Lake St. Clair, French explorers established a fort on the west side of a river that connected the two lakes. They wanted to hinder British expansion into the west and keep the areas bustling fur trade to themselves. Over the next hundred years, it would change ownership multiple times, going from France to England to the United States, when it would grow into a major city and export its art and music across the globe. However, the French influence would linger on in names associated with the area, like the explorer who founded it, Cadillac, and what they called the river, the strait, or in French, Le Detroit. In this episode, we are diving into the musical exports of America's motor city, Detroit, Michigan. Welcome to the Music Scope. Its expansion during the Industrial Revolution gave rise to its status as a key transportation hub for the Great Lakes region and supported a multitude of industries, from manufacturing to pharmaceuticals. The automobile industry would eventually become the main driver of Detroit's economy, with Ford and General Motors both being headquartered in the area. As industry grew, wealthy patrons invested in the city, establishing parks like Belle Isle and supporting the arts as well. The Detroit Symphony Orchestra is one of the oldest symphonies in the United States. It performed its first concert in 1887. After gaining popularity throughout the city, a new concert hall was built to house the DSO. Orchestra Hall was completed in the summer of 1919, with its first concert being held in October of that year. Led by Russian-born composer Asip Gabrilovich, the orchestra continued to grow in popularity and in 1922 was the first orchestra to broadcast a concert over radio. The orchestra would weather hard times, disbanding in 1939 after low-ticket sales during the Depression and the death of Gabrilovich in 1936. Orchestra Hall changed ownership in 1941 and was rechristened the Paradise Theater. The building would change ownership several more times, while the orchestra continued, moving through several other venues around the area. After falling into disrepair from years of disuse, Orchestra Hall was restored and occupied by the DSO once again in 1989, where it has remained ever since. The Detroit Symphony Orchestra is still active today and regarded as one of the finest symphonies in the world. In the 1930s and 40s, Detroit saw a huge growth in its African American population as the Great Migration brought rural families from the Deep South to industrial centers in the north that provided stability and better wages. Companies like Ford provided good jobs and pay that attracted Southern people of color, not only for the booming car business, but also as an opportunity to establish their own culture without the threat of such blatant racism as found in the South. Soon, Detroit became a hub for jazz and blues music, with an African-American population that encouraged growth for young artists. One of the young bluesmen who brought notoriety to Detroit was John Lee Hooker, whose bouncing rhythm drove hits like Boogie Chillin', Boom Boom, Crawling King Snake, and One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer. He used an electric guitar, which was novel at the time. And he was inspired by Delta Blues guitar and Boogie Woogie piano techniques. Hooker frequented the blues clubs on Hastings Street, where many Detroit Blues players got their first taste of fame, often before going to Chicago, whose rival blues scene offered greater access to record contracts via labels like chess. Other Detroit blues players include Big Macio Merriweather, Andre Williams, and Bobo Jenkins, whose tireless efforts as a promoter helped keep Detroit's blues scene alive. Jazz has always had a presence in Detroit and has contributed important personalities to the art. Kenny Burrell was a native Detroiter who was inspired to play jazz by the music of Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, and guitarists Charlie Christian and Jenga Reinhardt. He began transcribing solos from jazz records on his guitar by ear and would attend Wayne State University before landing his first recording session with Dizzy Gillespie in 1951. There he met a young John Coltrane who played on the session as well. Burrell filled in for her bellists and traveled with Oscar Peterson before moving to New York City and signing to Blue Note Records, where he found huge success. His playing would be influential on guitarists such as Jimi Hendrix, Buddy Guy, and Stevie Ray Vaughn. He would go on to play with countless musicians, including Billy Holliday, John Coltrane, Benny Goodman, Jimmy Smith, Ray Charles, and Gil Evans. He continued to perform throughout the 60s and 70s with over a thousand performances to his credit. In 1996, he became the founding director of jazz studies at UCLA and led that program for over 20 years. Another artist that forged their own path in music was Alice Coltrane. She grew up as Alice McLeod, the fifth of six children. At nine years old, she was playing organ at a church. Her