Motown was founded in Detroit which has a Nick name of Motor City. So, Motown is taken from the nickname! Berry Gordy, Jr started Motown in 1959 as a black owned label for black artists. In the 1960s Motown became synonymous with rhythm and Blues and quickly became one of the most successful recordings studios in history!
"Motown" is a contraction of "motor city". The reference is to Detroit, Michigan, USA. For a long time, Detroit was known as the center of automobile manufacturing in the United States. Nowadays, things have changed a bit, and auto manufacturing has been outsourced. But, the nickname "Motown" has remained.
Return to FunTrivia
"Ask FunTrivia" strives to offer the best answers possible to trivia questions. We ask our submitters to thoroughly research questions and provide sources where possible. Feel free to post corrections or additions. This is server B184.