IV 111th CONGRESS 1st Session H. CON. RES. 50 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES February 12, 2009 Mr. Conyers (for himself, Mr. Levin, Mr. Baca, Mrs. Maloney, Mr. Rangel, Mr. Crowley, Mr. Roe of Tennessee, Mr. Serrano, Mr. Payne, Mr. Grijalva, Mr. Kissell, Mr. McGovern, and Mr. Peterson) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform CONCURRENT RESOLUTION Honoring and saluting Motown Records of Detroit, Michigan, on its 50th anniversary.

Whereas, on January 12, 1959, Berry Gordy, Jr. received an $800 loan to start Tamla Record Company from his family, the Ber-Berry Co-Op, which was established by his eldest sister, Esther Gordy Edwards, and her husband, George Edwards, and named after their parents Bertha and Berry Gordy, Sr.; Whereas the Motown record label was also established in 1959 and incorporated on April 4, 1960; Whereas within one year of creation, Motown Records produced two songs that reached number two on the Billboard Hot 100 list, “Money (That’s What I Want)”, performed by Barrett Strong, and “Shop Around”, performed by the Miracles and written by Berry Gordy, Jr., and Janie Bradford; Whereas after one year, Motown Records produced its first Billboard Hot 100 number one song, “Please Mr. Postman”, performed by the Marvelettes; Whereas the Miracles, featuring Smokey Robinson, Bobby Rogers, Ron White, Pete Moore, and Claudette Robinson, recorded the first Motown record to sell 1,000,000 copies, “Shop Around”; Whereas in 1965, six years after its inception, five Motown releases reached number one on pop charts across the country, including “I Can’t Help Myself” by the Four Tops and “Stop! In The Name of Love” by the Supremes; Whereas Motown Records fostered the careers of recording legends Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson, Martha Reeves, Diana Ross, Gladys Knight and the Pips, Tammi Terrell, and the Isley Brothers; and Whereas through the medium of music, during one of the most tumultuous times in the history of the United States, Motown Records established a uniquely American art form that defined the American experience for a generation and for generations to follow: Now, therefore, be it

That Congress— (1)congratulates and salutes Motown Records on its 50th anniversary; and (2)directs the Clerk of the House of Representatives to make available enrolled copies of this resolution to Motown Records for appropriate display.