Born in the heart of Detroit, Motown transformed a modest house on West Grand Boulevard into a global hit factory, launching icons like Stevie Wonder, The Supremes, and Marvin Gaye. Now, the Motown Museum is expanding, keeping the beat alive for future generations to feel the rhythm that changed the world. In this episode, Bob Riney welcomes Motown Museum CEO Robin Terry to celebrate the powerful legacy of Motown—where music, culture, and community unite. Together, they explore how this legendary sound continues to inspire and how the future museum will provide space to showcase more of Motown's history.
Born in the heart of Detroit, Motown transformed a modest house on West Grand Boulevard into a global hit factory, launching icons like Stevie Wonder, The Supremes, and Marvin Gaye. Now, the Motown Museum is expanding, keeping the beat alive for future generations to feel the rhythm that changed the world. In this episode, Bob Riney welcomes Motown Museum CEO Robin Terry to celebrate the powerful legacy of Motown—where music, culture, and community unite. Together, they explore how this legendary sound continues to inspire and how the future museum will provide space to showcase more of Motown's history.
:00- Robin Terry talks about what happens when you put young, talented people in a room together
1:15- Bob Riney shares his personal take on Motown
2:21- Robin shares her enthusiasm for giving tours and meeting people from around the world who visit Hitsville USA
2:53- The global impact of The Motown Museum and its diverse visitors
4:18- Motown music is described as a reflection of societal changes and political advocacy in the 1960s
4:48- Motown transitions to protest music in the 1970s
5:44- Bob puts Robin on the spot to name Motown’s most famous anthem
6:24- The conversation shifts to the therapeutic benefits of music, with Bob mentioning Henry Ford Health's integration of music and art in their new hospital tower
7:07- Robin shares anecdotes about the emotional reactions of visitors to Hitsville USA, including moments of silence and tears
8:58- The discussion includes the spiritual experiences of artists like Winona Judd and Demi Lovato when they visited the museum
10:11- Bob and Robin address the challenge of showcasing only a small fraction of the Motown memorabilia due to the limited space at Hitsville
11:10- Plans for a full campus to celebrate the Motown legacy and tell the stories of the many unsung heroes
12:12- The conversation highlights the young age of the Motown employees and the innovative environment that fostered the Motown sound
12:56- Bob humorously suggests that Henry Ford Health should take credit for the musical talent born at their hospital, which contributed to the Motown sound
13:09- Bob and Robin discuss the philanthropic support and community involvement in the museum’s expansion project, which has raised over $71 million
14:50- Bob and Robin gush over the genius of Gladys Knight
16:05- Robin talks about the coaching and training that developed the iconic stars of Motown
16:44- Bob praises Robin's leadership and passion for preserving Motown history
16:57-Bob encourages listeners to visit Hitsville USA and experience the feel-good atmosphere of the museum
17:28- Bob reflects on his conversation with Robin, praising her leadership and passion
Robin Terry :00
When you think about how young these Motown folks were. The average age was 23 You have your Supremes who are fresh out of high school, 18,19. Stevie Wonder, he's 11. Marvin Gaye in his 20s. Engineers, 18. It just speaks to what can happen when you put young, talented, creative people in a room together.
Bob Riney :31
Welcome back to The BOBcast. I'm your host. Bob Riney present CEO of Henry Ford Health, and I am thrilled to have you joining us today. The BOBcast is where Detroit's future comes into view. It is where you'll hear the big ideas, bold voices and crucial conversations that are shaping our city, our region, and beyond real and unapologetically focused on creating a stronger, more vibrant future with grit and grace, this podcast introduces you to the relentless visionaries who are driving change and tackling some of the biggest challenges we face today, I am so excited to welcome the amazing woman that is sitting across from me. Robin Terry is the CEO of the Motown Museum, and she is the great niece of the amazing Barry Gordy. And for me, personally, Motown and Motown Museum is my nostalgic center. It's the place where when a song comes on, I am singing out loud, no matter how I sound, and for Henry Ford Health, and for Henry Ford Hospital, this amazing house where so much musical magic that transformed not just this city, not just this country, but the world took place is less than 100 yards away. So welcome, Robin.