father encouraged her to pursue music. And by the mid-1950s, she was playing regularly around Detroit. In the late 50s, she moved to Paris and studied classical music and jazz, finding a gig playing piano during intermissions at the Blue Note Jazz Club. She would return to Detroit in the early 60s, playing organ, piano, and harp in her own trio, and in a duo with vibrophonist Terry Pollard. She would meet and marry John Coltrane, and with him intertwine music and spirituality, reflected in both of the artists' works. In 1966, she replaced McCoy Tyner on piano in John's band, and she would maintain that role until her husband's death in 1967. Alice continued to pursue spiritual development and communicated her devotion to it through her music. She would release 20 albums between 1968 and 2004 and push her musical envelope to a more spacious sound. She established the Vendantics Center in California and devoted herself to the spiritual betterment of mankind for the rest of her life. She died in 2007 at 69 years old. Jazz had a solid foothold in Detroit, and Hardbop was especially fruitful, with Kenny Burrell, Barry Harris, Yousef Latif, and Curtis Fuller being influential on other Detroit players. Hardbop is an offshoot of Bebop with a bluesy RB influence and direct ties to soul music. The Bluebird Inn was an important nightclub in the development of the Detroit scene, with players such as Elvin Jones making a name for themselves. Elvin Jones would be the house drummer there and would play with Miles Davis in 1953. Throughout the 40s and 50s, Detroit's jazz scene would thrive. In the 1950s, rock and roll hit the big time. Hank Ballard and Jack Scott were two Detroiters who had early rock and roll hits. But Detroit's biggest contribution had its roots in songwriting. Jackie Wilson was based in Detroit and began a string of hits when he started recording songs by a young songwriter named Barry Gordy. Gordy had frequented nightclubs all over town and had even run his own record store. He was passionate about music and sought out local talent. In 1957, he met 17-year-old Smokey Robinson and recorded the song Got a Job by Robinson's group, The Miracles. He began recording more songs and leased or sold them to bigger labels for national distribution. In 1958, he wrote and recorded Marv Johnson's Come To Me. Barry saw its potential to be a big hit and borrowed money from his family to produce and distribute it locally. This would become Tamla Records, Barry Gordy's first record label. He would continue to release music in this fashion, with most releases being distributed nationally by Chess Records out of Chicago. He longed for more control over the music he produced, so Gordy established his own publishing company and copyrighted dozens of songs throughout the late 50s. In 1959, he bought the building at 2648 West Grand Boulevard and outfitted it with recording equipment. This would become the famous Hittsville USA studios where Motown Records would operate. From this point on, Gordy became the driving force behind Detroit's musical footprint. In 1960, Motown had its first million-seller hit with Shop Around by the Miracles. This provided an influx of revenue and helped Gordy grow Motown further, eventually expanding it to five record labels Tamla, Motown, Gordy, VIP, and Soul. Staffing world-renowned songwriters and producers such as Holland Dozier Holland, Norman Whitfield, and a roster of artists unrivaled anywhere in the world, the talent seemed to come out of the very walls at Motown. The Supremes, The Four Tops, The Temptations, The Jackson 5, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gay, Martha and the Vandelas, The Spinners, and Edwin Starr are just a few. Each artist had their own unique voice and style, but the cohesion across the records released on Motown came from its house band, the Funk Brothers. And together they played on more hits than any other artist at the time, including the Beach Boys, Beatles, or Elvis. Though they never received recognition during their tenure, they have been universally regarded as one of the most influential groups in the history of American music. The only credits they received were on the back of Marvin Gaye's What's Going On album. Most of the band were veterans of Detroit's jazz scene and had built up a tremendous repertoire. During disputes with the notoriously frugal Gordy, they would do sessions for other labels, sometimes rehearsing in secret, including an alleged rehearsal in a morgue, so Motown executives would not find out. Motown moved its operations to Los Angeles in 1972, leaving many of the Detroit musicians behind in favor of the close proximity to other showbiz entities in LA. Motown had a profound influence on soul music, but it also had a major influence on rock music as well. In 1963, guitarist Rain Kramer and Fred Smith recruited singer Rob Tyner and became the Motor City 5 or MC Five. They pulled equally from RB and Garage Rock roots with a healthy dose of leftist politics. The MC5 became one of the most intense and recognizable