Miami's Motown

Record cover for Helene Smith of Deep City Records

 Before the Miami Sound Machine and Expose, there was another sound that defined the South Florida music scene. It was the Caribbean-flavored, marching-band inspired soul music of Deep City Records, Florida's first black owned record label in the 1960s.  The enterprise helped launched the careers of singers Betty Wright and Helene Smith.

South Florida public broadcaster WLRN TV along with the Knight Foundation have produced a documentary that introduces viewers to this little unknown Miami record company and its artists. Here's my story on the film called "Deep City: The Birth of the Miami Sound."