Jackie Wilson’s Detroit Home

Before there was Motown, there was Jackie Wilson — and arguably no Motown without him. “Mr. Excitement” was the electrifying tenor whose acrobatic stage moves and soaring voice directly shaped Elvis, James Brown, and a young Michael Jackson.

Here’s the Detroit-history kicker: his 1958 smash “Lonely Teardrops” was co-written by a then-unknown songwriter named Berry Gordy — and the royalties (plus Gordy’s frustration over getting paid) helped convince him to start his own label. So in a real sense, the road to Hitsville runs straight through Jackie Wilson. He lived here on LaSalle Boulevard, a stretch that was something of a Black-music row — Aretha Franklin’s childhood home and Gladys Knight’s place were just up the street. Stand out front and you’re standing at one of the sparks that lit the whole Motown fire.