Berry Gordy

Berry Gordy, Jr. (born 1929), founded Motown, the fledgling record company of 1959 that grew into the most successful African American enterprise in the United States and was responsible for a new sound that transformed popular music.

Berry Gordy, Jr., was born in 1929 and reared in Detroit. He was not the first businessman in the family; both parents were self-employed, his father as a plastering contractor, his mother as an insurance agent. Gordy dropped out of Northeastern High School in his junior year to pursue a career as a Featherweight boxer. Between 1948 and 1951 he fought 15 Golden Gloves matches, 12 of which he won, but his fighting career was clipped short when he was drafted to serve in the Korean War.

Upon his discharge from the Army in 1953, Berry Gordy returned to Detroit and used his service pay to open the Three-D Record Mart. His love for the jazz of Stan Kenton, Charlie Parker, and Thelonius Monk influenced his inventory more than his customers' requests for "things like Fats Domino," and his business soon failed.

Gordy worked for his father for a short period and then as a chrome trimmer on the assembly line at the Ford Motor Company. The monotony was formidable, and Gordy's way of overcoming it was to write songs in his head, some of which were recorded by local singers. Decca Records bought several of his compositions, including "Reet Petite" and "Lonely Teardrops" (both recorded by Jackie Wilson), and when Gordy compared his royalty checks to what Decca made from the modest hits, he realized that writing the hits wasn't enough. He needed to own them.

At the suggestion of a friend, teenaged singer William "Smokey" Robinson, Gordy borrowed $700 from his father and formed his own company to manufacture and market records. Motown Records was headquartered in a row house on Detroit's West Grand Boulevard, where Gordy slept on the second floor and made records on the first. In time the company expanded, with nine buildings on the same street housing its branches: Jobete, music publishers; Hitsville USA, a recording studio; musical accompanists; International Talent Management Inc; the Motown Artist's Development Department (the embodiment of Gordy's personal interest in his performers, where they were taught to eat, dress, and act like polished professionals); and the Motown Record Corporation, an umbrella for several labels of Motown, including Gordy, Tamla, VIP, and Soul (the last being reserved for the hit song-writing machine of Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, and Eddie Holland).

In 1960 Motown released "Shop Around," written by Smokey Robinson and performed by him and the Miracles. The song sold more than a million copies, and with that gold record, Berry Gordy's company launched the most successful and influential era in the history of popular music.

The Motown Sound was a musical genre that combined classic African American gospel singing with the new rock-and-roll sound that was being shaped by Elvis Presley and the Beatles. In a sense, this reflected the old "R & B" (for rhythm and blues), but it defined a new generation.

Motown produced over 110 number one hit songs and countless top-ten records, including "Please Mr. Postman," "Reach Out, I'll Be There," "My Girl," "Stop! In the Name of Love," "For Once in My Life," "How Sweet It Is To Be Loved by You," "Heard It Through the Grapevine," "My Guy," "Dancing in the Streets," "Your Precious Love," "Where Did Our Love Go," "Baby Love," "I Hear a Symphony," "I Want You Back," and "I'll Be There." Equally impressive is a list of artists that Gordy brought into the spotlight: Diana Ross and the Supremes, the Jackson Five, Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, the Four Tops, the Temptations, Gladys Knight and the Pips, Tammi Terrell and Marvin Gaye, the Marvelettes, Mary Wells, and Martha Reeves and the Vandellas.

By the mid 1970s, some of the Motown artists had begun to resist Gordy's tight control. Defectors began to break up Gordy's "family" of stars. The first to leave was Gladys Knight and the Pips, and in 1975 the Jackson Five announced that they would be moving to Epic Records when their Motown contract expired.

Although Gordy kept Stevie Wonder at Motown by promising him $13 million over seven years in the famous "Wonderdeal" of 1975, Gordy's public statements usually expressed disappointment that his superstars came to value money over loyalty. This sentiment was heard often from Gordy when, in 1981, Diana Ross announced her move to RCA Records.

