VIA PRESS RELEASE | Showtime Documentary Films today announced it will premiere the new documentary Hitsville: The Making of Motown from directors Benjamin and Gabe Turner (Class of 92, I Am Bolt, One Direction: This Is Us) on Saturday, August 24 at 9 p.m. ET/PT.
The remarkable story of the legendary Motown Records is told through new and exclusive interviews with the label’s visionary founder, Berry Gordy, and many of its superstar artists and creative figures, as well as rare performances and behind-the-scenes footage unearthed from Motown’s vaults and Gordy’s personal archives. Hitsville: The Making of Motown is the first documentary about the iconic label with Gordy’s participation.
Directed by Benjamin and Gabe Turner (Class of 92, I Am Bolt, One Direction: This Is Us), Hitsville: The Making of Motown focuses on the period beginning with the birth of the company in Detroit in 1958 until its relocation to Los Angeles in the early 1970s. The film tracks the unique system that Gordy assembled that enabled Motown to become the most successful record label of all time. The creation and initial success of Motown was achieved during a period of significant racial tensions in America and amid the burgeoning civil rights movement. The company’s music and post-racial vision were significant factors in helping the country—and the world—evolve through this transformative period in history.
“Motown is critical not only to the history of music in America, but also the history of America itself,” said Vinnie Malhotra, Executive Vice President, Nonfiction Programming, Showtime Networks Inc. “And you’ve never seen this bedrock of the music industry explored and remembered the way that Gabe and Ben Turner do it in Hitsville, with never-before-seen clips and interviews with the key players.”
Hitsville: The Making of Motown was produced for Showtime by executive producers Berry Gordy, Steve Barnett, Marty Bandier, David Blackman, Ethiopia Habtemariam, and Michelle Jubelirer.
Motown Records is releasing an original motion picture soundtrack from the film, also titled Hitsville: The Making of Motown, which is available for pre-order starting today. The accompanying soundtrack album features the music of the Supremes, Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, Marvin Gaye, the Temptations, Martha Reeves & the Vandellas and the Jackson 5, among others.
