Berry Gordy III, known professionally as Berry Gordy Jr., is an American record executive, record producer, songwriter, film producer and television producer. He is best known as the founder of the Motown record label and its subsidiaries, which was the highest-earning African-American business for decades.
Biography[]
As a songwriter, he composed or co-composed a number of hits including Lonely Teardrops and That's Why , Shop Around , and Do You Love Me , all of which topped the US R&B charts, as well as the international hit Reet Petite for Jackie Wilson. As a record producer, he launched the Miracles and signed early acts like The Supremes, Marvin Gaye, The Temptations, The Four Tops, Gladys Knight & the Pips and Stevie Wonder.
With a tenacity that reflected his training as a boxer, a drive to succeed that matched the lessons he learned from his parents, and an attention to detail that is evident in the quality and uniqueness of every element of the Motown experience, Berry built the Empire on West Grand Boulevard, known as Motown Records.
Using $800 his family had loaned him, Gordy formed Tamla Records on January 12, 1959. When Gordy set up shop in a house on Detroit's West Grand Boulevard, he chose the aspirational name Hitsville for his headquarters. One of Tamla's labels was called Motown, the name that came to embody the company; the Motown Record Corporation was incorporated in April 1960. A year that produced Barrett Strong’s biggest hit, “Money (That’s What I Want),” for which Berry shared writing credits with Janie Bradford. The Miracles’ “Shop Around,” written by lead singer Smokey Robinson, was also released that year and reached #1 and #2, respectively, on the R&B national and Billboard pop charts.
When Berry purchased the two-family flat at 2648 West Grand Boulevard in Detroit, he moved his wife and young son into the upper unit and began to build his record company on the first floor. His energy and drive to reach his goal infected the growing Motown Records family as hit after hit emerged from Studio A, housed in a converted photography studio at the back of the house he soon dubbed Hitsville U.S.A.
Gordy directed his artists to create what became known as the Motown sound, which featured repeating choruses and a mix of gospel, R&B and pop that combined to form memorable melodies. With regular quality control meetings, Gordy made sure that Motown's releases were ready to impress listeners. He also arranged for his performers to learn how to best present themselves both on and off the stage.
Gordy's gift for identifying and bringing together musical talent, along with the careful management of his artists' public image, made Motown a major national and then international success. Over the next decade, he signed such artists as the Supremes, Marvin Gaye, the Temptations, Jimmy Ruffin, the Contours, the Four Tops, Gladys Knight & the Pips, the Commodores, the Velvelettes, Martha and the Vandellas, Stevie Wonder and the Jackson 5. Though he also signed various white acts on the label (Rare Earth, Rustix, via the Rare Earth label), he largely promoted African American artists but carefully controlled their public image, dress, manners and choreography for across-the-board appeal.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- He wrote the introduction to Michael Jackson's autobiography "Moonwalk".
- He is the father in law of Jermaine Jackson.
References[]
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berry_Gordy
- https://www.motownmuseum.org/legacy/berry-gordy/
- https://www.biography.com/musician/berry-gordy-jr
- https://www.udiscovermusic.com/stories/berry-gordy-visionary-made-motown/
- https://www.smoothradio.com/news/music/berry-gordy-facts-age-spouse-children-wealth/
- https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0330700/