Ross's move was particularly surprising and bitter for Gordy in view of the fact that in 1972 he moved his headquarters to Los Angeles to begin a career in film, not only for himself, but so he could turn Diana Ross into a movie star. His first production was the 1972 Paramount release "Lady Sings the Blues," the story of Billie Holiday starring Ross. The picture was nominated for five Academy Awards and grossed more than $8.5 million. In 1975 Gordy directed Ross in "Mahogany," the story of a African American fashion model's rise to fame. Although the film did well at the box office, it was not nearly the critical success of "Lady."

Other Gordy films were "The Bingo Long Traveling All Stars and Motor Kings" (1976), "Almost Summer" (1978), "The Wiz" (1978) starring Michael Jackson and Diana Ross, and "The Last Dragon" (1985).

In June 1988 Gordy sold his company to MCA, Inc. He retained control of Jobete, the music publishing operation, and Motown's film division, but sold the record label to the entertainment conglomerate for $61 million. He told the newspaper Daily Variety that he wanted to "ensure the perpetuation of Motown and its heritage."

Esther Edwards, Berry Gordy's sister, was also interested in preserving Motown's heritage. The brick house at 2648 West Grand Boulevard, once modestly and unknowingly named "Hitsville USA," is now the site of the Motown Museum, thanks to the pack-rat tendency of Edwards. She saved hundreds of boxes of memorabilia, including original music scores, posters, and photographs, and until 1988 most of the mementos were stuck to the walls with thumbtacks. In an effort to have the collection professionally preserved, Michael Jackson, whose ties to Berry were still strong in 1990, donated the proceeds of the Detroit stop of his "Bad" tour - $125,000 - to the Motown Museum.

Berry Gordy married Thelma Coleman in 1953. They had two sons, Berry IV and Terry, and one daughter, Hazel, who married Jermaine Jackson in 1973. Gordy's second marriage was to Raynoma Liles in 1959; they had one son, Kerry. Gordy also had a son with Margaret Norton in 1964 whom they named Kennedy, after John F. Kennedy, and who changed his name to Rockwell and recorded for Motown in 1984. In the Los Angeles area Gordy lived in a Bel Air estate and highly valued his privacy, rarely dealing with the press. In late 1994 a plan was announced to make a tribute album to Gordy. Even though Gordy was often times hailed as an entrepreneur, he was first and foremost a song-writer. Singers who have signed on to sing some of Gordy's songs on the tribute album include Diana Ross, the Four Tops, the Temptations and Smokey Robinson.

Further Reading

Numerous books recount the rise of Motown as a major contributor to popular music, all of which feature Berry Gordy as the man who started it all. Two books which tell the story particularly well, with outstanding photographs, are Motown: Hot Wax, City Cool and Solid Gold (1986) by J. Randy Taraborrelli and The Motown Story (1985) by Don Waller. Two more worthy accounts of Gordy and his empire are Motown: This History (1988) by Sharon Davis and Where Did Our Love Go? The Rise and Fall of the Motown Sound (1985) by Nelson George, with a foreword by Quincy Jones. Two of Gordy's family members have written telling tales of the man: Berry, Me and Motown (1990) by Raynoma Gordy Singleton, Gordy's second wife; and Movin' Up: Pop Gordy Tells His Story (1979) by Berry Gordy Senior. Gordy was interviewed by the popular media numerous times over the years, especially in 1983 during the celebration of Motown's 25th anniversary. Newsweek (May 23, 1983) featured an interview and well-told background story.

music executive; entrepreneur

Personal Information

Born November 28, 1929, in Detroit, MI; son of Berry, Sr., and Bertha Gordy; seventh of eight children; married Thelma Coleman, 1953 (divorced, 1960); married second wife, Raynoma Liles (divorced, 1962); married third wife Gracie Eaton (1990); children: (first marriage) Hazel Joy, Berry IV, Terry; (second marriage) Kerry (son); Kennedy (son; by Margaret Norton).
Military/Wartime Service: U.S. Army, c. 1951-1953.

