The Motown Story By David Edwards and Mike Callahan Last update: August 8, 2012 The Motown story is the story of Berry Gordy, Jr., who was born in Detroit Michigan on. Electronic Arts just kicked off E3 2017 with an earlier than usual Saturday press conference. EA showed some Star Wars, some sports, some car chases, and a brand-new. President Donald Trump, whose recent uses of the internet have included hinting he might just pardon himself and everyone else in his administration if federal. It’s Monday, which makes it a good day to channel your inner current-gen Mazda Miata: smiling on the outside, yet ready to give somebody a hardcore evil eye at any. BMW Alpina B8 V8 is One of the Rarest E36s and It's Up for Sale in Canada |. Ferraris are far too expensive for a normal person to own, right? What if I told you that you could own your very own “Ferrari” “F430” “Scuderia” (winking. The Motown Story. The Motown story is the story of Berry Gordy, Jr., who was born in Detroit Michigan on November. He was the seventh of eight children of Berry Gordy II and Bertha Gordy. His parents had. migrated to Detroit from Milledgeville, Georgia in 1. His father ran a plastering contracting business. Berry. Gordy, Jr. Army drafted him in 1. During his stint in the Army, he. In 1. 95. 3, he married Thelma Coleman and in 1. Hazel Joy. They had two other children, named Berry IV and Terry, but were. When Berry got out of the Army 1. D Record. Mart that was financed by the Berry family. By 1. 95. 5, the store had failed and Berry was working on the. Ford automobile assembly line. While working on the line, Berry constantly wrote songs, submitting. His first success as a songwriter came in 1. Jackie. Wilson recorded "Reet Petite", a song he, his sister Gwen and Billy Davis (under the pseudonym of. Tyran Carlo) had written. Reet Petite" became a modest hit and netted Berry $1. Over. the next two years he co- wrote four more hits for Wilson, "To Be Loved", "Lonely Teardrops", "That's. Why" and "I'll Be Satisfied". Berry later chose the title To Be Loved for his autobiography. Successful as a songwriter, Berry decided to produce his songs himself. His first production was titled. Ooh Shucks" by the Five Stars, which was released on George Goldner's Mark X label in 1. Gordy. had an extraordinary ability to recognize talent. In 1. 95. 7 at a Detroit talent show, he saw a group the. Miracles and decided to record them. The Miracles consisted of Claudette Rogers, Ronnie White. Pete Moore, Bobby Rogers and the lead singer William "Smokey" Robinson. Berry's first production for. Miracles was an answer record to the Silhouettes "Get a Job," titled "Got a Job," which he leased to. Goldner for release on End records. The record got some airplay, but then died a quick death, as did. Miracles follow- up on End titled "I Cry." In 1. Berry produced a record by Eddie Holland titled. You," which was leased to Mercury records. Also that year, Kudo Records issued 4 more Gordy. Motown story: the first Marv Johnson release, titled "My. Baby O," and a Brian Holland (Eddie's brother) vocal, titled "Shock". With Smokey Robinson and the. Holland brothers, Berry had discovered three incredible songwriters and producers. Also in 1. 95. 8, he produced a record by Herman Griffin titled "I Need You" on the H. O. B. label, which is. Berry's publishing company called Jobete. BET"), named after his three children, Hazel Joy [Jo], Berry IV[Be], and Terry [Te]. I. Need You" was also the first record to credit the Rayber Voices, background singers named after Berry's. Raynoma, and himself. Gordy decided to take total control of his songs, so on January 1. Tamla. He had originally wanted to call his label. Tammy," after a Debbie Reynolds film, but that title was already taken. Tamla Records was located at. Gladstone Street in Detroit, and the first release was Marv Johnson's "Come to Me" [Tamla 1. The song was picked up by United Artists and it became a mid- sized hit. United Artists signed Marv. Johnson to a recording contract and Berry Gordy continued to produce him for that label. In 1. 95. 9, Marv. Johnson's "You Got What It Takes" became his first production to break into the pop Top 1. The third Miracles release was issued on a second label Berry formed, called Motown. The record was. called "Bad Girl" and was pressed in minuscule numbers before being leased to Chess records of. Chicago, where it was a moderate hit. In early 1. 96. 0, Tamla released "Money" by Barrett Strong. Gordy. knew he had a hit, so he leased it to Anna Records who had a distribution agreement with Chess. Anna. Records was a Detroit- based company that was owned by Berry's sisters Anna and Gwen Gordy and. Billy Davis. The label operated from 1. Motown. "Money" was a. Barrett Strong joined Motown as a staff songwriter. He stayed with Motown until 1. By the late 1. 95. Detroit was perhaps the largest city in the United States that did not have a strong. With the establishment of Motown, the local talent had an outlet, and they. Motown offices. In 1. Primettes. auditioned for Gordy. He was impressed with the group, but asked them to finish school and then come. The Primettes came back to Motown after graduating, and were signed in January 1. The. group's name was changed to the Supremes, and they had their first release on Tamla in April of 1. In 1. 96. 0, Gordy met singer Mary Wells at a club where she sang for him, and he suggested she come to. Berry signed her immediately and released a song she had written called "Bye. Bye Baby" in December of that year. Mary Wells proved to be the first real "star" for the label, with a long. Berry discovered another singing group called the Distants, who changed their name. Temptations, and released their first record on a new subsidiary label called Miracle in 1. Their. success was not to be as immediate as Mary Wells,' but it would eventually eclipse hers and be far. Also in 1. 