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Motown
Berry Gordy, Jr. (born in Detroit, Michigan) was the seventh of eight children (Fuller, Esther, Anna, Loucye, George, Gwen, Berry and Robert), born to the middle-class family of Berry Gordy II (a.k.a. Berry Gordy, Sr.)[1] and Bertha Fuller Gordy (1899–1975), who had relocated to Detroit from Milledgeville, Georgia, in 1922
Berry Gordy II was lured to Detroit by the many job opportunities for black people offered by booming automotive businesses.
Berry Gordy, Jr's older siblings were all prominent black citizens of Detroit. Berry, however, dropped out of high school in the eleventh grade to become a professional boxer in hopes of becoming rich quick, a career he followed until 1950 when he was drafted by the United States Army for the Korean War.
After his return from Korea in 1953, he married Thelma Coleman. He developed his interest in music by writing songs and opening the 3-D Record Mart, a record store featuring jazz music. The store was unsuccessful and Gordy sought work at the [Lincoln-Mercury] plant, but his family connections put him in touch with Al Green (not the singer), owner of the Flame Show Bar talent club, where he met singer, Jackie Wilson.
In 1957 Wilson recorded "Reet Petite", a song Gordy had co-written with his sister Gwen and writer-producer, Billy Davis. It became a modest hit, but had more success internationally, especially in the UK where it reached the Top 10 and even later topped the chart on re-issue in 1986. Wilson recorded six more songs co-written by Gordy over the next two years, including "Lonely Teardrops", which topped the R & B charts and got to number 7 in the pop chart. Berry and Gwen Gordy also wrote "All I Could Do Was Cry" for Etta James at Chess Records.
Gordy reinvested his songwriting success into producing. In 1957, he discovered The Miracles (originally known as The Matadors) and began building a portfolio of successful artists. In 1959, at Miracles leader Smokey Robinson's encouragement, Gordy borrowed $800 from his family to create R&B label Tamla Records. On January 21, 1959, "Come To Me" by Marv Johnson was issued as Tamla 101. United Artists Records picked up "Come To Me" for national distribution, as well as Johnson's more successful follow-up records (such as "You Got What It Takes", co-produced and co-written by Gordy). Berry's next release was the only 45 ever issued on his Rayber label, and it featured Wade Jones with an unnamed female back-up group. The record did not sell well and is now one of the rarest issues from the Motown stable. Berry's third release was "Bad Girl" by The Miracles, and was the first-ever release for the Motown record label. "Bad Girl" was a solid hit in 1959 after Chess Records picked it up. Barrett Strong's "Money (That's What I Want)" initially appearing on Tamla and then charted on Gordy's sister's label, Anna Records, in February 1960. The Miracles' hit "Shop Around" peaked at No. 1 on the national R&B charts in late 1960 and at No. 2 on the Billboard pop charts on January 16, 1961 (#1 Pop, Cash Box), which established Motown as an independent company worthy of notice. Later in 1961, The Marvelettes' "Please Mr. Postman" made it to the top of both charts.
The Hitsville U.S.A. Motown building at 2648 West Grand Boulevard in Detroit served as Motown's headquarters from 1959 until 1968.
In 1960, Gordy signed an unknown named Mary Wells who became the fledgling label's first star, with Smokey Robinson penning her hits "You Beat Me to the Punch", "Two Lovers", and "My Guy". The Tamla and Motown labels were then merged into a new company Motown Record Corporation, which was incorporated on April 14, 1960.
Berry Gordy House, known as Motown Mansion in Detroit's Boston-Edison Historic District. Gordy's gift for identifying and bringing together musical talent, along with the careful management of his artists' public image, made Motown initially 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.
