Motown Exhibit from Grammy Museum Coming to LBJ Presidential Library

According to the Detroit Free Press, an extensive and vivid Motown exhibit from the Grammy Museum is scheduled to open on April 13, 2019, at the LBJ Presidential Library in the Texas Hill Country. Taking place during the 60th anniversary of the motor-city-based record company, the interactive displays which are a part of the exhibit will feature the music and stories behind it, which featured strongly during Johnson’s presidential career. The library released a formal press statement regarding the exhibit on March 21, 2019.

“Motown: The Sound of Young America” will showcase the “music, culture, and politics” of the 1960s and feature vintage stage outfits from popular acts such as the Miracles, the Supremes, and the Temptations, among others. Instruments which were played by the Hitsville studio band, as well as the Funk Brothers, will also feature prominently. Guests to the LBJ Presidential Library will be able to play drums to “My Girl,” by the Temptations and perform on stage to “Stop! In the Name of Love,” by the Supremes in this 3,000-square-foot exhibit. Below is a video from the Grammy Museum, showing the extensive collection that the Detroit sound has produced for its fans, and the expansive influence it’s had on more than one generation.

Photo: Facebook/Supremes

Videos featuring Motown artists and staff will also be on display at the LBJ Presidential Library in Austin, much of which was captured during the taping of “Motown 60: A Grammy Celebration.” Song playlists have also been assembled for listeners to stream over their phones when viewing the exhibit, which is expected to run at the library through January 2020. Motown was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. in January 1959. “The music is timeless,” Bob Santelli told freeb.com. Santelli is the Grammy Museum’s Founding Director and Curator of the Motown exhibit. “It’s probably the high point of American popular music. It’s the embodiment of so many great things about American music. There isn’t an African-American artist, in particular, that hasn’t been directly or indirectly influenced by the sound of Motown. You could be a hip-hop artist and, guaranteed, you’ve been impacted by Motown.”  Nikki Diller, the LBJ Presidential Libary’s Specialist in Museum Exhibits, told freeb.com,  “The LBJ Presidential Library is focused on life during President (Lyndon) Johnson’s administration. We’re a natural fit to showcase Motown’s unprecedented rise and influence on popular culture that started in the 1960s. That’s our era.”