Motown is a genre of music that originated in Detroit, Michigan in the 1960s. It is a blend of popular (pop) and soul music, with elements of R&B, blues, jazz, gospel, and rock incorporated into it. Motown played an important role in the racial integration of popular music as an African American-owned label that achieved crossover success. The Motown sound was soulful, sultry, uplifting, and relatable to the people of its time. The style created by the Motown musicians was a major influence on several non-Motown artists of the mid-1960s, such as Dusty Springfield and the Foundations. The Motown sound typically used tambourines to accent the backbeat, prominent and often melodic electric bass-guitar lines, distinctive melodic and chord structures, and a call-and-response singing style that originated in gospel music. Motown sought to be and became the “Sound of Young America” . Motown is an often misunderstood genre, but it has its roots in a special time for music as a whole.