96. 0, Gordy acquired the contract of a young Washington, DC- based singer named Marvin Gaye. Harvey Fuqua. Harvey was the leader of the Moonglows, who had had several. Chess before making some personnel changes in the late 1. Gaye was a current. Gaye's first record was "Let Your Conscience Be Your Guide" in 1. He had. his first hit in 1. Stubborn Kind of Fellow." Gaye was another performer whose road to fame was. A common trivia question about Motown is, "What is the name of the first white group to record for. Motown?" The not- often- heard correct answer is "Nick and the Jaguars," a trio from Pontiac, Michigan. Nick Ferro and lead guitarist Marvin Weyer. Nick's dad, Johnny Ferro, brought the. Berry Gordy in 1. They recorded instrumentals "Ich- I- Bon #1"/"Cool and Crazy" at the. Motown studio, and the tunes were released as a single on Tamla 5. Tamla series even got started. The first white vocal group was the Valadiers. This group was recommended to Berry Gordy by his pal. Jackie Wilson. The Valadiers had one very minor hit in "Greetings (This is Uncle Sam)" on the Miracle. Gordy subsidiary that was formed in 1. The song. "Greetings (This is Uncle Sam)" became a bigger hit for the Monitors in 1. Motown's subsidiary. V. I. P., during the Vietnam war. Motown producer Robert Bateman discovered the Marvelettes at a talent show at Inkster High School. In August 1. 96. 1, Bateman and Brian Holland co- produced the Marvelettes' first record, "Please Mr. Postman," and it became the first of Berry Gordy's records to reach the pop charts' #1 position. During. that same year, "Shop Around" by the Miracles became the first Tamla record to sell a million copies, as. In 1. 95. 9, a young blues singer named Martha Reeves met Mickey Stevenson, the Head of the Motown. A& R department, and he hired her as a secretary. When Mary Wells missed a recording session. Martha called a vocal group she was in, the Del- Phis, to fill in. They recorded "There He Is (At My. Door)," which was released on the Melody subsidiary. The record was a flop, but the group continued to. In 1. 96. 2, with a new name the Vandellas, they backed Marvin Gaye. Stubborn Kind of Fellow". In 1. 96. 3, production of the group was given over to Brian and Eddie. Holland with their new partner Lamont Dozier. The Holland- Dozier- Holland production of "Come and. Get These Memories" released in early 1. Martha and the Vandellas on the Gordy subsidiary) is. The Motown Sound". Ronnie White, a member of the Miracles, arranged for an audition for an eleven year old, blind singer. Stevland Morris. Gordy was impressed with his talent, and said the boy was a "wonder". Signed. to a Motown contract, Morris, renamed "Little Stevie Wonder," had a live recording from the Regal. Chicago released titled "Fingertips, Part 2" which reached the #1 spot on the pop charts in. An interesting thing happens on the record near the end, when a band member yells out "What. The band backing Stevie thought he was finished and left the stage, and a second. Stevie, responding to the audience applause, came back out for a. As he started playing his harmonica, the new band members didn't know what key the. The album containing "Fingertips, Part 2" [Tamla 2. Year Old Genius became the first Motown album to reach the number 1 spot on the pop. Berry Gordy formed a jazz subsidiary called Workshop Jazz in 1. The formation of the label was not. Berry thought he could sell many jazz records; the failure of his 3- D Record Mart had shown. He established the label in order to convince the most talented jazz musicians in Detroit to play. Berry enticed them with promises of album releases on the Workshop. Jazz label. Gordy knew that even the most successful jazz album sales would be minuscule compared. But Berry kept his promise to the. Motown label. In 1. Berry met a group that had released their first single in 1. Four. Aims. By 1. Chess, the group had changed its name to the Four. Tops. Initially, Gordy was going to record them on his Workshop Jazz subsidiary, and an album was. This album has been the subject of much speculation over the years. Titled. Breaking Though with the Four Tops, it is pictured on an early Motown inner sleeve. Whether the. album was ever released is subject to debate; if it was, it would certainly be the most valuable Motown. The Four Tops were quickly switched to the Motown label and turned over to. Holland- Dozier- Holland for production. Baby I Need Your Loving" in August 1. Any thought of more jazz recordings died with the success of that record. Gordy had established the foundation for the success of Motown for many years to come. With the. Miracles, Four Tops, Marvelettes, Martha and the Vandellas, Supremes (still hitless to this point) and the. Temptations, he had 6 of the best vocal groups on record. Added to these groups were solo singers. Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder and Mary Wells. With himself, Mickey Stevenson, Smokey Robinson, and. Holland- Dozier- Holland, he had proven songwriters and producers who knew how to make popular. It’s Monday, which makes it a good day to channel your inner current- gen Mazda Miata: smiling on the outside, yet ready to give somebody a hardcore evil eye at any time or place. Actually, that sounds like a good plan for every day.
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