Career

Worked on an automobile assembly line and as a prizefighter c. early 1950s. Owned record store c. 1955. Co-wrote songs, 1957--, including "Reet Petite," 1957, "To Be Loved," and "Lonely Teardrops," both 1958, "That's Why," and "I'll Be Satisfied," both 1959, "Money (That's What I Want)," 1960, "I Want You Back," "ABC," and "The Love You Save"; independent producer, 1958, and music publisher, 1958--. Founded Motown Record Corporation (later Motown Industries) in 1959; resigned as president of Motown Record Corporation, founded and assumed leadership of Motown Industries, 1973; sold Motown Records to MCA Inc. for $61 million, 1988; director of the Gordy Company (comprised of the Motown Industries publishing division--Jobete Music Co. and Stone Mountain Music--and film and television divisions), 1988--. Producer and co-editor of feature films, including Mahogany, 1975, and The Last Dragon, 1985.

Life's Work

On the night of January 20, 1988, Berry Gordy, Jr., was inducted into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame. Also entering the Hall of Fame that night were the Supremes, Bob Dylan, the Beatles, the Beach Boys, the Drifters, folk singer Woody Guthrie, blues and folk singer Leadbelly, and jazz guitarist Les Paul. Gordy was honored in the non-performing category for founding and developing Motown Industries. Gordy originally formed the company in 1959 as the Motown Record Corporation. During the 1960s and early 1970s, it grew from a Detroit-based record label specializing in rhythm and blues hits to a full-fledged entertainment corporation based in Los Angeles and active in television and motion pictures as well as records. In 1973 the magazine Black Enterprise recognized Motown Industries as the number-one black owned or managed business. In 1988 Berry Gordy sold Motown Records to entertainment giant MCA Inc. for $61 million. The sale did not include Motown's publishing division (Jobete Music Co. and Stone Mountain Music), nor its film and television divisions. Gordy would continue to run these operations as the Gordy Co.

It was Berry Gordy, Jr., the seventh of eight children of Berry, Sr., (known affectionately as "Pops") and Bertha Gordy, who began the Motown Record Corporation in 1959, but all of the family members were called on to make their own special contributions. It should be noted that references to Berry Gordy often do not include the "Jr." To avoid confusion, his father is usually referred to as Berry Gordy, Sr., or by his nickname, "Pops."

Gordy fostered a family feeling at Motown in the early days. Many of the performers were in their teens or early twenties, and Berry himself had just turned 30. As performers were signed to the company, they became new members of the "Motown family," and like all families, there were incidents of conflict along the way. He had to make some unpopular decisions, but throughout the years, the whole enterprise was kept on course by Berry Gordy, or "Mr. Chairman" as he was referred to at Motown Industries.

Even though none of the family members of Berry Gordy's generation made their names as entertainers or performers, the Gordy family is very much a musical family, in much the same way the Jacksons are. Their musicality made itself known, not in performance, but in a continuing enterprise that has provided the world with numerous performers and countless popular songs. The following excerpt from a speech by the Honorable John Conyers, Jr., of Michigan, in the House of Representatives on April 19, 1971, reflects the familial nature of the Motown enterprise.

"Mr. Speaker, 10 years ago a Detroit assemblyline worker, who had formerly been a prizefighter, saved $800 and started his own business. Like so many before him, he had ideas of what he could do and wanted to try them in a business of his own. His name was Berry Gordy, Jr., and the company he created was the Motown Record Corp.

"Starting from their own home, the Gordy family has built Motown into the largest independent record firm in the world, and the only major black company in the entertainment business.

"Berry Gordy realizes that even in America factory workers cannot all become successful businessmen. Therefore, he believes that it is essential that each and every young person receive the maximum education possible. He knows that education is the passport to the future and that tomorrow belongs to the people who prepare for it today.

"One of the many ways Gordy puts his belief to work is through the Sterling Ball, a benefit which directly provides assistance in the form of scholarships to inner city high school graduates who wish to continue their education but are financially unable to do so. This annual charitable event has, to date, helped scores of young men and women, black and white, reach an otherwise impossible goal--a college education.

"The benefit was originally conceived by Mr. Gordy and his sister, Mrs. Esther Edwards, vice president in the corporation, as a continuing and meaningful memorial to their late sister, Mrs. Loucye Gordy Wakefield, who had been the first vice president of Motown and a personal inspiration to all who knew her."

