This entry from Encyclopedia Brittanica's Guide to Black History features Berry Gordy, Jr., an American businessman, founder of the Motown Record Corporation (1959), which became the most successful black-owned music company in the United States. Through Motown, he developed the majority of the great rhythm-and-blues (R&B) performers of the 1960s and '70s, including Diana Ross and the Supremes, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, the Marvelettes, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, the Temptations, and Michael Jackson and the Jackson Five. Gordy was said to have masterminded the popular "Motown sound," a ballad-based blend of traditional black harmony and gospel music with the lively beat of R&B. This site, rich in detail and breadth of coverage, includes a wealth of information on other notable African Americans, important events, and much more.