(SOUNDBITE OF DON WAS AND THE PAN-DETROIT ENSEMBLE'S "YOU ASKED, I CAME")
DON GONYEA, HOST:
Don Was is best known as a record producer. He's got Grammy awards to his name and credits that include the Rolling Stones and the B-52s, Bonnie Raitt and Bob Dylan. He's also president of Blue Note Records, but first and foremost, he's a musician.
(SOUNDBITE OF DON WAS AND THE PAN-DETROIT ENSEMBLE'S "YOU ASKED, I CAME")
GONYEA: And he's got a new record out with a stellar group of Detroiters under the name Don Was And The Pan-Detroit Ensemble.
(SOUNDBITE OF DON WAS AND THE PAN-DETROIT ENSEMBLE'S "YOU ASKED, I CAME")
GONYEA: He took us on a tour of his hometown of Detroit and some of its musical landmarks.
How are you doing today?
DON WAS: Good to see you.
GONYEA: You're good driving?
WAS: Yeah.
GONYEA: Excellent. We figure out where we go next after each stop.
WAS: I got to - I'm going to show you the route. You get in.
GONYEA: OK.
WAS: I'll show you the route.
GONYEA: Where are we heading?
WAS: We're going to head over a couple blocks to Black Bottom, to the site of the legendary Joe's Record Store.
GONYEA: But there's a catch. Joe's Record Store is long gone, a victim of urban renewal. It's now an onramp to a downtown freeway.
WAS: That little green patch of grass right there on the entrance ramp to the freeway?
GONYEA: Yeah.
WAS: That's it. If you look at the cover of our new album, it's a picture taken in 1959 right in front of Joe's Record Store. We superimposed a picture of our band as if we were hanging out there because that's what we're doing musically. We're still hanging out there (laughter).
GONYEA: The title of the record is "Groove In The Face Of Adversity."
WAS: Yes. When I was 14 years old in 1966, I was running errands with my mom. I was being really obnoxious. She left me in the car, said just play the radio, stay here. So I landed on the Detroit jazz station, WCHD, and I tuned in just as they were playing a song by Joe Henderson called "Mode For Joe" - first time I really heard this music. And he starts out with these anguished cries on the saxophone.
(SOUNDBITE OF JOE HENDERSON'S "MODE FOR JOE")
WAS: I was listening to it. I said, wow, that's exactly how I feel. And it was as if Joe Henderson were speaking to me. No lyrics or anything, but just with the saxophone, he was saying, Relax, man. You got to groove in the face of adversity. Just be cool. To me, it was, be nicer to your mom. And sure enough, when my mom got back in the car a few minutes later, I was a nice kid.
(SOUNDBITE OF JOE HENDERSON'S "MODE FOR JOE")
WAS: And I was aware that music had the power to turn my mood around 180 degrees in, like, 20 seconds.
(SOUNDBITE OF JOE HENDERSON'S "MODE FOR JOE")
WAS: But "Groove In The Face Of Adversity" has stuck with me all my life. You know, when times are tough and times are crazy, chaotic, like now, you can't lose your groove, man.
GONYEA: That's the story of the city of Detroit, too. Boy, talk about a city that's had its bouts with adversity.
WAS: This is true.
GONYEA: The music's always been there...
WAS: That's right.
GONYEA: ...In this town.
WAS: Yeah.
(SOUNDBITE OF JOE HENDERSON'S "MODE FOR JOE")
WAS: So we're pulling up right now at a rather inauspicious looking parking structure, but it's actually the place that was the heart of Detroit music in the 1950s, the Flame Show Bar, great legendary R&B and jazz club.
GONYEA: This is a parking structure - I think this is for, like, the Detroit Medical Center. So, this huge hospital complex is now here, but the Flame Show Bar was right there.
WAS: The Flame Show Bar was right there. Now, here's the thing about it. Billie Holiday played here. Ray Charles, Nina Simone, Cab Calloway, Bo Diddley played here.
GONYEA: All right on this corner.
WAS: All right on this corner. Yeah. No, it was jumping here. And it was a black-and-tan club, which meant that, despite the racial customs of the rest of the city, you went to this club, everyone got along, mixed seamlessly, and it was a beautiful example of music bringing people together.
(SOUNDBITE OF DON WAS AND THE PAN-DETROIT ENSEMBLE'S "INSANE")
GONYEA: Every track on this album, performed by the nine-piece ensemble, reflects some aspect of Detroit's rich musical past.
