Tamla Motown in the UK: Transatlantic Reception of American Rhythm and Blues

Abstract

British consumption of African American music grew precipitously after the Second World War. As distinct British youth cultures emerged, groups such as the mods appropriated Jamaican blue beat and American rhythm and blues (R&B). Many American record companies took on mythical identities in this context, and came to play a large role in British reception of American music. The most important of these in British culture was Tamla Motown (known simply as Motown in American parlance), which originated as a refined form of African American R&B in Detroit, Michigan.