The Gordy family supported Berry Gordy's efforts to establish his own business from the very start, with a loan of $800 from the family loan fund, known as the Ber-Berry Coop, in January 1959. Once the company was launched, various family members played key roles in its continuing operations. At the time of her death in 1965, Loucye Gordy Wakefield was vice-president of Motown and a director of Jobete, Motown's publishing arm. She was the company's bookkeeper, and she is credited with developing a system for collecting money from distributors that contributed to Motown's financial well-being. The Sterling Ball and scholarship fund in her name was one of many efforts Motown made throughout the years to support the education of disadvantaged youth.

Esther Gordy Edwards, Berry's oldest sister, acted as a chaperon for many of the girl groups and singers. Together with Barney Ales, she set up the company's first national distribution system. She later became senior vice-president of Motown. After the company moved to Los Angeles, she remained in Detroit and helped establish the Motown Museum at the site of the company's original headquarters on West Grand Boulevard.

Two other sisters, Anna and Gwen, preceded Berry in establishing a record company. Anna Records, active from 1958 to 1961, was operated from the Gordy residence by Anna and Gwen together with Billy Davis (a.k.a. Roquel Davis and Tyran Carlo). Gwen Gordy and Billy Davis were songwriters who often shared credits with Berry Gordy, and Berry produced some of Anna's releases. Gwen would later marry producer and singer Harvey Fuqua, who introduced Marvin Gaye to Berry Gordy. Anna Gordy would subsequently marry Marvin Gaye. After Anna Records ceased operations, Gwen and Harvey Fuqua established their own labels, Harvey and Tri-Phi. Many of the artists and producers associated with these smaller labels would eventually work for Motown, including the Spinners, Jr. Walker and the All-Stars, and the late David Ruffin, who sang with the Temptations.

While Berry's brothers--Fuller, Robert, and George--also participated in the Motown enterprise, it was his sisters who provided most of the help in the company's operations. Berry believed in women as executives. His second wife, Raynoma, was also an early vice-president, as was Janie Bradford, who together with Berry co-wrote the 1960 hit, "Money (That's What I Want)." Later, Motown Productions (film, television, and video) would be ably guided by Suzanne De Passe. As Smokey Robinson writes in his autobiography, "Berry was big on letting people prove themselves, based on skill, not sex or color." One obstacle that Berry Gordy faced and overcame, though, was the fact that there had never been a big-time record company owner who was black.

The Gordy family moved to Detroit from Sandersville, Georgia, in 1922, seven years before Berry was born. With nothing more than a background in farming, "Pops" soon owned his own plastering and carpentry service as well as a general store and printing business. Bertha Gordy would study business after her eight children were grown, becoming one of the founders of the Friendship Mutual Life Insurance Company. All of the children gained valuable experience in the family businesses.

When the 1950s began, Berry Gordy was just 20 years old. In 1951 he was drafted into the army, where he received his high school equivalency diploma. In 1953, no longer in the service, he married Thelma Coleman, and in 1954 their daughter, Hazel Joy, was born. The couple would have two more children, Berry IV and Terry, before being divorced in 1959.

Berry worked on the auto assembly line in Detroit and started a jazz-oriented record store, the 3-D Record Mart, around 1955, but it soon folded. Like Motown, it was financed largely by Berry's family. Berry was writing songs constantly, and he always submitted songs to magazines and contests. His big break came in 1957, when Jackie Wilson recorded "Reet Petite," a song written by Berry, his sister Gwen, and Tyran Carlo (pseudonym for Billy Davis). Jackie Wilson had just signed with the Brunswick label in 1956, and "Reet Petite" turned out to be his first hit. Gordy's team wrote four more hits for Jackie over the next two years: "To Be Loved" and "Lonely Teardrops" in 1958, and "That's Why" and "I'll Be Satisfied" in 1959.