In addition to the songwriting prowess of the writers and producers, one of the major factors in the widespread appeal of Motown's music was Gordy's practice of using a highly select and tight-knit group of studio musicians, collectively known as "The Funk Brothers", to record the instrumental or "band" tracks of a majority of Motown recordings. Among the studio musicians responsible for the "Motown Sound" were keyboardists Earl Van Dyke, Johnny Griffith, and Joe Hunter; guitarists Joe Messina, Robert White, and Eddie Willis; percussionists Eddie "Bongo" Brown and Jack Ashford; drummers Benny Benjamin, Uriel Jones, and Richard "Pistol" Allen; and bassists James Jamerson and Bob Babbitt. The band's career and work is chronicled in the 2002 documentary film Standing in the Shadows of Motown which publicised the fact that these musicians "played on more number-one records than The Beatles, Elvis, The Rolling Stones, and The Beach Boys combined."
Artist development was a major part of Motown's operations. The acts on the Motown label were fastidiously groomed, dressed and choreographed for live performances. Motown artists were advised that their breakthrough into the white popular music market made them ambassadors for other African American artists seeking broad market acceptance, and that they should think, act, walk and talk like royalty, so as to alter the less-than-dignified image commonly held by white Americans in that era of black musicians. Given that many of the talented young artists had been raised in housing projects and were short on social and dress skills, this Motown department was not only necessary, it created an elegant style of presentation long associated with the label. The artist development department specialized primarily in working with younger, less experienced acts; experienced performers such as Jr. Walker and Marvin Gaye were exempted from artist development classes.
In 1968, Gordy purchased the Donovan building on the corner of Woodward Avenue and Interstate 75, and moved Motown's Detroit offices there. ). In the same year Gordy purchased Golden World Records, and its recording studio became "Studio B" to Hitsville's "Studio A".
The Motown production process has been described as factory-like. The Hitsville studios remained open and active 22 hours a day, and artists would often go on tour for weeks, come back to Detroit to record as many songs as possible, and then promptly go on tour again. Berry Gordy held quality control meetings every Friday morning, and used veto power to ensure that only the very best material and performances would be released. The test was that every new release needed to fit into a sequence of the top five selling pop singles of the week. Several tracks which later became critical and commercial favorites were initially rejected by Gordy; the two most notable being the Marvin Gaye songs, "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" and "What's Going On". In several cases, producers would re-work tracks in hopes of eventually getting them approved at a later Friday morning meeting, as producer Norman Whitfield did with "I Heard It Through the Grapevine"
After the songwriting trio Holland–Dozier–Holland left the label in 1967 over royalty payment disputes, Norman Whitfield became the company's top producer, turning out hits for The Temptations, Marvin Gaye, and Gladys Knight & the Pips. In the meantime, Berry Gordy established Motown Productions, a television subsidiary which produced TV specials for the Motown artists, including TCB with Diana Ross & the Supremes and The Temptations, Diana! with Diana Ross, and Goin' Back to Indiana with The Jackson 5. The company loosened its production rules, allowing some of its longtime artists the chances to write and produce more of their own material. This resulted in the recordings of successful and critically acclaimed albums such as Marvin Gaye's What's Going On (1971) and Let's Get it On (1973), and Stevie Wonder's Music of My Mind (1972), Talking Book (1972), and Innervisions (1973).
The company moved all of its operations to Los Angeles in June 1972, with a number of artists, among them Martha Reeves, The Four Tops,(1972) Gladys Knight & the Pips (1973), and Motown's Funk Brothers studio band, either staying behind in Detroit or leaving the company for other reasons. The main objective of Motown's relocation was to branch out into the motion picture industry, and Motown Productions got its start in film by turning out two hit vehicles for Diana Ross: the Billie Holiday biographical film Lady Sings the Blues (1972), and Mahogany (1975). Other Motown films would include Thank God It's Friday (1978), The Wiz (1978) and The Last Dragon (1985). Ewart Abner, who had been associated with Motown since the 1960s, became its president in 1973.
The Jacksons Five leaves Motown over creative control and signs with CBS in 1975.
In Britain, Motown's records were released on various labels: at first London (only the Miracles' "Shop Around"/"Who's Lovin' You" and "Ain't It Baby"), then Fontana ("Please Mr. Postman" by the Marvelettes was one of four), Oriole American ("Fingertips" by Little Stevie Wonder was one of many), EMI's Stateside ("Where Did Our Love Go" by the Supremes and "My Guy" by Mary Wells were Motown's first British top-20 hits), and finally EMI's Tamla-Motown ("Stop! In The Name of Love" by The Supremes was the first Tamla-Motown label release in March 1965).
