3 Little Stevie

CHAPTER 3 Little Stevie Stevie walked into Motown Records on a September day in 1961 with his mother, John Glover, and Ronnie White. The sign above the door said "Hitsville, U.S.A." The truth was that Motown didn't have very many hits (top-selling

1961年9月的一天，史蒂夫与母亲约翰·格洛弗和罗尼·怀特走进摩城唱片公司。 门上的牌子上写着“美国金曲城”。 事实上，摩城并没有很多热门歌曲（畅销歌曲）

records) yet. It was a young company trying to grow. When the man who had founded Motown, Berry Gordy, heard Stevie audition, he believed Stevie could help Motown grow. The energy Stevie had, the feeling he brought to his songs, and the way people responded to him all convinced Mr. Gordy that Stevie could be a star.

记录)。这是一家正在努力成长的年轻公司。 当摩城的创始人贝瑞·戈迪（Berry Gordy）听到史蒂夫试镜时，他相信史蒂夫可以帮助摩城成长。 史蒂夫的活力，他给歌曲带来的感觉，以及人们对他的反应，都让戈迪相信，史蒂夫可以成为一名明星。

Motown Record Corporation Berry Gordy opened the Motown recording studio in his hometown of Detroit in 1959. Motown's name is a shortened version of the nickname for Detroit: "Motor City," or "Motor Town." It was called that because for many decades almost all American cars were made there. Motown is important in the history of American music because it brought its unique sound to both black and white audiences at a time before any other company had bridged that gap. That new sound was a version of rhythm and blues that included elements of blues, gospel, jazz, country, and pop music. Motown produced seventy-nine top-ten records during the 1960s, when it became one of the most successful black-owned businesses in the United States. In 1972 the company left Detroit and relocated to the Capitol Records building in Los Angeles.

1959年，贝瑞·戈迪在他的家乡底特律开设了摩城唱片公司。 摩城的名字是底特律昵称的缩写：“汽车城”或“汽车城”。 之所以叫这个名字，是因为几十年来几乎所有的美国汽车都是在那里制造的。 摩城在美国音乐史上占有重要的地位，因为它在任何一家公司都没有跨越这一鸿沟之前，就把自己独特的声音带给了黑人和白人听众。 这种新声音是一种包含蓝调、福音、爵士、乡村和流行音乐元素的节奏布鲁斯音乐。 摩城在20世纪60年代制作了79张排名前十的唱片，成为美国最成功的黑人企业之一。 1972年，公司离开底特律，搬迁到洛杉矶的国会唱片公司。

Mr. Gordy didn't really like to sign performers who were under eighteen years old because there were strict laws about the hours they could work, the number of days they could be away from home on tour, and the amount of time they must spend on their schooling. But he knew Stevie's talent was worth making an exception. He decided that very day in the studio he wanted to offer Stevie a contract with Motown Records. It took a few days to work out the details, but Stevie returned to Motown with Lula to sign his contract. He was officially a professional musician!

戈迪不太喜欢签18岁以下的表演者，因为有严格的法律规定他们可以工作的时间，他们可以离家巡演的天数，以及他们必须花在学业上的时间。 但他知道史蒂夫的才华值得破例一次。 就在那天，他在录音室里决定向史蒂夫提供一份与摩城唱片公司的合同。 花了几天的时间来解决细节问题，但史蒂夫回到摩城与卢拉签署了他的合同。 他正式成为了一名职业音乐家！

Soon Stevie was rushing over to the recording studio at Motown every day after school. He spent most of his time there—more time than he did at home. Lula did not mind. She saw that the people at Motown took good care of Stevie.

很快，史蒂夫每天放学后都冲到摩城的录音室。 他大部分时间都在那里度过——比在家的时间还多。 卢拉并不介意。她看到摩城的人对史蒂夫照顾得很好。