rock bands of the late 60s, with a sound that carried a groove, but also challenged the listener with free jazz influences and brazingly amplified guitars. The MC V would be outspoken in their condemnation of the Vietnam War and their support of anti-establishment artists and organizations. Their influences came from all over, from beat poetry to the Black Panthers, and would go on to influence a generation of young players who in turn became prime influences on punk a decade later. One of the young musicians who picked up on the MC5's tougher sound was James Osterberg, better known to the world as Iggy Pop. Iggy started out on drums but took inspiration from the MC5, the Sonics, and the Doors, specifically the antagonistic performances of Jim Morrison. Iggy formed the psychedelic Stooges with Ron and Scott Ashton and Dave Alexander. Soon they shortened the name to the Stooges and would go on to record several hugely influential albums: The Stooges, Fun House, and after a brief disbandment, Raw Power. The Stooges acted in contrast to the psychedelic and hippie movement of the times. Along with bands like the MC5, they gave direction to musicians who would spur the punk movement, focusing on loud, raucous music and pushing back on rock's tendency at the time to take itself a little too seriously. Iggy would go on to create a body of work that continued to explore at full throttle, traveling to West Germany with David Bowie and Lou Reed, where all three would create seminal albums. 1977 would see Iggy Pop release two albums from this era: The Idiot and Lust for Life, both of which showed off a more postmodern edge, while maintaining his ear for aggressive grooves. If Iggy and the Stooges contradicted the hippie love movement by intuition, another band made it stark contrast to the flower power scene, its absolute intent. Alice Cooper started as a band, but the band's lead singer, Vincent Fernier, took the name and made it his own. The band was like nothing anyone had seen, drawing inspiration from comic books and B-movie horror films. They wore heavy makeup, dressed in women's clothes, and played a version of psychedelic rock with a harder edge. As the band grew in popularity, Cooper embraced his negative side, which saw his image shift from androgyny to horror. The band also started working with producer Bob Ezrin, who helped them find success in providing anthems for disaffected youth such as 18 and School's Out. A string of Ezrin-produced records, including Killer, School's Out, and Billion Dollar Babies, brought Alice Cooper to the mainstream. And in 1975, he went solo, taking Bob Ezrin with him and continued to expand the theatrical element of rock, incorporating a Broadway-worthy stage set in support of his album Welcome to My Nightmare. Along with Kiss and David Bowie, Alice Cooper changed the way big venue concerts were staged. Throughout the 70s, Detroit produced a steady stream of talented rock musicians who maintained a presence on American radio. Bob Seeger grew up in nearby Ann Arbor and by 16 had written and recorded The Lonely One with his band, The Decibels. He would continue to play in bands around Detroit, working in his original songs wherever he could. He recorded East Side Story for the Cameo Parkway label, and it became a regional hit. When the label folded, he chose to sign with Capitol Records over Detroit's own Motown label. Seeger continued to have regional success and a national hit with Rambling Gamblin' Man in 1969, but it wasn't until Night Moves in 1976 that Seeger received major national attention. This was followed by a series of classic songs, Still the Same, Hollywood Nights, Old Time Rock and Roll, and Against the Wind, all flooded the airways. He also co-wrote the Eagles hit Heartache Tonight with old bandmate Glenn Fry about their early lives in Detroit. Despite his constant presence on the radio, Bob Seeger only scored a single number one hit, Shakedown, which is featured in Beverly Hills Cop 2. Ted Nugent, also known as the Motor City Madman, got his first taste of fame as the lead singer and guitarist for the Amboy Dukes, who played psychedelic rock before Nugent went solo and enjoyed a stream of multi-platinum albums which featured hard rock songs like Strangle Hold and Cat Scratch Fever, showcasing Nugent's guitar playing and wild persona. In concert, he would perform over-the-top stunts, appearing in a loincloth, firing flaming arrows, and riding in on a buffalo. In later years, he would be an outspoken proponent for far-right politics, alienating some fans but staying true to his unique and unwavering persona. Other bands continued to keep Detroit on the radio. Smoking in the Boys Room by Brownsville Station, Marshall Crenshaw's Someday, Some Way, and Grandfunk Railroad's We're an American Band, I'm Your Captain, and Some Kind of Wonderful. All producing big hits for radio. Although more geared towards the mainstream, all of these acts maintained a type of rock that emphasized solid songwriting with a no-frills approach. While California bands