Motown's 1960s sound was built by women whose names rarely reached the public. Janie Bradford, one of the five founding members who joined in 1958, was the label's first secretary and first female songwriter, and she co-wrote Money (That's What I Want) with Berry Gordy. Recorded by Barrett Strong and released in 1959, it became Motown's first hit on the R&B chart and the Billboard Hot 100. Raynoma Gordy Singleton handled the paperwork that incorporated the company, found the house at 2648 West Grand Boulevard that became its headquarters, and became its first female arranger and producer. Producer credits signalled legitimacy, yet women were mostly kept in administrative roles, so much of their work went uncredited.

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.