by Kevin Burton
There is more than a little irony in the 1971 Jackson 5 song “Going Back To Indiana.” That makes for an easy choice to make Indiana a destination for our summer rock and roll road trip, Coast to Coast.
For Coast to Coast we are talking rock and roll history, through songs with a state or city in the title. Goin’ Back To Indiana was not the biggest J5 hit. In fact, it was never released as a single in the US, only in Europe. But juxtapose its lyrics with Motown’s ill-fated move from Detroit to Los Angeles, and you will see why I included it in the series.
The Jackson 5 would lead Motown into the 70s. New decade, new sound. For some, the 60s died of exhaustion. The Jackson 5 were fresh new faces, literally, to quote a Motown slogan, the sound of young America.
From October of 1969 through 1971, The J5 had four straight number one hits, “I Want You Back,” “ABC,” “The Love You Save” and “I’ll be There.”
“Mama’s Pearl” and “Never Can Say Goodbye” hit number two in 1971. Few bands have been hotter. The came the live soundtrack album, “Goin Back to Indiana.”
The album featured songs from the Jackson 5’s Sept. 16, 1971 ABC TV special of the same name and also featured tracks from their May 29 “homecoming” concert at the Coliseum in Indianapolis, according to Wikipedia.
I was way too young to know it, but the company of Smokey Robinson, Marvin Gaye, the Supremes and Temptations was in the process of moving its operations from Detroit to Los Angeles and cutting off its golden era.
Motown famously left a sign on the door of its “Hitsville” location in June of 1972 reading “There won’t be any work here today. Motown is moving to Los Angeles.” Though there were indicators that a move was in progress, this was still stunning to the Motown “family.”
“The company’s big move had been easy to see coming, and it happened slowly, but it was no less a blow,” reads a story on the website of the Redbull Music Academy. “Gerald Posner’s Motown: Music, Money, Sex and Power claims that “between 200 and 300 Detroit employees were out of work, with most given no chance to transfer.” Some of those were former marquee names.
“The Supremes’ Mary Wilson suggests in her memoir Supreme Faith that part of the initial impetus for Motown’s big move were the July 1967 riots in Detroit – five years before Hitsville announced it was closing,” according to Redbull Music.
The company moved all of its operations to Los Angeles in June 1972, though there was some activity in Detroit as late as September of 1974.
“ By re-locating, Motown aimed chiefly to branch out into the motion-picture industry, and Motown Productions got its start in film by turning out two hit-vehicles for Diana Ross: the Billie Holiday biographical film Lady Sings the Blues (1972), and Mahogany (1975),” according to Wikipedia.
“John McClain, an A&M Records executive, opined that Motown leaving its birth city marked a decline in the label’s quality. ‘Something happened when [Motown] left Detroit and came to [Los Angeles],’ he said. ‘They quit being innovators and started following trends. Before, Berry had a much more hands-on approach. And maybe you lose some of your desire after you get to a certain level financially.’”
“By the 1970s, the Motown “hit factory” had become a target of a backlash from some fans of rock music. Record producer Pete Waterman recalls of this period: “I was a DJ for years and I worked for Motown – the press at the time, papers like NME, used to call it Toytown. “
The reputation and reality of the two cities could not be more disparate. We’re talking about the difference between steel and sequins, hardhats and hype, gravel and glitz.
Gordy worked for a time at Ford Motor Company and took his blueprint for success straight from the assembly line. He was intentional about signing and developing talent, artist development, quality control, writers and producers, A&R (evaluating songs) and all the other elements needed for success in the music industry.
Gordy worked that blueprint to perfection, but in uprooting the company he seemed to scrap it.
Meanwhile Goin’ Back To Indiana is as catchy as anything the Jackson 5 ever did. It’s sawed-off introduction propels you directly and forcefully into the hook and Michael Jackson never lets you go.
The song tells the story of a young man who has seen the glitter and glamour of California and found it wanting, missing his girl and preferring the comforts of home.
“I’m goin’ back to Indiana, back to where I started from. I’m goin’ back to Indiana. Indiana here I come.”
“I spread my wings for greener pastures. I still ain’t found what I was after. I got the blues and that is why I sing I just want to do my thing.”
“Hollywood you got a lot of pretty things
I saw a lot of movie stars with diamond rings
But I ain’t got my baby and I’m feelin’ wrong
That’s why I gotta sing my song.”
The bridge references old friends from Roosevelt High School and ends with ‘I’m comin’ home it’s plain to see I still got Indiana soul in me.”
I’m guessing that Gordy and the others at Motown who were so good at hearing a hit, heard one in Goin Back to Indiana but didn’t like the message, so released it in Europe only. Motown at the time wanted to embrace Hollywood, not repudiate it.
Or maybe Gordy was just too distracted by his pursuit of a romantic relationship with Diana Ross.
“When the Supremes’ name officially changed to Diana Ross & the Supremes at the beginning of August 1967, Berry made the announcement from L.A.’s Central Plaza Hotel. Not long afterward, he bought a house in the area, and by the fall of 1968 he was asking his assistant to find a Los Angeles school for his children. The family moved into their new Californian home in October and Gordy rented a house for Diana Ross nearby,” reads the Redbull Music story.
Now Motown didn’t immediately tank when it left Detroit. But when the people who made Motown what it was reminisce, in interviews and documentaries, when you see those smiles they can’t wipe off their faces, take note that they are talking about early Motown – Detroit Motown.
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