Robin Terry 1:55
Thank you, Bob. It's always fun to get to hang out with you, but to do this have this conversation, it's an honor. So thank you.
Bob Riney 2:03
Let's just get right into it. The legends that came out of Motown are just so well known and extraordinary. But what's it like to serve in the role that you have served in so well for so many years, carrying that legacy on your shoulders?
Robin Terry 2:21
It's inspiring. You know, I tell people all the time that even though I'm the chair and CEO of the organization, my favorite thing to do is to take people on tours to meet people from all over the world who are experiencing that little house Hitsville for the first time. It's a labor of love without question, but it's also it's a calling to do work that I believe is important, telling the story of all of those people who made history in that little house, and making sure they're not forgotten.
Bob Riney 02:54
I think most of our listeners will be surprised as I was to learn what that small destination does in terms of visitors from around the world.
Robin Terry 03:06
We're the only original recording studio never been anything but a recording studio standing on this planet. And so people travel from all over the world. We see visitors, every generation, every ethnicity. It's probably what I love most. Motown's ability to bring people who are very different together and then they find common ground in that space, because they look at each other and go, Oh, you like Motown. I like Motown. Folks. Just make the journey. Many don't speak English, but they press their way to that little house in Detroit because their musical icons, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Temptations, Four Tops, Supremes, Contours, Gladys, Knight, Martha Reeves and the Vandellas, The Jackson Five, got their start there.
Bob Riney 3:57
Motown music, when I think about it, challenged us around political advocacy. It held a mirror up to us about things that needed change, and it also provided healing when maybe we were struggling. Do people get that when they come through the museum?
Robin Terry 4:15
They do. Motown was founded in 1959. The music in the 60s, it was really about, and these are Barry Gordy's words, they were writing music about things that were true, feelings, emotions that all humans experienced. Everybody wanted to experience, love, joy, peace, and so they wrote about those things. And as a result, that music of the 60s resonated with people no matter what their station in life was. Then you move into the 70s, and you start to get into more of the protest music of Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye, Edwin Starr.
“War, what is it good for?”
Robin Terry
And at that point, they begin to reflect society in a different way, because they are reflecting through the music what's happening with a lot of the protests around the country. And so the music evolves, and it becomes the sound of young America, because young America was leading the protests, so it was reflecting what young people were feeling. And then, of course, you get into the late 70s and 80s, and it starts to take yet another turn, and you start to get the Psychedelic Shack and some other things like that. So it's a music that has continued to reflect back what was happening in the communities.
Bob Riney 5:41
So I'm going to put you on the spot here, is there a single song that you think really represents the heart of Motown more than anything else?
Robin Terry 5:51
I think Martha Reeves “Dancing in the Street” has been sort of the Motown anthem. But I think about moments we're in right now, and Marvin Gaye's “What's Going On” resonates.
Bob Riney 6:17
It's timeless. I find it really ironic in a great way, that Henry Ford Hospital and Motown Hitsville sit less than a block from each other, and healthcare is now understanding the power of music in healing,
Robin Terry 6:37
Yes
Bob Riney 6:37
in creating an environment where people reduce their stress in a hospital because of music and art. And so as we build our new hospital tower, we want to infuse it with music and art and all of those things that stimulate the senses in such a positive way. And guess what? There's research that shows it reduces length of stay, it reduces anxiety, and we've got something that we can just continue to evolve.
Robin Terry 7:07
I remember one of our earliest conversations was around music therapy, and it was the research at the time that connected the music of your childhood, specifically with healing. We get letters from people we had someone in your cancer center, this gentleman had a collection of Motown music. He was going for his chemotherapy and wanted to listen to Motown music, but they didn't have any in the archive, and he ended up writing us a letter letting us know that he donated his collection to the hospital. So it's real. We also saw it. Just after the pandemic, there was this influx of young people coming to the museum, and I personally went out, and I'm asking, what brought you here? And people, felt the to just come check in on culture, steady themselves and then get back into the world.