In 1957 Berry "discovered" Smokey Robinson. Berry had just written "Lonely Teardrops" when Smokey and his group, known then as the Matadors, auditioned for Jackie Wilson's people. Present at the audition were Nat Tarnapol, Jackie's manager and owner of Brunswick Records, and Alonzo Tucker, described as "Jackie's music man." Berry was also present, although he made it clear to Smokey that he didn't work for Jackie Wilson. According to Smokey's account, Alonzo Tucker rejected the Matadors for being too much like the Platters, another popular group of the time. Berry, however, appeared to be very interested in the group, apparently because of the original material they sang. Berry introduced himself as a songwriter, and Smokey noted that Berry looked young for his age: "This boyish face hid the fact that he was 11 years older than me." Smokey also credits Berry with having more songwriting savvy at that time. Berry expressed his views on songwriting after complimenting Smokey on his rhymes by saying, "Songs are more than rhymes. Songs need a beginning, middle, and end. Like a story."

It was to be the beginning of a long and beautiful friendship. Berry Gordy is often credited with having a discerning eye for talent, and his "discovery" of Smokey Robinson is an excellent example. In the early days of Motown, Smokey was the only artist who was also allowed to produce his own material. Smokey would go on the become one of the greatest popular singer-songwriters of our time. In recognition of his importance to the company, Smokey was named a vice-president in 1963. He married Claudette Rogers, the female member of the Miracles, in 1959; and the couple named their son Berry, after Berry Gordy, and their daughter Tamla, after the label on which all of Smokey Robinson's records appear.

By 1958 Berry was active as an independent producer and forming the nucleus of what would become Motown Records. He would record and lease recordings of the Miracles, Marv Johnson, and Eddie Holland to nationally distributed labels like Chess, United Artists, and End. The same year, he established Jobete to publish his songs. Jobete was named after Berry's first three children, Hazel Joy, Berry IV, and Terry.

Berry was clearly moving toward becoming a full-fledged entrepreneur. He was motivated by a number of factors. Certainly, his family background contributed to and supported his ambition. His friend, Smokey Robinson, urged him to take control of his operations, especially after the pitifully small royalty checks he was receiving from the national labels. As a songwriter, he had to split his royalties with the publisher, so he formed his own publishing company, which was valued at nearly $100 million 30 years later. Finally, it was reported that he didn't particularly like the way his songs were being produced at Brunswick. To move forward, he needed to take control and form his own corporation.

According to Smokey Robinson, Motown began with six employees, people who had been working together in 1958 from an apartment on Gladstone in Detroit. In addition to Berry and Smokey, they were Raynoma Liles (who would soon become Berry's second wife) Janie Bradford, Robert Bateman, and Brian Holland. Brian Holland and Robert Bateman were a songwriting-production team that evolved a few years later into the famed Holland-Dozier-Holland team when Brian's brother Eddie returned to Motown after his contract with United Artists expired.

In 1959 Motown released its first single on the newly formed Tamla label. The name "Tamla" is a variation on "Tammy," a popular song of the period sung by Debbie Reynolds. The Motown label was activated in 1960, and the company's third major label, Gordy, debuted in April 1962. While the Motown sound had its roots in urban rhythm and blues, it was Berry Gordy's plan to appeal to young people of all races with a kind of music that would keep some of its roots while adding in other ingredients. Motown's early advertising slogan, "The Sound of Young America," reflects Gordy's desire for Motown's music to achieve widespread popularity. The company's first number one pop hit came in 1961 with the Marvelettes' "Please Mr. Postman."

As late as 1962, Motown's releases were still appealing primarily to black audiences, as evidenced by their success on the rhythm and blues charts. In 1962, the company placed eleven singles on the R&B top 10. The company's strategy, as mapped out by Berry Gordy, was to "cross over" to the white record-buying public. In fact, four singles managed to reach the top 10 on the pop charts in 1962. The next year, Motown placed six more singles on the pop Top 10, with Stevie Wonder's "Fingertips, Part 2" becoming their second number-one pop hit.

It was 1964 that proved to be a watershed year for Motown. Four of the company's five top 10 pop hits went to number one: "My Guy," "Where Did Our Love Go," "Baby Love," and "Come See About Me." The other song, "Dancing in the Street," went to number two. Most importantly, Motown had hit on a winning combination with the Supremes singing songs written and produced by Holland-Dozier-Holland. The next year, five Motown releases reached number one. Reflecting the company's success, Gordy purchased the Gordy Manor in Detroit.