Gordy was not known for cultivating white artists, although some were signed, such as Nick and the Jaguars, Mike and the Modifiers, Chris Clark, Rare Earth, the Valadiers, Debbie Dean and Connie Haines.
Although Motown continued to produce major hits throughout the 1970s and 1980s by artists including the Jacksons, Rick James, Lionel Richie and long-term signings, Stevie Wonder and Smokey Robinson, the record company was no longer the major force it had been previously.
Diana Ross leaves Motown in 1980 and sign a large 20 million deal with RCA.
Marvin Gaye left Motown and signs a contract with CBS/Columbia in 1982.
Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever is a 1983 television special produced by Suzanne de Passe for Motown Records, to commemorate Motown's twenty-fifth year of existence. (Motown was founded in January 1959, meaning that a twenty-fifth anniversary special should have aired in 1984, not 1983. One could argue that Gordy's vision of what would become "Hitsville U.S.A." was conceived in 1958, considering the month of Motown's founding.) The show was also co-written by de Passe along with Ruth Adkins Robinson who would go on to write shows with de Passe for the next 25 years, including the follow-up label tributes—through "Motown 40," Buz Kohan was the head writer of the threesome. The program was taped before a live studio audience at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium in Pasadena, California on March 25, 1983, and broadcast on NBC on May 16.
Junior Walker performed his signature hit "Shotgun". It was performed as a solo; his long-time group, The All-Stars, did not participate.
Lionel Richie performed his hit "You Mean More To Me" in a pre-taped segment. Appearing with him was Lynette Butler, identified as a "Sickle Cell Poster Child." Richie did not appear with his former group, The Commodores,who appeared without him on a separate live segment of the special, singing their smash hit Brick House,which was led,as on the original recording, by Commodore Walter "Clyde" Orange . The other original Commodores, William King, Ron LaPread, Milan Williams, and Thomas McCleary, were present and performed on this segment.
Marvin Gaye, who ironically had left the label a year before to sign with Columbia Records and had a current hit with "Sexual Healing," agreed at the last minute to join the roster of other Motown legends to perform. When he came on, he played the piano and gave the audience a narrative of black music history before he stepped off the piano and sung his classic 1971 hit, "What's Going On", to thunderous applause.
The 'first lady of Motown', Mary Wells, and The Vandellas front woman Martha Reeves, were each given a 30 second spot during this celebration, each singing one of their biggest hits, in this case: My Guy and (Love is Like a) Heat Wave, respectively.
Michael reunited with his brothers to perform a medley of their hits "I Want You Back," The Love You Save," "Never Can Say Goodbye," and "I'll Be There." Brother Randy, who was not a part of the original Jackson 5 but replaced Jermaine as he went on his solo career, was a part of the later group The Jacksons , also joined the group for the medley. It was also a reunion for Jermaine, who performed with his brothers for the first time since leaving the group.
As the other members of the Jackson 5 left the stage, Michael transitioned dramatically into his own solo spot. Widely hailed as Michael's breakthrough performance as a solo artist, he performed "Billie Jean", which at the time was in the middle of a seven-week run atop the Billboard Hot 100 music charts. This was also the first time he performed what would become his most famous signature move, the moonwalk.
Michael Jackson's concert performances of "Billie Jean" in the years since Motown 25 were always formatted on his performance on this special, from the opening pose with the fedora, black sequin jacket and glove, to the moonwalk routine in the song's bridge.
This special marked the long- awaited reunion of Motown V.P. Smokey Robinson with his original group The Miracles: Bobby Rogers, Pete Moore, Claudette Robinson (then wife of Smokey) and Marv Tarplin, (who was on stage with them, slightly off-camera to the right, but can been seen in certain shots), for the first time since he left the group 11 years before (in 1972). Original Miracles member Ronnie White did not participate in the reunion for personal reasons (his wife, Earlyn, died that year). As Motown's first group (also the label's first million-selling act), they were first on the show, singing four of their greatest hits, "Shop Around", "You've Really Got a Hold on Me", "The Tears of a Clown", and "Going To A Go-Go".
