Berry Gordy
I think that Berry Gordy was a great business person because he managed to break boundaries and has become to the largest and most successful black-owned business in America.
His Beginnings: Growing up on Detroit's Lower side, Gordy's greatest loves were boxing and jazz. By the time he graduated from Northeastern high school in 1948, Gordy was able to place boxing 1st. however once winning fifteen Golden Gloves matches, his career as a boxer was inhibit once he was drafted to fight in the Korean War. After the war, Gordy was too old to continue in boxing, thus he turned to his alternative love, opening a record store specializing in jazz. Sadly, Gordy had failed to notice that blacks in Motown weren’t particularly fascinated by jazz. They wished to listen to rock 'n' roll. Gordy's 3-D Record outlet went bankrupt after only 2 years.
After this first failure, Gordy reluctantly accepted employment at Ford Motor Co., nailing upholstery in Lincoln cars. However he wasn't about to hand over his dream of a career in music. He began paying attention to rock 'n' roll and wrote many songs in this style, that he tried to sell to native singers and music labels. He had some success, however his massive break came once he attracted the eye of singer Jackie Wilson, United Nations agency recorded Gordy's "Reet Petite" and the currently legendary "Lonely Teardrops." each songs became instant hits, and supported their success, Gordy quit his $85-per-week job at Ford and struck out on his own as a freelance producer.
But even with 2 hit songs, Gordy was far from a financial success. "As a writer, I had issues obtaining cash at the time that I needed it,” he explains. "I was broke even with hit records in certain cases." In one case, a...
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... famed for. The hits weren't returning nearly as quick or as bounteously as they once did.
In 1988, Gordy sold-out Motown to MCA and investment group Boston Ventures for $61 million. That very same year, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Today, Gordy remains active within the show biz, writing songs, producing records and dealing with the new established Motown Historical museum in Motown.
Although Motown no longer dominates the charts like it once did, Gordy's impact on the music trade can't be overstated. Motown's sound influenced everybody from the rock band and the Rolling Stones to newer chart-toppers like Janet Jackson and Paula Abdul. A real pioneer, Gordy assembled nothing but the rock 'n' roll era's most outstanding list of artists, musicians, songwriters and producers, and in pursuing his dream, he brought 2 races together through music.
Ross moved to California to launch her solo career. Her reworking of the Ashford and Simpson standard “ain’t no mountain high enough” became their first #1 hit as a solo artist. In 1971, Her first child Rhonda was born later announced as berry Gordy child (the founder of Motown).
chopping wood - introduced him to early rock & roll and rhythm & blues music.
Berry Gordy Jr., the founder of Motown Records, was born in 1929 in Detroit Michigan, also known as the Motor City. Motown was the first American music label owned by an African-American. It was also the first music label to successfully market black artists to white mainstream audiences, and was responsible for discovering, mentoring, and perfecting a lot of American popular music's most influential and successful artists. Motown Records was one of the most successfully black owned music businesses in the United States during this time. But he wasn’t just the owner of this record label he was also a boxer, a record store owner, an assembly line worker and a soldier in U.S. Army during the Korean War until he realized that the music business was right for him. Berry Gordy started Motown Records in January 1959 with only an $800 loan from his family. Today Berry Gordy is 84 years old and just celebrated birthday on November 28th. This year he appeared in a commercial for the Chrysler 300 car. It appears that he’s being chauffeured. The car passes many iconic places such as Hitsville USA. The car eventually gets to t...
These factors had huge impacts on his success due to the music of Motown playing a significant role in the racial integration of American society. Segregation and discrimination in America was a serious social issue that affected the lifestyle of African-Americans in the 1960’s and the civil rights movement was a social movement that had an aim of ending racial inequalities. As a result of the segregation between these two cultures, there was a lot of rising racial tension which consequently led to the culmination of race riots. The social issues at that time played a significant part in Gordy’s success in the production of Motown as he wanted to produce the “sound of young America” regardless of one’s colour or race and to take this sound to wider audiences including Baby Boomers. “Motown was about music for all people- white and black, blue and green, cops and the robbers.
listening public and started making major headlines overseas, Gordy confidently issued a memo stating, “We will release nothing less than Top Ten product on any artist(classic.motown.com)
On November 23, 1936, Johnson recorded his music for the first time. The first song he recorded was "Terraplane Blues." It became a best-selling hit for Vocalon, a Columbia Records specialty label. In June of 1937, Johnson recorded for his fifth and final time. Johnson only recorded 29 songs during his lifetime. Johnson would have recorded many more songs and may have been an even bigger legend than he already is if his life was cut short.