Gordy's strategy of looking for hits was paying off. While Gordy himself was a talented songwriter and hands-on producer, those strengths were not enough to make Motown successful. Rather, it was Berry's eye for talent and the ability to surround himself with talented people that made Motown a force to be reckoned with. Motown's greatest songwriters and producers--Smokey Robinson, Eddie Holland, Lamont Dozier, Brian Holland--were complemented by a stable of other talented writers and producers who were competing within the Motown system to produce hits. Often likened to an assembly line, Motown was indeed a music factory that was able to churn out hit after hit.

As Motown's popularity in the mid-1960s insured the company's success, Berry began to move the company forward by pursuing other entertainment opportunities. As early as 1966, Motown established a West Coast office for possible expansion into movie production, to secure film roles for Motown stars, and to encourage the use of Motown songs in film soundtracks. Motown also announced its interest in becoming a "Broadway angel" (i.e., a financial backer for Broadway plays). By 1968 Berry had purchased a home in Los Angeles and moved there. During the next few years, Motown established additional offices on the West Coast, and the move from Detroit was finalized in 1972. For some, it was another unpopular decision; for others, it opened up new opportunities. By that time Berry had purchased comic Red Skelton's Bel Air estate and was living there.

The end of the 1960s brought a talented new group to Motown, the Jackson 5. "Discovered" by Bobby Taylor of Bobby Taylor and the Vancouvers and introduced to the public by Diana Ross, the Jackson 5 hailed from Gary, Indiana. The group, and especially Michael Jackson, enjoyed close ties to Berry Gordy, who often let the entire Jackson family stay at his home in California. Berry headed a songwriting and production team within Motown called the Corporation that wrote and produced several chart-topping hits for the Jackson 5, including "I Want You Back," "ABC," and "The Love You Save." Michael is quoted in The Motown Album as saying, "Berry was my teacher and a great one. He told me exactly what he wanted and how he wanted me to help him get it. Berry insisted on perfection and attention to detail. I'll never forget his persistence. This was his genius."

In 1973 Berry Gordy resigned as President of Motown Records to assume leadership of the new Motown entertainment conglomerate, Motown Industries, which included record, motion picture, television, and publishing divisions. His primary star was Diana Ross, whom Gordy began grooming for television and motion pictures as early as 1968, when she was featured with the Supremes and the Temptations in Motown's first television special, T.C.B.: Taking Care of Business. A second special with the Supremes and Temptations followed in 1969, and she starred in her first solo television special, Diana, in 1971. It has been reported that Berry Gordy and Diana Ross enjoyed a special personal relationship during the time prior to Ross's 1971 marriage to Robert Silberstein.

Gordy was involved as more than a producer in Ross's first film role as singer Billie Holiday in the 1972 Paramount release, Lady Sings the Blues. Motown invested heavily in the film, and Gordy reportedly spent a great deal of time personally editing the film. It was a promising start for Motown's film ventures, with Ross receiving an Academy Award nomination for her performance. Her second film, Mahogany (1975), marked Gordy's debut as a film director. It was followed by The Wiz, a 1978 Universal/Motown release of a takeoff on The Wizard of Oz that received bad reviews and did poorly at the box office. Motown would not enter the motion picture business again until the 1985 film, Berry Gordy's The Last Dragon, an entertaining kung-fu musical that did respectably at the box office.

Motown scored well in television with the NBC special, Motown 25--Yesterday, Today, and Forever, that aired in 1983. Edited down to a two-hour television special from a four-hour live performance, the show was a tribute to the genius of Berry Gordy. Among the highlights were reunions of such groups as the Jackson 5, the Miracles, and the Supremes, and solo performances by Michael Jackson and Marvin Gaye (his last national television performance). The show garnered nine Emmy nominations for Motown; but perhaps more significantly, it was the most watched variety special in the history of television.

Motown followed their anniversary special with the 1985 show, Motown Returns to the Apollo. The show coincided with the reopening of the newly restored Apollo Theater in Harlem, marking its fiftieth anniversary. The special won an Emmy for the best variety, music, or comedy program. Following the company's formula for success that Berry Gordy implemented as far back as 1960--to reach as wide an audience as possible--Motown has made a number of its productions available for the home video market, including specials on Marvin Gaye and the Temptations.

