Motown visionary Berry Gordy created the template in the late 1950s. By employing strict guidelines that ranged from standardized songwriting practices to a stringent dress code, Gordy had invented the blueprint of the modern pop star.
Gordy’s big hook was that he worked almost exclusively with black artists, who at the time were deemed unmarketable in the mainstream. The rest, of course, is history. Storied artists like Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson and the Supremes went on to define Gordy’s self-described “Sound of Young America” throughout the Sixties and well into the Seventies.
While Gordy’s original blueprint fell by the wayside in terms of R&B for years (see Bobby Brown, R. Kelly, etc.) and more closely followed by tween-pop stars like the Jonas Brothers and Taylor Swift, new school soul sensation John Legend not only follows it, but improves upon the initial concept.
Where those old Motowners were primarily about appearances, Legend mirrors his smooth public persona with a political activism and social awareness not often seen in pop’s premier heartthrobs.
Instead of getting roasted on snarky black-oriented websites like Bossip, Legend is lauded for his humanitarian efforts, like starting “The Show Me Campaign” which aids impoverished people in the West African country of Ghana.
Legend is also heavily involved politically, the fervent Obama supporter stumping for his candidate on CNN and penning a special song, “If You’re Out There,” which he debuted at the opening of the 2008 Democratic National Convention.
“I figured I could be ironic, I could be subtle, or I could be cynical, but why not just go out there and say it, you know,” Legend told CNN about the song. “Let's make that anthem, try to get people to rally without being ashamed of the clearness and the boldness of the message. Let's just say it.”
The 2006 Grammy winner for Best New Artist (only three albums in, and Legend already has five Grammys under his belt) is willing to take those musical chances, teaming up with Outkast’s Andre 3000 for “Green Light,” the surprisingly upbeat and electro-tinged first single from his latest album, appropriately titled Evolver. “Even Stevie Wonder got down sometimes,” Andre 3000 adlibs during his verse, and Evolver shows Legend just as willing to get his party on.
Legend is also showing some of Gordy’s entrepreneurial spirit. Like his industry mentor Kanye West, Legend has established his own record label, HomeSchool Records. He struck gold with his first signing, stellar U.K. artist Estelle, who released one of the best full-lengths of 2008 with Shine, which featured the global smash “American Boy.”
“I call myself John Legend,” he wryly reminded CNN. “So I'm a bit ambitious anyway.”
See John Legend with Estelle at the Gibson Amphitheatre on January 13.