The founder of Motown records was Berry Gordy. He founded the company in 1959. The label was located in Detroit Michigan. It got shortened to Motown because Detroit was known for the nickname of the motor and town. The music that Motown created, symbolized coming-of-age and celebration and how it is timeless and how it was still important to most people. Berry Gordy wanted to create a sound that anyone would like. Most of the music and artists
The birth of Motown music came to be in a small recording studio aptly named Hitsville, U.S.A. Barry Gordy, who came from a large middle class family had borrowed money in order. The main stage of Motown music came from a small house that had been remodeled into a recording studio, the name of the company was Hitsville, U.S.A. Mr. Gordy had gathered the best jazz and blues players in and Motown was born through his genius. This small but dynamic record company has produced and help make many stars that we all know today such as Diana Ross and the Supreme, The Temptations, Stevie Wonder, and more recently the Jackson 5, Boyz II Men , and Queen Latifah. It is very surprising that both the genre of Motown and Hitsville remind unharmed by racism for the most since Detroit has been historically known for severe racism and segregation. Hitsville U.S.A. was one of the first African American owned record companies, this was just one step in popularizing and taking a step for African’s Americans many talents to become well known and chart topping.
Berry Gordy's "Motown" had the largest impact on music on behalf of its direction and redefinition. Berry Gordy's "Motown" impact music through cutting across divisions of race, region, and class. According to Schloss, Joseph G. et al., "unlike the music of earlier black-owned record companies, Motown's music was not directed primarily at black audiences." Gordy is characterized
people listened to and it was revolutionary. Most of the music we listen to now is based
Motown took the world over by surprise. The vivid and new sounds from Motown artists made screaming dedicated fans all over the world. With the addicted fans, Motown artists raised the bad and opened the eyes of those who thought African Americans would never amount to anything. Although there still happened to be racism, and prejudice, African Americans managed to become recognized and well known for their abilities. Not only were the Motown artists extraordinary talented, but they also were unbelievably strong and persistent for going against all those people out there who discriminated on them. They took the criticisms continued and went on with what they loved to do. One of the most famous groups during the Motown era was the Temptations. With their numerous hits, success, and even some failures, The Temptations strove there way into their fans hearts and earned their names in Motown History.
Berry Gordy and his two younger sisters conducted Motown’s artists to precise training, however, the training did not include what most people would see as a fit for record labels. The artists were not just trained as singers, but as young men and young ladies, and as entertainers. They were taught to tailor themselves, how to walk, how to speak, and how to use a salad fork, this to Berry Gordy was highly important for the success of Motown Records, as he comments “to dress neatly and conservatively, to speak without an accent, to defer with respect to others, these are the signs of refinement and the path to achievement for many blacks in this decade” (Gordy, 1970). Gordy also saw the importance of stage presence when performing; the artists were trained not just to hit notes with perfection but how to handle a microphone, and how to move with beauty on-stage so that the artist were respected with the highest regard. Motown’s vision was to have its artists performing in theatres and stadiums, not too just hear themselves on radio stations but also on television and movies, and conclusively the artists did. Gordy’s motto was “someone will walk into Hitsville as a nobody and walk out as a star” to keep this reoccurring Gordy was the one who accepted through
One would think his music would be heard among today’s teenagers and young adults. However, the current teenage generation and the generation before it idolizes bands like The Rolling Stones and The Beatles, groups Chuck Berry directly influenced. Rolling Stones and The Beatles seem to be everywhere in 21st century culture. This is proof Chuck Berry has been not only instrumental but also highly underappreciated. To know Chuck Berry, one must know his early life, his influence, and the way he uses many different genres in his music.
B.B. King’s first musical influence came from his church, Church of God in Christ. He was forbidden to play blues at home. Instead, he sang in spiritual groups like the Elkhorn Singers and Saint John’s Gospel Singers. A relative of B.B. showed him his first chords on the instrument. According to B.B. King, King of the Blues Worldwide (n.d.), as a teenager, he played on street corners for dimes, and would sometimes play in as many as four towns a night. When he started making more money playing in one night than he would in a week on the farm, he headed to Memphis. At that time, Memphis was where every style of African American musicians of the South gravitated. B.B. stayed with his cousin, Bukka white, a blues performer, who schooled him further in the art of the blues.