In Photos: Motown Turns 60 Music

Motown' s Fabulous Rise

From ' Money' to Michael Jackson — a photo timeline of the early years

of

1959

Berry Gordy borrows $800 from his family savings club and starts Tamla Record Co. of

1960

Motown releases its first hit single, “Money (That’s What I Want),” sung by Barrett Strong. The Miracles featuring Smokey Robinson record “Shop Around,” the first Motown record to sell 1 million copies. of

1961

The Marvelettes release “Please Mr. Postman.” This was the first Motown song to reach the No. 1 position on the Billboard Hot 100 pop singles chart. of

1962

The Contours release “Do You Love Me?” — which was written for the Temptations. Because Gordy was unable to locate the group, the song was given to the Contours. of

1963

Mary Wells appears on American Bandstand with Dick Clark. of

1964

The Temptations’ first Top 20 hit is “The Way You Do the Things You Do.” of

1965

Six Motown releases reach No. 1, including “I Can’t Help Myself” by the Four Tops and “Stop! In the Name of Love” by the Supremes. of ADVERTISEMENT of

1966

Gladys Knight & the Pips, rising stars from Atlanta, sign a record deal with Motown. of

1967

Martha and the Vandellas release “Jimmy Mack” on the Gordy label. of

1968

Marvin Gaye’s version of “I Heard It Through the Grapevine” hits No. 1 on the pop chart. of

1969

The Jackson 5 performs at the Daisy Disco in Los Angeles, with an introduction by Diana Ross. of

1970

Edwin Starr releases “War.”
of

1971

Michael Jackson appears on the cover of Rolling Stone for the first time. of

More Motown Memories

Featured AARP Member Benefits See more Entertainment offers > See more Entertainment offers > See more Entertainment offers > See more Entertainment offers > Cancel You are leaving AARP.org and going to the website of our trusted provider. The provider’s terms, conditions and policies apply. Please return to AARP.org to learn more about other benefits. Your email address is now confirmed. You'll start receiving the latest news, benefits, events, and programs related to AARP's mission to empower people to choose how they live as they age. You can also by updating your account at anytime. You will be asked to register or log in. Cancel Offer Details Disclosures

Close In the next 24 hours, you will receive an email to confirm your subscription to receive emails related to AARP volunteering. Once you confirm that subscription, you will regularly receive communications related to AARP volunteering. In the meantime, please feel free to search for ways to make a difference in your community at Javascript must be enabled to use this site. Please enable Javascript in your browser and try again.