(SOUNDBITE OF DON WAS AND THE PAN-DETROIT ENSEMBLE'S "INSANE")
WAS: OK, here's Belmont Street. This is where Smokey Robinson grew up, this little duplex. Just thinking about that is pretty wild (laughter).
GONYEA: That's his bedroom upstairs, probably.
WAS: I guess. And then we just drive down the block.
GONYEA: So we count one, two, three, might be one more.
WAS: That's where Diana Ross grew up.
GONYEA: So literally five, six houses down from Smokey Robinson.
WAS: Yeah. He knew her from the time she was 4 years old or something like that. He was 8. And he helped her get into Motown.
GONYEA: This is just a block of modest, to say the least, duplexes, one after another.
WAS: But if you think of all these incredible artists who left this incredible body of work - you had the Four Tops lived in this neighborhood, and the Temptations also were from here.
GONYEA: So Berry Gordy founds Motown. That studio is maybe a mile or so from here. He tapped into all of this. Maybe in retrospect, we say, well, of course, he had all this talent. That's what inspired him to start a record company.
WAS: Right. And I think the thing that made them stand out was that they came up with an original sound that fit the sound of the singers in this neighborhood. Motown records - they were very popular. They were big pop records. But if you listen to them on good speakers, you can tell that they are regional records. It's almost folk music, in a way.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "THIS IS MY COUNTRY")
PAN-DETROIT ENSEMBLE: (Vocalizing).
GONYEA: The song on the record, "this Is My Country" - more than any other piece, it's kind of got that feel like you're really channeling Motown.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "THIS IS MY COUNTRY")
PAN-DETROIT ENSEMBLE: (Singing) Some people think that we don't have the right to say it's my country. Before they give in, they'd rather fuss and fight than say it's my country.
WAS: It's also more relevant now than it was when it was written. In the 1960s, you'd think that the message would be dated. You'd hope it would be dated, but it's more current than ever.
GONYEA: It feels like it's important to you that the record go there.
WAS: It was super important. Yeah. You know, musicians have a tremendous responsibility. At the very least, bring comfort to people in chaotic and confusing times. But if you can also give them some affirmation, let them know they're not alone - a lot of people are struggling in these times, and this song gives a voice to people who are struggling. It just seemed like the most appropriate song we could do in 2025.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "THIS IS MY COUNTRY")
PAN-DETROIT ENSEMBLE: (Singing) That this is my country. (Vocalizing).
GONYEA: Still in the car, we make our final stop outside Motown Records, now a museum. It's a modest white house with blue trim. Above the porch, giant letters spell out Hitsville, USA. Inside are the original offices and those studios where it all came to life.
WAS: You were connected to it because you came from Detroit, and they were representing all of us and all of our hopes and dreams, man, out of this little innocuous-looking house right here because it's just a house.
GONYEA: It's just a house, but...
WAS: It changed the world, man.
GONYEA: We've taken this tour of these locations in Detroit...
WAS: Yeah.
GONYEA: ...That have been meaningful in Detroit's musical history and your history. How do you feel after having kind of done this tour with us?
WAS: Well, I feel a deep satisfaction to actually be part of this continuum. I remember being in my 20s and struggling and hoping to be a part of it. And now to come back here at 73 and to feel, all right, yeah, I'm part of it (laughter) - that's a real nice thing. It worked. But I'm just I'm proud to be a Detroit musician who was able to spread the music around the world. That was all I ever wanted to do.
GONYEA: And last I checked, you've got months worth of shows booked, covered.
WAS: (Laughter) Oh, yeah. No, I'm not done. Yeah. Not done.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "I AIN'T GOT NOTHIN' BUT TIME")
PAN-DETROIT ENSEMBLE: (Singing) Well, 'cause I ain't got nothing but time, baby. I ain't got nothing but time. I ain't got nothing but time, baby. You can call me anytime.
GONYEA: Don, thank you for this tour of these Detroit landmarks.
WAS: Thank you, Don. I had a great time. I'm not going to forget today. This was beautiful.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "I AIN'T GOT NOTHIN' BUT TIME")
PAN-DETROIT ENSEMBLE: (Singing) Grab your dancing shoes. And we'll...
GONYEA: The new album from the Pan-Detroit Ensemble is called "Groove In The Face Of Adversity."
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "I AIN'T GOT NOTHIN' BUT TIME")
PAN-DETROIT ENSEMBLE: (Singing) 'Cause I ain't got nothing but time. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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