The Motown artist Stevie Wonder called his musical mother: “My momma”

Motown might have started as a label, but it eventually became one of the most industry-defining microcosms in all of history.

With so many of its defining stars under the age of 18, such a development was inevitable.

In fact, several in the core wheel of shining talents started out as kids, from Stevie Wonder to Michael Jackson.

Which also naturally meant that many of the older figureheads felt protective towards the younger generation of greats, too.

Motown’s label-to-genre transition is one that hooks into the deeply embedded inclinations of society itself.

From the beginning, it signalled a time of immense self-expression undercut by personal and societal struggles, channelled through timeless hits and unparalleled talent.

Most of the sounds that came out of Motown were also meticulously crafted under the careful guidance of Berry Gordy, with sounds that were accessible but which told a thousand intricate stories underneath.

And thus was born what Gordy once referred to as the Motown “philosophy” – where, put simply, you get out of it what you put in.

We all know about the churn that came with being under the label, but to Gordy and the other execs, what set it apart was how much it thrived on quantity and meritocracy.

But as with anything that builds an empire on profitability, it had its faults, too.

Like how young many of its stars were.

With Motown growing into its own beast, not everybody had the luxury of the right support, especially its young stars.

But those like Stevie Wonder already had a fierce network of people who were willing to fight his corner, like his mother.

In fact, just before Wonder was signed to Motown at the age of 11, his mother audaciously fought against signing a contract that wasn’t right for him, until Gordy eventually backed down and agreed to what she’d asked for.

His mother wasn’t the only one who took him under his wing.

Diana Ross also made sure he was doing everything a child needed to do to maintain an ounce of sanity, like eating his goddamn greens, getting sleep, and even playing around like any normal 11-year-old would do, despite the circumstances being extraordinarily different.

“Everyone that was over 13 was my parent,” Wonder once recalled.

“Diana [Ross] was my momma.

The Marvelettes were all my parents, The Contours… ‘You can’t have a candy bar now, you gotta study now, do this now.’”.

As a strong Motown ringleader, Ross adopted this maternal instinct towards many of its rising stars.

She knew what it was like to rise to the top as the underdog and fight to maintain her spot there, but she also knew what it was like navigating normal life at the bottom of the ladder.

Which is why she stepped into that role for kids like Wonder, who had the talent to go the whole nine yards but not the life experience to know how to handle pressure.

What was perhaps the most important of Ross’ teachings, however, was how much she lived and breathed the clash between self-deprecation and outward success.

As she said in 1975, “I realised that, every time I create a positive thought in my mind, I also create a negative thought.”.

Concluding, “It’s like, ‘I’m going to be very successful’, and my mind is like, ‘No, you’re not.’ It’s which one I give the most attention to that’s the most powerful.”.

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