Stevie Wonder, accompanied by his band and his girl group Wonderlove sang several of his greatest hits, including "I Wish", "Uptight (Everything's Alright)", "Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I'm Yours", "You Are the Sunshine of My Life", "My Cherie Amour", "Sir Duke", and also preceded by a vintage clip of Wonder singing his first hit, "Fingertips" .
When Ross finished, she made a brief speech about 'the night that everyone came back' (although, as stated above, some artists were not invited, and some had died). After the beginning chords of "Someday We'll Be Together", the svelte Wilson strutted on stage in a dazzling fire engine red sequin gown and was greeted by a thunderous applause which quickly upstaged Miss Ross. Ross became frustrated when Wilson and Birdsong did not drop back but moved with her as she walked closer to the edge of the stage. By this time Ross was so confused and bewildered that Wilson took over the lead vocals which prompted Ross to push her. A few moments later, Motown labelmates such as Smokey Robinson, Stevie Wonder, and others quickly filled the stage for an impromptu finale. Although producer Suzanne de Passe had instructed Diana to introduce Berry Gordy after leading the finale, (a fact unknown to Mary) Wilson decided to do the honors, by calling Berry down herself. This led to Diana yelling at Mary "it's been taken care of". Wilson also made a brief tribute to Ballard, who Gordy had removed from the group years before. By the time the reunion aired on May 16, the Ross altercations had been excised from the special, but they were widely reported (including an article and pictures in Us Weekly), and the performance resulted in bad publicity for Ross.
The Temptations and Four Tops competed in a "Battle of the Bands" style event. The only original or "Classic Five" Temptations performing were Melvin Franklin and Otis Williams, as Eddie Kendricks (who left the group in 1971) and David Ruffin (who left the group in 1968, and was replaced by Dennis Edwards) had a falling out with the group. Paul Williams (who also left the group in 1971) had died in 1973, and Al Bryant (who left the group and was replaced by Ruffin in 1964) had died in 1975.
Joining Williams and Franklin were then-Temptations Dennis Edwards, Richard Street, and Ron Tyson. All of the original members of the Four Tops performed: Renaldo "Obie" Benson, Abdul "Duke" Fakir, and Lawrence Payton, with Levi Stubbs providing the lead vocals. The two groups performed "Reach Out I'll Be There","Baby I Need Your Loving", "Get Ready", "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)", "My Girl" "Ain't Too Proud to Beg" and "I Can't Get Next to You", among other numbers. The joint performance was a success, and the Temptations and Four Tops toured together for two years following the special.
While Motown 25 was billed as "Yesterday, Today, Forever", artists from the golden era of Motown, such as The Marvelettes, The Vandellas, The Contours, Marv Johnson, Jimmy Ruffin, Edwin Starr, Gladys Knight and the Pips, and The Velvelettes were not included in the special, while newer artists such as Debarge, High Inergy and José Feliciano were. (Singers Nick Ashford and Valerie Simpson appeared onstage at the end with the other artists, but they did not perform.) Non-Motown artists, such as Adam Ant (who paid homage to the Supremes singing "Where Did Our Love Go" with Diana Ross bumping and grinding) and Linda Ronstadt were featured as well. Ronstadt performed "Ooh Baby Baby" and "Tracks of My Tears" with Smokey Robinson. She had hits with both songs and in 1976 her version of The Miracles' "Tracks of My Tears" even went to #12 on the Billboard Country Singles Chart, a first for a Motown song.
Additional appearances were made by Dick Clark, The Commodores, Howard Hesseman and Tim Reid (reprising their WKRP in Cincinnati roles as disc jockeys), fast-talker John Moschitta, Jr., T.G. Sheppard (who recorded for Motown's 1970s country label and had two #1 hits on Billboard's country chart), Billy Dee Williams, and The Lester Wilson Dancers. Additionally, a clippage of Rick James and The Mary Jane Girls were featured.
