Maxine Powell, who died last October, taught Personal Development at the Motown record label.

Michael Dinwiddie, of New York University, spoke to Tom about the role played by Powell during her tenure with Motown.

“She sat them down in a circle and told them ‘I’m going to teach you how to perform in front of kings and queens and the President in the White House’,” he explained.

Essentially, the service was designed to groom Motown’s rising talent to be stars, not just performers.

“She was a strict disciplinarian and she had classes every day, Monday through Friday...if you weren’t out on tour, you had class with Maxine…”

Dinwiddie went on to explain that Powell felt it was imperative for the artists to know how to handle themselves in front of an audience, how to handle interviews. She even told Marvin Gaye that he needed to start opening his eyes so that he would connect more with the audience.

For the full interview, listen to the podcast above.