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Friday 21 October 2011

Behind the Music

Contrary to popular belief, the record label Motown was actually given its name as a contraction of "Motherfuckingtown". The news was revealed in footage of a little known interview with Berry Gordy which was recently unearthed.

The received view is that the title comes from the colloquial name for the label's original home-town Detroit, which combines "motor" and "town". However, Gordy clearly confirms this as a myth while expressing his amusement at the widespread assumption. Smokey Robinson is yet to comment on the revelation.

The news follows claims from music historians that EMI was originally derived as an abbreviated form of "Entertainment for Motherfucking Idiots" and that BMG was the shortened form of "Brilliant Motherfucking Grooves".