The name Detroit emanates from the French language.

D’etroit means ‘of the strait’ and is reference to the river which runs between Detroit, USA, and Windsor, Canada.

As the city grew, it developed a number of main thoroughfares, the main one being Woodward Avenue which runs north from the river and dissects the city into an east and a west side.

At the dawn of the 20^th Century entrepreneurs such as Walter Chrysler, Henry Ford, Ransom Olds and the Dodge Brothers were drawn to the development of the horseless carriage. They were able to use to good advantage, Detroit’s excellent transport links, and strength in the metal manufacturing sector.

The subsequent growth of the car industry brought tens of thousands of new jobs to Michigan and in particular Detroit, which was soon to be known as the Motor City.

The lure of an unusually high wage rate brought thousands of black people from the South. Many of them settled in Detroit’s lower east side in an area known as Black Bottom, which was renowned for it’s rich dark soil.

An entertainment scene soon emerged in and around Black Bottom. It was dubbed Paradise Valley and ran between two main roads, Gratiot and Warren. It’s main thoroughfares were Hastings Street and John R, which ran parallel to each other.

As a black middle class emerged in the mid-fifties, many families made the transition from the east side to the west side and within the boundaries of Grand River, West McNichols and Woodward Avenue, a musical phenomenon would emerge in the form of The Detroit Sound.

Commencing around 1959, over 600 record labels, dozens of small and large studios, and one of the largest music companies in history, emerged within these confines.

David Meikle

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