shifted towards glossy, perfect harmonies, and English groups morphed into overly complex progressive rock, Detroit stayed rooted in solid rock music with a blue-collar-friendly image. While the rest of the U.S. was listening to Bob Seeger, Ted Nugent, and Grand Funk, boiling in the underground with direct influence from the MC5 and the Stooges, Detroit's early punk scene developed at roughly the same time as those in New York and London, though with a much smaller and more intimate base. One of the earliest bands that would go on to play a part in Detroit punk's development was Destroy All Monsters. Started as an art collective by a group of students from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, the band focused on challenging performances, with noise experiments, as well as drawing, collage, and film elements. After founding members Mike Kelly and Jim Shaw left to successfully pursue their art in California, the band would continue with a more focused approach and new members, including Ron Ashton, formerly of the Stooges. The band became an early staple of the Detroit punk scene. Coldcock was another staple of the Detroit punk scene from 1976 to 1981. Formed by guitarist Gerald Sohan and Andy Peabody on vocals, they had both been exposed to early punk scenes in New York and the UK, respectively. They would harness that energy into a tight, melodic form of punk and open for many national acts that came through town. The mutants formed around 1970 as the Motor City Mutants. Primarily a cover band at the beginning, the band took a much more irreverent direction with the addition of singer Art Lasic in the mid-70s. The mutants created satirical commentary and songs like So American and College Grad. They were melodic and had short driving songs, which would become a trademark of many bands in the Detroit scene. Playing often with the Mutants were the Romantics. Formed in 1976, the Romantics drew from the MC5, the Stooges, the Kinks, and took musical and fashion inspiration from the English group The Jam. They recorded and released their own single, I Can't Tell You Anything, which eventually would propel them to Nemperer Records, a division of CBS. They had a minor hit with What I Like About You after it was featured on a beer commercial and got national exposure. As the song gained notoriety, they recorded a video for it, which was one of the first videos to be in heavy rotation on MTV, which in turn broke them big. Other Detroit punk bands of note include the Ramrods, the Seatbelts, the Sillies, Flirt, and Cadillac Kids, who would all take part in the early scene centered around Bookie's 870 Club. Originally opened as an Art Deco-appointed jazz club in the 1940s, it would go through several iterations before coming under the ownership of Samuel Bookie Stewart in 1970. At the time, LGBTQ individuals were not only harassed but persecuted as well due to antiquated laws still in effect during the 1970s. He ran the club, now called Bookie's 870, to cater to the city's gay community. In early 1978, there were simply not many places for up-and-coming bands to play original music in Detroit, and Stewart agreed to host local bands. It started off as one-off dates, but as word spread, the crowd grew larger and brought in more revenue. This led to Bookies hosting music almost every night, and the punk scene having a direct impact on supporting Detroit's gay community. The club would go on to host punk and hardcore bands throughout the 80s. The club began to deteriorate a bit after Stewart's retirement in 1982, and eventually it burned down in 1990. A fascinating and much more in-depth history of Detroit's punk scene can be found at DetroitPunkArchive.com. Detroit's rich rock history has continued to provide a long tapestry of hard-hitting music. Proto-punk band Death was formed in 1971 by three brothers, David, Bobby, and Dennis Hackney. Clive Davis funded recordings for a release on Columbia Records in 1975, but pulled funding when the band refused to change its name. The band would only release the single Politicians and My Eyes, backed with Keep On Knocking, limited to 500 copies. As the single circulated over the years, it gave Notoriety as an early punk single by an all-African American band. In 2009, Drag City Records released the seven songs, originally recorded in 75, bringing recognition to the band as punk pioneers and leading to a reformation of the band with Bobby and Dennis, accompanied by Bobby's sons, Bobby, Julian, and Urion to fill out the band. Detroit has had a knack for producing industrial strength garage rock with a harder edge than other cities' exports. Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels had a huge hit with Devil with the Blue Dress On in 1966. That same year, Detroit's Question Mark and the Mysterians had a number one hit with 96 tiers. But by the 1980s, much of Detroit's rock music had moved underground. An influential band who brought blues influences while honoring Detroit's gritty brand of garage rock was the Gories. Formed by Mick Collins, Dan Croha, and Peggy O'Neill, the Gories would release three influential albums between 1986 and 1990. Mick Collins' presence on stage would be The Stuff of Legend, and after the Gories' disbandment, he would go on to form the Dirt Bombs, which would be another key influence throughout the 90s, influencing bands like The Von Bondi's, Sponge, and The Electric Six. Opening for the Dirt Bombs in 1997 was a band formed by a husband and wife team who portrayed themselves as brother and sister on stage. I'm talking, of course, about the team of Jack and Meg White, The White Stripes. They dressed only in black, white, and red, and using a stripped-down, raw approach to back up poetic lyrics, they became a nationwide obsession with their breakthrough album White Blood Cells in 2001. The follow-up to White Blood Cells, Elephant, contained the song Seven Nation Army, which can be heard in sporting arenas around the world. And it has joined the ranks alongside Smoke on the Water and Smells Like Teen Spirit as one of the most played songs by budding guitarists. Jack White has also been instrumental in the resurgence and preservation of vintage guitars, recording equipment, and techniques. He appears in the film The American Epic Sessions, which recreates the first electric recording machine and documents modern recording artists using it. He is on the board of the National Recording Preservation Foundation, which works to preserve delicate early recordings such as wax cylinders. White also runs Third Man Records, an independent label that uses his recording equipment of preference and presses its own vinyl. In the 1980s, Detroit's economy was hit hard. Car sales had declined, countered by a slew of more economic vehicles from Japan, and forced many former factories and warehouses to be abandoned. These empty spaces would play host to a completely new sound sprung out of Detroit's dance scene. Techno. Detroit Techno was inspired by many of the same sources as house music in Chicago, namely German Pioneer's craft work. When put through the filters of Derek May, Juan Atkins, and Kevin Saunderson, the music took a more complex, hard-hitting, and crystalline sound. Soon, this music found its way to the UK, where it blossomed in the 1990s and inspired a nationwide movement that would eventually end up finding mainstream success through bands like The Prodigy and The Chemical Brothers. But its beginnings were always from Detroit, reflecting the industrial landscape of a hard-living city. At the same time techno was growing, hip-hop was beginning to gain traction in the city. Many of the same people who attended techno parties would also see up-and-coming rappers and breakdancing competitions. Youth from across Detroit began to congregate at a clothing store founded in 1993 by designer Maurice Malone called the Hip Hop Shop. The hip-hop shop served as an incubator for Detroit's rap scene, with its famous open mic nights hosted by D-12 founder Proof. Artists such as Jay Dilla cut their teeth in open mic battles on Saturday evenings. Kid Rock was a breakdancer and an active participant in Detroit's hip-hop scene, gaining some notoriety in the early 90s. He signed to Jive Records at 17 years old, selling over 100,000 copies of his debut album. When backlash against the cartoonish white rapper Vanilla Ice gained traction, Kid Rock was dropped from the label. He would return years later fusing classic rock and rap and making his commercial presence finally felt before venturing on to ballads. While Kid Rock was looking for his angle, another young white rapper from Detroit would raise the bar significantly. Marshall Mathers, better known as Eminem, came from the Saturday Night Battles of the Hip Hop Shop and would go through collaborations with Basement Productions and Soul Intent before coming under the tutelage of NWA's Dr. Dre. And putting Detroit's hip-hop scene forever on the map with his series of hits, including My Name Is, Stan, The Real Slim Shady, and Without Me. The film Eight Mile would feature Eminem's semi-autobiographical rise through Detroit's hip-hop culture. Eminem would bring a host of Detroit talent to the major labels, most notably his hip-hop collective The Dirty Dozen, or D12, which also featured Proof, Bazaar, Mr. Porter, Kaneva, and Swifty McVeigh. Soon other artists benefited from the groundswell of industry attention. Royce the59, also associated with Eminem, Big Sean, and T Grizzly are just a few. Throughout Detroit's history, its music has proved a resilient force, ever present in its streets, whether in its turn-of-the-century heyday as the city of the future, or through its darkest times of economic struggle. Detroit continues to be a city of influence in all genres of popular music. I hope you've enjoyed this journey through Detroit's music history. I encourage you to explore some of the artists and places we've discussed in this episode. Join me next time when we visit the innovative output of San Francisco, California. Thanks for listening to the Music Scope. I'm Mike Grubb.