Happy birthday to Berry Gordy Jr., born November 28, 1929.
When it comes to impact on the music of America in the 60s and 70s, there was Berry Gordy Jr., and then there was everyone else. A former boxer and factory worker in his hometown of Detroit, Gordy went on to create perhaps the most iconic music label of the 20th century, Motown. And now, more than 60 years after the label was founded, its accomplishments seem even more otherworldly than when they originally occurred.
Born in 1929 as the seventh of eight children, Gordy progressed through Detroit schools until 11th grade, when he dropped out to become a boxer. He was drafted into the Army at age 20 and was stationed in Korea during the Korean War. When he returned, he had a vision of a life in music and became a successful songwriter, scoring a number of hits with local star Jackie Wilson.
Borrowing $900, he created the Tamla and Gordy record labels and landed regional hits such as Barrett Strong’s “Money.” His bigger vision was the establishment of the new Motown label — a mashup of “Motor” and “Town” — creating a music assembly line similar to the automotive assembly lines of his hometown. His dream received a major shot in the arm when “Shop Around” by The Miracles leaped to #1 on the charts in 1960.
Over the course of the next decade, Motown, along with its associated labels, became the most successful independent record company of its era and the home of the unofficial “Sound of Young America.” Stars like The Temptations, Diana Ross & The Supremes, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, The Four Tops, The Jackson 5 and countless others came of age during the label’s decade of dominance, creating a body of music that remains unparalleled.
It was all driven by Gordy’s vision and his approach to making music for the masses. His system included a unique emphasis on artist development, from master dancer Cholly Atkins teaching best-in-class choreography to Maxine Powell instructing artists in etiquette and poise, preparing these young performers from Detroit to present themselves as well in Europe and on The Hollywood Palace as they did at The 20 Grand Club at home. Gordy also promoted intense competition among his songwriters and producers for space on each record, pushing legendary names such as Holland-Dozier-Holland, Smokey Robinson and Norman Whitfield to fight to get their songs on vinyl.
Not satisfied with simply running the hottest record label in the country, Gordy entered the late 60s determined to build a larger entertainment empire that included movies. He made the controversial and painful decision to move Motown’s operations to Los Angeles, a major blow to Detroit, which had become the center of the musical world, and to the “family” atmosphere that had defined Motown. The expansion had mixed business success, though several resulting movies, including Lady Sings the Blues and Mahogany, were hits.
There are arcs to every career and every cultural organization, and by the late 70s and into the 80s, major cracks had appeared at Motown. The paths Motown established were now templates for others to follow, and a new generation of Black hitmakers was emerging in Philadelphia, Los Angeles and Minneapolis. Motown was no longer unique, and the company had become bloated from its expansion, with Gordy himself delegating more responsibility to a new layer of managers. Many of Motown’s stalwart acts, from The Four Tops to Gaye to Ross, left for other labels, and, save for a few new stars such as DeBarge and Rick James, Motown increasingly became just another music label.
By 1990, Motown’s reputation was more about its extraordinary legacy than new hitmaking, and Gordy, then in his 60s, had sold much of his interest in the company and largely retired from the music business. He ultimately wrote a well-received autobiography and created a hit stage musical about the label’s heyday. He also assisted in the vision for an expanded Motown Museum at the site of his original Hitsville U.S.A. studio on Grand Boulevard in Detroit. And he rightly took his place on the Mount Rushmore of 20th-century entertainment leaders.
In the end, Berry Gordy’s contribution to musical culture in America is almost peerless. And it is a blessing that we can still wish him a very Happy Birthday more than six decades after he came into our lives.
By Chris Rizik
