Motown To Release ‘Detroit’ Soundtrack Featuring Classic Hits And New Song By The Roots

Motown Records is set to release the soundtrack album for the forthcoming, highly-anticipated movie, Detroit on 28 July 2017. Classic recordings by Martha Reeves & the Vandellas, Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell and Brenda Holloway feature in the film, which is due in US theaters on 4 August 2017. The movie will be on international release later in the month.

In addition, the soundtrack will feature a song by classic hip-hop group The Roots and soul singer Bilal, entitled ‘It Ain’t Fair’. This will mark The Roots’ first recording for the Motown label, and the group’s Questlove announced the song in a special video. “[Motown Records] is inseparable from Detroit”, he said. “We want it to sound like Detroit. We wanted to make a song that reflects – not only the times of 1967 – but where we live now in 2017.”

“Detroit is a true story, and sadly it still resonates today,” Questlove told Variety. “Because of that, we wanted to make a song that reflects not only the times of 1967 but also 2017 — and hopefully not the future. We wanted it to sound like Detroit, and message-wise we wanted to have an impact similar to that of Motown classics like Marvin Gaye’s ‘What’s Going On’ and ‘Ball of Confusion’ by the Temptations. The song has a warm texture to it but also a really strong message about where I feel black people are right now – at a boiling point, with innocent lives being ended in an unjust and unfair manner.”

Motown Records president Ethiopia Habtemariam added, “The music from this soundtrack highlights to ‘Classic Motown Sound,’ which is a beautiful accompaniment to the story of tumultuous times in 1967, as well as the struggles we face within society today.”

Directed by Academy Award-winning director Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker, Zero Dark Thirty), Detroit captures one of the most terrifying events during the riots which rocked the motor city in the summer of 1967. The film’s stars include John Boyega, best-known for his role in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and Anthony Mackie, a superhero in Captain America: Civil War. The world premiere of Detroit takes place at the city’s Fox Theatre on 25 July.

Martha Reeves is among the former Motown stars who recently recalled the dramatic events of 50 years ago, when Detroit was traumatized by five days of civil disturbance. With her group, The Vandellas, she was performing at the very same Fox Theatre on Sunday, 23 July 1967, the first day of the riots. She was asked to break the news to the audience, and instruct them to leave calmly.

“Imagine going out there light-heartedly and ready to work,” Martha told Jeff Karoub of Associated Press, recalling the momentous events. “My heart was beating so fast after returning to the dressing room!”

Martha Reeves and the Vandellas’ ‘Jimmy Mack’ is included in the Motown soundtrack album for Detroit, as is Brenda Holloway’s ‘Till Johnny Comes’ and The Elgins’ ‘Heaven Must Have Sent You’.

Detroit opens in theatres on 4 August 2017 in the US and the soundtrack is out 28 July via Motown. Scroll down to see the full tracklist and explore the Martha Reeves & The Vandellas Artist Page.

Tracklist
1. Martha Reeves & the Vandellas: ‘Nowhere to Run’
2. The Dramatics: ‘If You Haven’t Got Love’
3. Martha Reeves & The Vandellas: ‘Jimmy Mack’
4. Edward Hamilton & The Arabians: ‘Baby Don’t You Weep’
5. Jerry Williams: ‘Baby Bunny (Sugar Honey)’
6. Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell: ‘Your Precious Love’
7. Brenda Holloway: ‘Till Johnny Comes’
8. James Newton Howard: ‘Larry’s Rescue’
9. The Roots: ‘It Ain’t Fair’ (feat. Bilal)
10. The Devotions: ‘Devil’s Gotten Into My Baby’
11. Lee Rogers: ‘The Cream Of The Crop’
12. The Dramatics: ‘All Because Of You’
13. James Newton Howard: ‘Larry’s Alone’
14. Algee Smith” ‘Grow’
15. The Elgins: ‘Heaven Must Have Sent You’
16. John Coltrane: ‘I Want To Talk About You’

Format: UK English