Despite losing Holland–Dozier–Holland, Norman Whitfield, and a number of its other hitmakers by 1975, Motown still had a number of successful artists during the 1970s and 1980s, including Lionel Richie and the Commodores, Rick James, Teena Marie, the Dazz Band and DeBarge. 
In 1982 Teena Marie left Motown with Rick James leaving 3 years later.
By the mid-1980s, Motown was losing money, and Berry Gordy sold his ownership in Motown to MCA Records and Boston Ventures in June 1988 for $61 million. In 1989, Gordy sold the Motown Productions TV/film operations to Motown executive Suzanne de Passe, who renamed the company de Passe Entertainment and runs it to this day.
Gordy was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988.
During the 1990s, Motown was home to successful recording artists such as Boyz II Men(1991) and Johnny Gill (1990), although the company itself remained in a state of turmoil. A revolving door of executives were appointed by MCA to run the company, beginning with Berry Gordy's immediate successor, Jheryl Busby. Busby quarreled with MCA, alleging that the company did not give Motown's product adequate attention or promotion. In 1991, Motown sued MCA to have its distribution deal with the company terminated, and began releasing its product through PolyGram. Polygram purchased Motown from Boston Ventures three years later.
In 1994, Busby was replaced by Andre Harrell, the entrepreneur behind Uptown Records. Harrell served as Motown's CEO for just under two years, leaving the company after receiving bad publicity for being inefficient. Danny Goldberg, who ran PolyGram's Mercury Records group, assumed control of Motown, and George Jackson served as president.
Gordy published an autobiography, To Be Loved, in 1994.
In December 1998, PolyGram was acquired by Seagram, and Motown was absorbed into the Universal Music Group. Universal briefly considered shuttering the floundering label, but instead decided to restructure it after public outcry. 1997 Kedar Massenburg, a producer for Erykah Badu, became the head of the label, and oversaw successful recordings from Badu, McKnight, Michael McDonald, the return of Chico Debarge and new Motown artist India.Arie.
In 1998 when Universal Music Group acquired Motown Boyz II Men were re-assigned to Universal Music Group. 
Diana Ross, Smokey Robinson, Stevie Wonder and The Temptations had remained with the label since its early days, although all except Wonder recorded for other labels for several years. Ross left Motown for RCA from 1981 to 1988, but returned in 1989 and stayed until 2002. Robinson left the label in the early 1990s, and the Temptations left a second time in 2004. Wonder is, today, the only artist from Motown's early period still on the label.
Q-Tip was the final artist on the label, releasing The Renaissance.
The character of Curtis Taylor, Jr., a music executive, in the 2006 musical film Dreamgirls has been called "a thinly veiled portrayal" of Gordy. The film was based on the 1981 musical Dreamgirls, but the film made the connection to Gordy and Motown much more explicit than the musical did, by, among other things, moving the setting of the story from Chicago to Detroit. Taylor appears in the film as unethical and insensitive to his artists, which caused Gordy and others to criticize the film after its release. Gordy called the portrayal "100% wrong," while Smokey Robinson said it "blatantly painted a negative picture of Motown and Berry Gordy and of the Supremes." In 2007, the producers of the film, DreamWorks and Paramount Pictures, issued a public apology to Gordy, saying they were sorry "for any confusion that has resulted from our fictional work." Gordy accepted the apology.
In 2005, Massenburg was replaced by Sylvia Rhone, former CEO of Elektra Records. Motown was merged with Universal Records to create the Universal Motown Records and placed under the newly created umbrella division of Universal Motown Republic Group. Motown began celebrating its fiftieth anniversary (January 12, 2009) in late 2008, including the release of a The Complete No. 1's box set containing Motown #1 hits from Billboard's pop, R&B, and disco charts, reissues of classic-era Motown albums on CD, and other planned events, which were released in collaboration with Universal Music Group's catalog division Universal Music Enterprises.
