Berry gordy jr.s biography
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Encyclopedia Of Detroit
Motown Records founder Berry Gordy, Jr. was born in Detroit, Michigan on November 28, Dropping out of high school in the 11th grade, he tried professional boxing, then in enlisted in the U.S. Army, serving in Korea until he was discharged in
Returning to Detroit, Gordy followed his love of music and opened the 3-D Record Mart-House of Jazz, with help from his father and brother George. When the store went bankrupt in , Gordy was forced to find steady work to support his wife and son. He got a job at Ford Motor Company, first in the foundry, then on the assembly line at the Lincoln-Mercury plant.
Unenamored of factory work, Gordy quit in to become a professional songwriter. 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. Also in Gordy purchased the house on Detroit’s Grand Boulevard that would become known as Hitsville USA. He converted a p
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Berry Gordy
American music executive and record producer (born )
Musical artist
Berry Gordy III (born November 28, ), also known as Berry Gordy Jr.,[5] is an American retired record executive, record producer, songwriter, film and television producer. He is best known as the founder of the Motown record label and its subsidiaries, which was the highest-earning African-American business for decades.[6]
As a songwriter, Gordy composed or co-composed a number of hits including "Lonely Teardrops" and "That's Why" (Jackie Wilson), "Shop Around" (the Miracles), and "Do You Love Me" (the Contours), all of which topped the US R&B charts, as well as the international hit "Reet Petite" (Jackie Wilson). As part of the Corporation, he wrote many hit songs for the Jackson 5, including "I Want You Back" and "ABC". As a record producer, he launched the Miracles and signed acts like the Supremes, Marvin Gaye, the Temptations, the Four Tops, Gladys Knight & the
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Berry Gordy Jr
Berry Gordy, Jr. (born ), founded Motown, the fledgling record company of that grew into the most successful African American enterprise in the United States and was responsible for a new sound that transformed popular music.
Berry Gordy, Jr., was born in and reared in Detroit. He was not the first businessman in the family; both parents were self-employed, his father as a plastering contractor, his mother as an insurance agent. Gordy dropped out of Northeastern High School in his junior year to pursue a career as a Featherweight boxer. Between and he fought 15 Golden handskar matches, 12 of which he won, but his fighting career was clipped short when he was drafted to serve in the Korean War.
Upon his discharge from the Army in , Berry Gordy returned to Detroit and used his service pay to open the Three-D Record Mart. His love for the jazz of Stan Kenton, Charlie parkerar, and Thelonius Monk influenced his inventory more than his customers' requests for "things l