Berry Gordy: Father of the Motown Sound
Berry Gordy Jr. was born in Detroit, Michigan on November 28, 1929. He was the seventh born out of eight siblings. His parents migrated to Detroit from Georgia during 1922. They were part of a mass exodus of African Americans who left the South in the 20's and traveled to northern cities in search of better economic futures. During that time jobs were plentiful in the factories, mainly the big four automotive plants that like, Chrysler, Ford, Chevrolet, and General Motors.
Berry and Bertha Gordy would instill in Berry Jr. and his brothers and sisters a strong work ethic and a belief that anything could be achieved through persistence. His family also had deep roots in business. Berry Sr. owned a plastering and carpentry service, a general store, and a printing business. Gordy's family believed in the philosophy of Booker T. Washington, which stressed economic independence for blacks. Gordy Sr. named his store after him. Berry Gordy Jr. was heavily influenced by the ambition of his father.
Like his father, he was also very determined and he tried many new ventures. Berry was an average student who earned decent grades. Despite this he decided to drop out of Northeastern High School to peruse a featherweight boxing career. He once even fought on the same card as the great Joe Louis. He had a brief but successful series of fights but decided to give up boxing in 1951. That same year he would then decide to try out the Army. He served for two years during the Korean War; there he earned his high school equivalency diploma.
After his short stint in the army, he decided to open a record store, which only sold jazz records. Berry always enjoyed listening to records in his basement and he had a great love of music. Berry always hung around Detroit's popular nightspots to hear the bebop jazz sounds. He was able to see the performances of famous artists like pianist Thelonious Monk and saxophonist Charlie "Bird" Parker. Unfortunately, Berry's store eventually closed due to financial difficulties.
Gordy soon found himself working at Ford's Mercury plant, earning $85 a week. Bored with his assembly line job, he spent all of his free time writing songs. Berry would hum melodies and make up song lyrics in his head to break the monotony of everyday work. Berry soon began to get serious about song writing and he got his big break when he won a talent contest.
Joe Louis was born and raised in Detroit Michigan. Although throughout his life he lived in many places including Las Vegas and Chicago, he still always considered Detroit home.
Berry was born about 18 miles from Thomasville, Georgia on November 19, 1833. His parents were James Edward and Lydia (Carlton) Hendry. He had ten brothers and sisters. His father passed away on January 3, 1852 while in Georgia on a business trip. His mother passed away many years later on May 24, 1989, after her second marriage.
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...
President Jimmy Carter was born October 1924 in a little town called Plains located in Georgia. As a young boy, he grew up in Archery a little nearby community and Jimmy Carter was drawn into farming just the same way his father James Earl Carter was. His family was surrounded by peanut crops, politic talk and being faithful to the Baptist religion. While he attended school in a public school of Plains his father took care of the crops and worked as a business man; his mother Lillian Gordy Carter was working as a registered nurse.
Gordy Berry originally wanted his artists to have nothing to do with racism and he believed the controversy could slow the succession of this record company.
The setting in which Lorraine Hansberry was raised was a crucial to the development of several of her plays, particularly A Raisin in the Sun. On May 19, 1930, Hansberry was born in Chicago, Illinois to Carl and Nannie Hansberry. Both of her parents were known for their work in regards to civil rights and social equality. Also, her great grandfather William Hansberry, a slave that could read and write that was freed when...
Riley B. King better known as B.B. King was born on September 16th 1925 to a family of sharecropping farmers near a small town named Itta Bena in the Mississippi Delta. King's parents Albert and Nora Ella King separated when he was five years old and shortly after his mother moved to Kilmicheal Mississippi where Riley spent most of his time living with is grandmother. By age seven King was now working the field like a grown man. A couple of years later at the age of nine his mother died. King continued to live with his grandmother after his mother had past away. His grandmother was very religious and he attended church services with her. It was in the church where King begins to take an interest in music. He had dreams of becoming a gospel singer and learned how to play basic notes on the guitar from his preacher. In 1940 King's grandmother died and he had trouble making ends meet and eventually went to live with his father. (The King of Blues)
Johnny Cash was born and raised in Arkansas. He was the son of a poor Southern Baptist sharecropper who moved his family to new farms when Johnny was only three (“Johnny
Born on his father’s farm in Greenfield Township, which is known today as Dearborn, Michigan on July 30th in 1893, Ford grew up helping his father work on his farm. Ford would have worked as a farmer his whole life just as his father did if it were not for his interest and fascination in machines. He followed his dreams and started working as an apprentice at the Michigan Car Company in Detroit in his young adult years. This machine shop built and sold railroad cars which...
As the economy evolves and the job market continues to get more competitive, it’s becoming harder to have a successful career without some kind of college degree. This creates a belief in many young students that college actually is a commodity, something they must have in order to have a good life. There’s many different factors that influence this mindset, high schools must push the importance of the student’s willingness and drive to further their education. College isn’t just a gateway to jobs, but it is an opportunity to increase knowledge and stretch and challenge the student which in return makes them a more rounded adult and provides them with skills they might lack prior to
Since I grew up in a household with two parents who are college graduates, and even two grandparents who had graduated from college, the idea of attending college was never seen as a unique opportunity, but rather as a necessary part of my future. I’m not going to complain about growing up with parents who valued the pursuit of knowledge, but it certainly never exposed me to the mindset that maybe college is not the best option for everyone after high school. Today, there is a huge debate over if the price of college is really worth it in the end, with the high cost of tuition and the number of people who just aren’t prepared for the demands that college has to offer. And on the other side, some say that college is a necessity not just in one’s
At the age of thirteen he began working in order to earn money for college. He was a shoe shiner, an elevator boy, and a paper boy. He attended the all-black Armstrong High School, where he acted in plays, was a sergeant in the Cadet Corps, and earned good grades, graduating at the age of 16.
Chuck Berry is one of the founders of rock and roll. He is the only one living today. He has performed for millions of people with his famous “Duck Walk.” He still has what Corliss & Bland describe as a slim, toned body, wavy hair drenched in Valvoline oil, and a sharply cut masculine chin and cheeks etched with pain and promise. Even today he only wants a Lincoln Town Car, his Fender Bassman amp, and his guitar. Chuck Berry has had for decades one of the shortest and most ironclad contracts in the music business (Jacobson 6).
Both authors want what is best for society overall, which in their views are individuals that are “socially well-adjusted and educated citizens who are industrious…[and] benefit society” (Ray par. 1) by creating a stronger work force. This issue is not only important for each student’s future, but over time it has become a focus of parents as they try to ensure the absolute best education for their child. As Cox found, “an increasing number of parents are recognizing the battle that is waged for their children’s hearts and minds” (Cox p. 34) and it is important that their children are equipped with the best hearts and minds so they can effectively function in society. Both of the authors for these articles acquired advanced education which may explain their bias toward the importance of education. However, evidence shows that education is one of the factors responsible for the success of a nation. Workers, who after graduation are able to “enter the working world equipped with the same basic education,” have a step up from those who were not able to fulfill those educational standards. While society says that it values education, it is apparent that actions are not being seriously taken by the educated population to effectively keep public education as a focus in policy holder’s hands.
Walt Disney was born on December 5, 1901 in Chicago, Illinois. Walt soon moved to Marceline, Missouri where he lived much of his younger years. In