Although Gordy was less successful in attracting stellar talent in the 1990s, he did score well with a few acts, including Johnny Gill, Boyz 11 Men and Queen Latifah. In 1997, Gordy sold half of his interest in Jobete music publishing to EMI.

Throughout his career Gordy has received numerous awards, including the Martin Luther King, Jr. Leadership Award (1969), the Trustee Award (1991), the Star on Hollywood Walk of Fame award for Excellence in Music (1996), and the American Legend Award (1998). He has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and also into the AFIM Hall of Fame. In 1994, Warner books released Gordy's autobiography, To Be Loved. In 2001, Gordy reportedly established a relief fund for former Motown artists, musicians and writers who were in need of financial assistance.

Many books have been written by and about Motown entertainers who did not end up impoverished--stars such as Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson, the Temptations, the Supremes, and Diana Ross. These books tell the story of Motown's evolution from several different perspectives. Through records, movies, videos, and books, the heritage of Motown will be preserved and appreciated by future generations of people who remain young at heart.

Further Reading

Books

• Benjaminson, Peter, The Story of Motown, Grove Press, 1979.
• Bianco, David, Heat Wave: The Motown Fact Book, Pierian Press, 1988.
• Fong-Torres, Ben, The Motown Album, St. Martin's, 1990.
• Hirshey, Gerri, Nowhere To Run, Times Books, 1984.
• Indie Awards--2001 Hall of Fame,AFIM, September 13, 2001. Available from http://www.afim.org/indies/.
• Robinson, Smokey, with David Ritz, Smokey: Inside My Life, McGraw-Hill, 1989.
• Singleton, Raynoma Gordy, with Bryan Brown and Mim Eichler, Berry, Me, and Motown: The Untold Story, Contemporary Books, 1990.
• Taraborrelli, J. Randy, Motown: Hot Wax, City Cool & Solid Gold, Doubleday, 1986.
• Waller, Don, The Motown Story, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1985.

Periodicals

• Detroit Free Press, May 15, 1983.
• Rolling Stone, August 23, 1990.

— David Bianco

• Born: November 28, 1929, Detroit, MI
• Active: '50s, '60s, '70s, '80s, '90s
• Genres: Rhythm & Blues
• Instrument: Producer
• Representative Albums: "The Music, the Magic, the Memories of Motown," "To Be Loved"

Biography

The founder of Motown Records, Berry Gordy did what many people of his time believed could never be done: he brought Black music into millions of White Americans' homes, helping both Black artists and their culture gain acceptance, and opening the door for a multitude of sucessful Black record executives and producers. Though the music of Motown was not as raw or edgy as other R&B labels, such as Chess and Stax, the songs that were written, produced, and released from "Hitsville USA" comprise some of the most enduring, sophisticated and popular music of our time. Influential artists such as Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross, Michael Jackson and Smokey Robinson were all discovered and their talents fostered by Berry Gordy. Motown groups like the Four Tops, the Supremes and the Temptations are regarded as some of the best vocal groups ever to record. Even now, years after Gordy sold the company, the reputation of excellence he forged at Motown continues to stay with the famous label.

Berry Gordy was born in Detroit in 1929, during the early years of the Depression. The seventh child of eight, his father was an enterprising man who ran a grocery store, a plastering business, and managed apartment buildings, among other things. A high school dropout, Gordy had two loves in his teens: music and boxing. Dividing his time between writing songs on the piano and training at a local Detroit gym under champion trainer Eddie Futch, Gordy fostered both talents. A fairly successful lightweight, at 19 Gordy had an epiphany concerning his future. Realizing the tough life of a boxer compared to the classier life of a musician, he devoted all his energies to songwriting.

After a stint in the army temporarily sidelined his musical ambitions, Gordy returned to Detroit and opened a record shop, his first real foray into the music business. The shop failed, but it gave Gordy an even deeper drive to be a part of the music industry. Supporting his wife and three children by working in a Detroit auto plant and songwriting at night, Gordy's compositions were soon finding their way into the hands of local artists. Through his sister Gwen, Gordy met a local manager named Al Green; when one of his new acts, Jackie Wilson, needed a song, Berry was the man who provided it. In late 1956, "Reet Petite," co-written by Gordy, sister Gwen and friend Roquel Davis, became a hit for Wilson. Several more hits followed, including "Lonely Teardrops," "To Be Loved," and "I'll Be Satisfied," all written by Gordy.