Bob Riney 8:06
What are the most common reactions that you get from visitors when they come to the current Hitsville, USA?
Robin Terry 8:13
Crying or it's a silence, particularly when they step into Studio A and they're standing in the footsteps of those musical greats in that tiny room, and for the first time, getting a sense of all of the music that was created there from 1959 to 1972 all coming out of this little bitty room. And people tend to get very quiet, and then they're full, and they just feel sort of overwhelmed with emotion in that moment.
Bob Riney 8:45
People would be blown away if they saw the list of the world's greatest artists from all genres of music that find their way to Motown and to Hitsville.
Robin Terry 8:59
Winona Judd was definitely one of my favorites. She spent three hours there, and she just wanted to be still and quiet in the space. Then we just had an artist who's also a movie star also, and he just wanted to sweep a little bit of the floor, because he wanted tiny little fragments, which we allowed him to take with him for inspiration. Beyonce has been there multiple times. There's every kind of artist, country music, rock and roll, R&B, hip hop, and they all make their way to that little house for inspiration.
Bob Riney 9:36
It tells me that in many ways, some of the people going there, it's almost a spiritual experience
Robin Terry 9:42
Without question. Another person whose visit just really stands out to me, and she doesn't know this is Demi Lovato. Demi Lovato came to the museum. About a year and a half ago, and she sat and played the piano, and she was going through her own healing in life, and you could tell as she played that piano, it was just the most beautiful spiritual experience that she was having right in front of us.
Bob Riney 10:11
That's awesome. One of the things that visitors also are boggled about is how small of a space the music that came out of that tiny house that Studio A and you've had the challenge of space constraint that you can only show exhibits to the public of a small fraction of the memorabilia. But that's not for long, because under your leadership, some unbelievable changes are happening.
Robin Terry 10:44
You are absolutely right. If there is any challenge, it is that the physical space that is Hitsville is a tiny little two story home in Detroit. It's the reason we sell out most of the year so quickly. And the biggest challenge is that we have the largest organized archive of Motown memorabilia anywhere in the world. So what you're seeing is this tiny thumbnail of what's there. So we embarked on vision and a campaign to create a full campus that celebrates the legacy of Motown and now will allow us to tell the hundreds and hundreds of stories of all of those people who were part of it, if they were in the background or the foreground. There are many unsung heroes in the Motown story that our future visitors will learn about.
Bob Riney 11:37
What's amazing too is while some of the artists, like the Jackson Five came from neighboring states, most of these artists came from the immediate neighborhoods.
Robin Terry 11:50
I mean, outside of like The Four Tops, Gladys Knight and the Pips, the Jackson Five, most of those acts lived in Detroit, within five miles of Hitsville. They were going to the same high schools, same churches, same night clubs, and it was just a community of musicians, jazz musicians. And when you think about how young these Motown folks were but one time. Motown had 450 employees. The average age was 23 Wow. You have your Supremes who are fresh out of high school, 18, 19, Stevie Wonder, he's 11. Marvin Gaye in his 20s. Engineers, 18, and they're being left in this house with this visionary, this musical genius.
Bob Riney 12:39
Barry Gordy.
Robin Terry 12:40
to just create and innovate and make music. And what you get out of that was the Motown sound. And it just speaks to what can happen when you put young, talented, creative people in a room together.
Bob Riney 12:57
A fair number of those artists that were in that five mile radius were born at Henry Ford Hospital
Robin Terry 13:01
Absolutely.
Bob Riney 13:02
and got there care at Henry Ford. So you know, we're going steal a little bit of that credit.
Robin Terry 13:08
I love it.
Bob Riney 13:08
but, but it's really a powerful story about Detroit, about the impact of music through the times of our lives. And I think the fact that you're going to be able to have an environment now that can welcome more people and expose them to even greater aspects of Motown is going to give it a whole new life. What's the response from the philanthropic community and from the Motown artists that are still with us to this journey?
Robin Terry 13:42
It's been well received. We're grateful to have raised well over that 50 million. We're at 71 million today.
