As a child Gordy was interested in music, and his song "Berry's Boogie" won a talent contest. However, he did not receive much formal training in music—only a little on the piano and merely a week on the clarinet. Gordy dropped out of Northeastern High School during his junior year to pursue a career as a boxer.
Between and he fought fifteen matches, twelve of which he won, but his boxing career was cut short when he was drafted to serve in the U. When Gordy's service in the army ended in , he returned to Detroit and used the money he had saved from his military pay to open a record store called the Three-D Record Mart. His love for the jazz of Stan Kenton — , Charlie Parker — , and Thelonius Monk — influenced the records he tried to sell more than his customers' requests and his business soon failed.
Gordy worked for his father for a short period and then on an assembly line at the Ford Motor Company. He did not find the work interesting, and as he worked he wrote songs in his head, some of which were recorded by local singers.
The record company Decca Records bought several of his songs, including "Reet Petite" and "Lonely Teardrops," and when Gordy compared the money he made for writing the songs to what Decca made from the minor hits, he realized that writing the songs was not enough.
He needed to own them. At the suggestion of a friend, teenage singer William "Smokey" Robinson — , Gordy borrowed seven hundred dollars from his father and formed his own company to make and sell records. Motown Records was headquartered in a house on Detroit's West Grand Boulevard, where Gordy slept on the second floor and made records on the first.
In time the company grew, with nine buildings on the same street housing its various branches, such as Jobete, music publishers; Hitsville, USA, a recording studio; International Talent Management, Inc.
The song sold more than a million copies, and with that record Gordy's company launched the most successful and influential era in the history of popular music.
What came to be called the Motown Sound was a musical form that combined classic African American gospel singing with the new rock-and-roll sound that was being shaped by Elvis Presley — and the British band the Beatles. Motown Records made more than number-one hit songs and countless top-ten records, including "Please Mr.
In , again borrowing money from his father, he founded a music publishing company, Jobete, then two record labels, Tamla Record Company and later in the year Motown.
He converted a photography studio near the back of the property into a recording studio, set up administrative offices on the first floor, and moved his family to the second floor of the two-family flat. By there were five labels under the Motown umbrella. He created an empire that encouraged creativity and polished its performers. After establishing his record firm that churned out hit after hit in production line fashion, he turned to the movie business, with successes like Lady Sings the Blues , Mahogany , and The Wiz.
Though Gordy couldn't read music or play an instrument, he had the musical chops to create the sound of Motown and to promote an incredible roster of talent. Gordy had dubbed his label's output "the sound of young America," but today Motown's music is beloved by people of all ages from around the globe.
Gordy was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Gordy also wrote the book for Motown: The Musical , which reached Broadway in The Broadway show closed in , but a national tour continues. Boulevard in At the ceremony, President Obama spoke of Gordy's contribution to American culture, saying he helped "to create a trailblazing new sound in American music. As a record producer and songwriter, he helped build Motown, launching the music careers of countless legendary artists.
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Civil rights leader Whitney Young Jr. Sammy Davis Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. After his assassination, he was memorialized by Martin Luther King Jr. Andrew Young Jr. He became a member of Congress, mayor of Atlanta and U. Robert Downey Jr. The son of former U. Popular performers established by Gordy, includes the Jackson 5, The Supremes, Marvin Gaye, and Stevie Wonder, dominated the music landscape in the s and s.
Berry Gordy with his former wife Grace Eaton. Berry Gordy with his daughter and grandchildren. In a connected, hardworking family, Berry was the seventh of eight children in the family. Gordy suffered in school, unlike his brothers. He liked music and was interested in songwriting as early as age 7, but he left high school in his eleventh standard to pursue a career as a professional boxer with the expectation of swiftly getting wealthy.
He was a professional boxer till His service in the Korean War ended in April He married Thelma Louise Coleman, a nineteen-year-old girl, after returning from Korea in in Ohio.
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