The Donovan building was demolished in January 2006 to provide parking spaces for Super Bowl XL In Detroit. When demolition began sheet music and other artifacts blew in the wind.
On March 20, 2009, Gordy was in Hollywood to pay tribute to his first group and first million-selling act, The Miracles, when the members received a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame. Speaking in tribute to the group, Gordy said: "Without The Miracles, Motown would not be the Motown it is today."
He gave a speech during the Michael Jackson memorial service in Los Angeles on July 7, 2009. Gordy suggested that "The King of Pop" was perhaps not the best description for Jackson in light of his achievements, and chose instead "the greatest entertainer that has ever lived."
President Obama and the Frist Lady celebrate Black History Month 2011 with a special celebration Of Motown. Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson performed live with John Legend, Seal and more.
President Obama and the Frist Lady celebrate Black History Month 2011 with a special celebration Of Motown. Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson performed live with John Legend, Seal and more.
On May 15, 2011, it was announced that Gordy was developing a Broadway musical about the Motown music label. The show is said to be an account of events of the 60s and how they shaped the creation of the iconic label. Gordy hopes to use the musical to clear the sullied name of Motown Records and clear up any misconceptions regarding the label's demise.
As of summer of 2011, Universal Motown has been separated from Universal Motown Republic Group, has reverted to the original Motown brand, has hired Ethiopia Habtemariam as its Senior Vice President, and is now operated under the The Island Def Jam Music Group. Artists from Universal Motown have been transferred to the newly revitalized Motown label.
On January 25, 2012, it was announced that Ne-Yo would join the Motown label both as an artist as well as the new Senior Vice President of A&R.
July 9, 2012 Erykah Badu starts an Internet frenzy when she tweets “Motown folds” Universal Music Group quickly responses that they dismiss Silvia Rhone from her position but made no official statement closing the historic record company.
Motown and it subsidiaries :
Major divisions Motown Records: Established 1960, Motown was and remains the company's main label for mainstream R&B/soul music (and, today, hip hop music as well). The label's numbering system was combined with those of Tamla and Gordy in 1982, and the label (and company) was purchased by MCA in 1988. Notable Motown artists have included Mary Wells, The Supremes, Four Tops, The Jackson 5, Boyz II Men, Commodores, Lionel Richie, Dazz Band, Brian McKnight, 98 Degrees, and Erykah Badu. Motown Records slogan: "The Sound of Young America."
Tamla Records: Established 1959, Tamla was a primary subsidiary for mainstream R&B/soul music. Tamla is actually the company's original label: Gordy founded Tamla Records several months before establishing the Motown Record Corporation. The label's numbering system was combined with those of Motown and Gordy in 1982, and the label was merged with Motown in 1988. Notable Tamla artists included Smokey Robinson & the Miracles, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, and The Marvelettes. Tamla was briefly re-activated in 1996 as a reggae label, but only released a 12" single by Cocoa Tea called "New Immigration Law". Tamla Records slogan: "The Sound that Makes the World Go 'Round."
Gordy Records: Established 1962, Gordy was also a primary subsidiary for mainstream R&B/soul music. Originally known as Miracle Records (slogan: "If It's a Hit, It's a Miracle"), the name was changed in 1962 to avoid confusion with the Miracles singing group. The label's numbering system was combined with those of Motown and Tamla in 1982, and the label was merged with Motown in 1988. Notable Gordy artists included The Temptations, Martha and the Vandellas, The Contours, Edwin Starr, Rick James, The Mary Jane Girls, Teena Marie, and DeBarge. Gordy Records slogan: "It's What's in the Grooves that Counts"
Motown Roster is like a who’s who in the music business:
Jackson Five
Stevie Wonder
Diana Ross
Marvin Gaye
Brain Mcknight
Michael McDonald
Eddie Kendricks
The Temptations
The Four Tops
Gladys Knights and The Pips
Teena Marie
Rick James
Debarge
Mary Wells
Switch
Jermaine Jackson
Boyz II Men
Johnny Gill
The Supremes
India Aire
Mary Jane Girls
Lionel RichieThe Commodores
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