Bob Riney 13:49
How about that?
Robin Terry 13:50
Yeah. And not only did Henry Ford Health jump in to say, hey, we're here to support you, but the philanthropic community at large. Ford Motor Company was our lead corporate donor. Folks just jumped in because they knew this was Detroit's opportunity to tell this important Detroit story. And now we're breaking ground on the final phase of the expansion. So we look forward to opening in 2026.
Bob Riney 14:17
This is our fantasy way to think of ourselves as Motown stars when we don't have any talent.
Robin Terry 14:23
I love it, I love it. But Motown and Detroit are synonymous around the world. So, you know, it was an opportunity to take this jewel that sits in our backyard that is Hitsville and finally give it the love that it deserves. Just excited to be part of the vision for that.
Bob Riney 14:43
I’ve got to send a team of researchers over to Hitsville, because I'm convinced there's something that was in the water because I just heard Gladys Knight in concert.
Robin Terry 14:52
She is by far my favorite female voice.
Bob Riney 14:55
Me too. Her voice is so distinct and unique, and her ability to put points of emphasis on a song I still haven't seen anyone be able to replicate that.
Robin Terry 15:07
And her voice has sustained to your point. She sustained that great voice. It even was getting it was getting better and better and better.
Bob Riney 15:16
What's your favorite Gladys Knight song?
Robin Terry 15:17
Neither one of us.
Gladys Knight singing 15:19
“Because neither one of us, wants to be the first to say goodbye.”
Bob Riney 15:28
My second is about if anyone should ever write my story.
Robin Terry 15:32
My life story, for any reason there might be.
Bob Riney 15:35
That is such a story telling.
Robin Terry 15:37
They’re beautiful, beautiful lyrics.
Bob Riney 15:40
They're beautiful lyrics. And when she sings it to an audience, you swear she's singing it to you, it's magic.
Robin Terry 15:49
and you can, like, connect that song to so many people in your lives who may not know how important they are to your life.
Bob Riney 15:57
For these individuals, the retention of their voices and their concert capabilities defies odds.
Robin Terry 16:06
There's no question about that. A big part of it, I think, was the coaching and the training that happened at Motown. I mean, you had people like Maxine Powell, who was doing professional development, teaching them poise and how to carry themselves, and Charlie Atkins doing choreography and Maurice King vocal coaching that training matters it separates the popular from the iconic. And so these acts became iconic, but much of that was what Motown was pouring into them, and now we're doing the same thing through our Hitsville next programming.
Bob Riney 16:45
Motown has just continued. It's still so popular to be used in modern movies as background music. The words are as relevant today as they were 30 and 40 years ago. And if you have not had a chance to go to Hitsville, USA, make sure you do. It is a feel good experience, and you are going walk away humming, singing and probably bad dancing. Robin. Thank you so much for being here.
Robin Terry 17:16
Thank you for having me, and thank you for your leadership, not only at Henry Ford Health, but in the community and with Motown Museum.
Bob Riney 17:24
You are more than welcome.
17:25
(Martha Reeves singing “Dancing in the Street”)
Bob Riney 17:35
I was so looking forward to having Robin Terry on because I have watched her in action, and this is a case of someone that could really lead any company. She's smart. She knows how to balance her budget, she knows how to hire good people, but her real passion for this mission called the history of Motown, just shines through in everything that she does, and the fact that she's the great niece of Barry Gordy, the founder, and just the amazing architect of Motown, I know is part of her personal mission, because she talks to him on a regular basis. So when you see someone that is so adept and so able to lead almost anything, but they're leading a place that they truly love, I relate to that and I respect it. If you enjoyed this episode, please click follow so you will never miss a future episode. Share us with your friends and leave us a five star rating and review, which will help others find us. If you have suggestions for a topic or a guest. Email us at bobcast@hfhs.org, remember every action we take today is a step towards the future. We're building together. Let's keep striving, keep believing and keep moving forward. Let's use positive momentum to carry us through an era that's filled with troubling questions, until next time, take care and keep making a difference.