Berry Gordy, Jr.
erry
Gordy was born November 28, 1929 in Detroit, Michigan, the seventh of eight
children. He dropped out of high school in the eleventh grade in exchange for a
boxing career, which lasted until he served in the United States Army for the
Korean War. After his returned from the war, he married in 1953 but it was in
1955 where he began his musical interests writing songs and later opened a jazz
record store. Although his record store was unsuccessful, he later met a man
who would put him in touch with a singer by the name of Jackie Wilson. That encounter
gave him the opportunity to write Wilson’s first major hit, and several other songs
in a two year period. Gordy would soon turn his songwriting profits into
producing. He quickly began building his resume promoting unknown artists and even
The Miracles (with Smokey Robinson).
In
1959 he started his own label which later merged into Motown Records. With
several chart topping songs Gordy’s efforts through Motown propelled many
musical talents such as Marvin Gay, Stevie Wonder, The Supremes, Smokey
Robinson, The Jackson Five and a plethora of others. Not only did he work the
public image of his artists, he also groomed writers and producers, with his steadfast
style he later dubbed, “The Sound of Young America, The Motown Sound.” He later
started producing several movies; The Wiz, Mahogany, The Last Dragon and
others.
In1988, Gordy was
inducted into the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall Of Fame but on June 28, 1988 it’s reported
that he sold his interests in Motown for $61Million. Movies such as ‘Dreamgirls’, ‘The Temptations’, ‘The Five
Heartbeats and ‘Sparkle’, all display a behind-the-scene portrayal of black
owned music companies and their artists (a Motown-esque reflection comes to
mind).
In 2001, Gordy established a relief fund to assist former artists from the 1960's and 70's, in the name of his late sister, Gwendolyn B. Gordy. He is a great business man who transformed a music interest into
a well-oiled music machine. We acknowledge Mr. Berry Gordy for all his purposeful
efforts and making an imprint on African American’s historical map. SALUTE!
