Motown played an important role in the racial integration of popular music as an African American-owned label that achieved crossover success. During the 1960s, Motown achieved 79 records in the top-ten of the Billboard Hot 100 between 1960 and 1969.
The Motown piano is an 1877 Steinway & Sons Model D grand piano, used by many musicians, including the Funk Brothers studio band, at the Hitsville U.S.A. Studio B from 1967 to 1972. On July 24, 2011, Paul McCartney was in Detroit for a performance at Comerica Park, as part of his On the Run Tour, and visited the Motown Museum for a private guided tour. While touring Studio A, he asked to play the Motown piano, only to find that it was not in playing condition. It was restored in 2012, with the support of McCartney, and was played by McCartney and Berry Gordy during a charity event in September 2012.
The piano was inherited by Motown after it bought Golden World Records in 1967. The Golden World studio then became Hitsville U.S.A. Studio B.