The trio's hits for Wilson and Etta James ("All I Could Do Was Cry") gave them the reputation of movers and shakers in the business, and soon aspiring artists, songwriters and producers were coming to them in hopes of catching a break. When a dispute over royalties on a Jackie Wilson hit broke out between Gordy and Green, Gordy vowed not to give another song to Wilson. The resulting split left Gordy on his own.

Setting up a publishing company, Gordy met a young singer named William "Smokey" Robinson, who fronted a group called the Miracles. Gordy became their manager and together they co-wrote the hit "Got a Job." Two more hits and a distribution deal with United Artists followed, and a long creative partnership and friendship began between the two men. Bolstered by his recent success and aided by his family and friends, Gordy bought a house at 2648 West Grand Boulevard in Detroit, named it "Hitsville USA," and started his own label, Tamla. The house doubled as a recording studio, and with talented young Detroit musicians such as Smokey Robinson, Barrett Strong and Eddie Holland hanging around, it wasn't long before Tamla was turning out hits. In 1960, the first song wholly conceived and produced at Hitsville, the Gordy composition "Money (That's What I Want)," became a hit. Not long afterwards, the Miracles hit with "Way Over There" and "Shop Around," Motown and Berry Gordy were national.

With the success of the Miracles, endless numbers of young, talented artists from the area began to show up at Hitsville. Soon Marvin Gaye, the Temptations, the Supremes, the Four Tops and Stevie Wonder were all recording for Tamla and its parent label Motown. No fool to the ways of business, Gordy set up an environment of stiff competition at the label (sometimes directly, sometimes indirectly) where artists and producers were constantly trying to outdo one another and were, in the process, outdoing their own last releases. The strategy worked, and the company had hit after hit during the early '60s with songs, like "My Guy," that broke the color barrier, reaching not just the Black radio stations, but going pop and succeeding among White audiences as well.

Over the next several years, Gordy drew on his automobile-production roots to create an assembly line of hits and hitmakers at Motown. The label's new motto was "the sound of young America," and writers like Holland/Dozier/Holland, Harvey Fuqua and Norman Whitfield churned out million-seller after million-seller for the Supremes, Martha and the Vandellas and the Temptations. Gordy, realizing that great presentation is key, also hired Maxine Powell to run the Motown Finishing School, a glorified charm school that made Motown artists look, talk and act like the stars they were becoming.

Throughout the '60s Motown was riding high, and Gordy emerged as one of the young Black elite in show business. Yet the family atmosphere for which Motown was known was beginning to crack through the years of forced competition and favoritism. It was no secret that Gordy favored Smokey Robinson and Diana Ross over many of the other artists, and in 1968, the production team of Holland/Dozier/Holland left Motown, filing a $20 million lawsuit against Gordy. In 1970, Diana Ross and the Supremes, a virtual symbol of Motown's success, broke up, ending an era.

Not long after, Gordy pulled up stakes in Detroit and relocated the multi-million dollar operation to L.A. There he concentrated on Ross' acting career, producing the Ross vehicle Lady Sings the Blues. Though the company had recently signed the Jackson 5, and Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder were entering the most successful eras of their career, in L.A. Gordy's stranglehold on the magic of Motown lessened. Ross' solo career was not as triumphant as he had hoped, and Gordy had lost much of the tight-knit family atmosphere that originally made Motown so successful. By the mid-'80s, Motown was losing millions, and in 1988 Gordy did what he never thought he could: he sold Motown to MCA for $61 million.

The sale of Motown, though sad for many, was concrete proof of Gordy's success. Taking an $800 loan from his family, he turned Motown into the most successful Black-owned label in history. In the process, Gordy also brought the world countless memorable songs not only through his vision for spotting talent in others, but also his own talent as a songwriter and producer. ~ Steve Kurutz, All Music Guide

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