BIOGRAPHY
The epitome of African-American empowerment in the 1960’s was Berry Gordy Jr. with his establishment and ownership of Motown Records in 1959. The development of Motown Records amplified the symbol of record label independence, attracting an immense amount of young talent throughout Detroit.
Berry Gordy Jr. was born in Detroit, Michigan on November 28, 1929. He was always interested in music, especially writing it, but never received an adequate amount of formal training. His written piece titled “Berry’s Boogie” was put in a local talent contest when he was a teenager and received first place, revealing his natural talent.
When Gordy became to be a junior in high school, he dropped out to pursue a career in professional boxing. He fought fifteen matches total between 1948 and 1951, twelve of which he won, but his career was cut short when the United States Army drafted him to serve in the Korean War.
During the years that he served, Gordy would save up money from his pay in order to open his own record store. The war ended in 1953 and he moved back home to Detroit with intentions of doing just that. Three-D Record Mart opened shortly after his return and the records that were sold there were influenced by his love for jazz. Unfortunately, his choice in genre did not meet the customers’ appeal. His store business failed and he was forced to find work elsewhere.
Gordy’s father gave him work for a small period of time and then he found a stable job at Ford Motor Company. He couldn’t find the least bit of interest in his new job, but found a great way to pass the time. As he worked, he began to write songs mentally, some of which were recorded by local singers. Decca Records also bought some of his songs and when he compared the amount of money he was receiving by writing and selling the songs to the amount of money that Decca was receiving from the minor hits, he decided that writing them was not nearly enough. He wanted to own his written music.
Teenage singer William "Smokey" Robinson was friend to Gordy and at his suggestion, Gordy borrowed eight hundred dollars from his family and created his own business to make and sell records. Motown Records was headquartered in a small house on Detroit's West Grand Boulevard. Gordy was so close to his new company that he slept on the second floor of the house and made records on the first. The company grew within no time from that small Detroit house to nine buildings on the same street running various branches.
Berry Gordy was forming Motown Records into one of the most successful companies in the United States. He would soon find out that the artists that he would make famous would mold into the most impressive in the history of pop music.
Berry Gordy Jr. was born in Detroit, Michigan on November 28, 1929. He was always interested in music, especially writing it, but never received an adequate amount of formal training. His written piece titled “Berry’s Boogie” was put in a local talent contest when he was a teenager and received first place, revealing his natural talent.
When Gordy became to be a junior in high school, he dropped out to pursue a career in professional boxing. He fought fifteen matches total between 1948 and 1951, twelve of which he won, but his career was cut short when the United States Army drafted him to serve in the Korean War.
During the years that he served, Gordy would save up money from his pay in order to open his own record store. The war ended in 1953 and he moved back home to Detroit with intentions of doing just that. Three-D Record Mart opened shortly after his return and the records that were sold there were influenced by his love for jazz. Unfortunately, his choice in genre did not meet the customers’ appeal. His store business failed and he was forced to find work elsewhere.
Gordy’s father gave him work for a small period of time and then he found a stable job at Ford Motor Company. He couldn’t find the least bit of interest in his new job, but found a great way to pass the time. As he worked, he began to write songs mentally, some of which were recorded by local singers. Decca Records also bought some of his songs and when he compared the amount of money he was receiving by writing and selling the songs to the amount of money that Decca was receiving from the minor hits, he decided that writing them was not nearly enough. He wanted to own his written music.
Teenage singer William "Smokey" Robinson was friend to Gordy and at his suggestion, Gordy borrowed eight hundred dollars from his family and created his own business to make and sell records. Motown Records was headquartered in a small house on Detroit's West Grand Boulevard. Gordy was so close to his new company that he slept on the second floor of the house and made records on the first. The company grew within no time from that small Detroit house to nine buildings on the same street running various branches.
Berry Gordy was forming Motown Records into one of the most successful companies in the United States. He would soon find out that the artists that he would make famous would mold into the most impressive in the history of pop music.
