Berry Gordy III (born November 28, 1929), also known as Berry Gordy Jr., is an American retired record executive, record producer, songwriter, film producer, 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.
As a songwriter, Gordy composed or co-composed a number of hits including "Money (That's What I Want)", "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 Pips, and Stevie Wonder. He was known for carefully directing the public image, dress, manners, and choreography of his acts.
Gordy was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988, awarded the National Medal of Arts by President Barack Obama in 2016, and the Kennedy Center Honors in 2021. In 2022, he was inducted into the Black Music & Entertainment Walk of Fame.
Early years
Berry Gordy III was born on November 28, 1929, in Detroit, the seventh of the eight children of Berry Gordy Jr. (also known as Berry Sr.) from the Gordy family and Bertha Fuller Gordy, who had relocated to Detroit from Oconee, Washington County, Georgia, in 1922 as a part of the Great Migration. Gordy's father opened a grocery store, owned a plastering and carpentry business, and a printing shop. While his brothers Fuller and George were happy to work at jobs their father assigned to them in construction and printing, Gordy and his brother Robert were less inclined to follow that path; both liked dancing and music, but Gordy's greatest interest was in boxing.
Gordy dropped out of Northeastern High School in the eleventh grade to become a professional boxer in hopes of becoming rich quickly; he boxed professionally until 1950, when he was drafted by the United States Army in 1951 for service in the Korean War. Arriving in Korea in May 1952, Gordy was first assigned to the 58th Field Artillery Battalion, 3rd Infantry Division, near Panmunjom. He later became a chaplain's assistant, driving a jeep and playing the organ at religious services at the front. His tour in the Korean War was completed in April 1953. He obtained a GED, which is equivalent to a high school diploma.
After his return from Korea in 1953, he married 19-year-old Thelma Louise Coleman in Toledo, Ohio. The store was unsuccessful, and Gordy sought work at the Lincoln-Mercury plant, but his family connections put him in touch with Al Green (no relation to the singer Reverend Al Green), owner of the Flame Show Bar Talent Club, where he met the singer Jackie Wilson.
In 1957, Wilson recorded "Reet Petite", a song Gordy had co-written with his sister Gwen and writer-producer Billy Davis. It became a modest hit, but had more success internationally, especially in the UK, where it reached the Top 10 and even later topped the chart on re-issue in 1986. Wilson recorded six more songs co-written by Gordy over the next two years, including "Lonely Teardrops", which topped the R&B charts and got to number 7 in the pop chart. The Gordy siblings and Davis also wrote "All I Could Do Was Cry" for Etta James at Chess Records.
Motown Record Corporation
Gordy reinvested the profits from his songwriting success into producing. In 1957, he discovered the Miracles (originally known as the Matadors) and began building a portfolio of successful artists. In 1959, with the encouragement of Miracles leader Smokey Robinson, Gordy borrowed $800 () from his family to create an R&B record company. Originally, Gordy wanted to name the new label Tammy Records, after the song recorded by Debbie Reynolds. However, that name was taken, and he chose the name Tamla Records. The company began operating on January 12, 1959.]]
Gordy's gift for identifying and bringing together musical talent, along with the careful management of his artists' public image, made Motown a major national and then international success. Over the next decade, he signed such artists as the Supremes, Marvin Gaye, the Temptations, Jimmy Ruffin, the Contours, the Four Tops, Gladys Knight & the Pips, the Commodores, the Velvelettes, Martha and the Vandellas, Stevie Wonder and the Jackson 5. Though he also signed some white acts to the label (Rare Earth and Rustix, via the Rare Earth label), Gordy mainly promoted African-American artists but carefully controlled their public image, dress, manners and choreography for across-the-board appeal.
Gordy announced his retirement in 2019 at the age of 89.
Relocation to Los Angeles
In 1972, Gordy relocated to Los Angeles, where he produced the commercially successful biographical drama film on Billie Holiday, Lady Sings the Blues, starring Diana Ross (who was nominated for an Academy Award), Richard Pryor, and Billy Dee Williams (cast in a role originally for Levi Stubbs of the Four Tops). Initially the studio, over Gordy's objections, rejected Williams after several screen tests. However, Gordy, known for his tenacity, eventually prevailed, and the film established Williams as a major movie star. Gordy soon after produced and directed Mahogany (Tony Richardson was the original director, but Gordy fired Richardson and took over direction himself after a dispute over minor casting), also starring Ross and Williams. In 1985, he produced the cult martial arts film The Last Dragon, which starred martial artist Taimak and one of Prince's proteges, Vanity.
Although Motown continued to produce major hits throughout the 1970s and 1980s by artists including Jermaine Jackson, Rick James, Commodores, Lionel Richie, and long-term signings Stevie Wonder and Smokey Robinson, the record company was no longer the major force it had been. Gordy sold his interests in Motown Records to MCA and Boston Ventures on June 28, 1988, for $61 million (). He later sold most of his interests in Jobete publishing to EMI Publishing. Gordy wrote or co-wrote 240 of the approximately 15,000 songs in Motown's Jobete music catalogue. However, the true test of the label's worth would come a few years later, when Polygram paid over $330 million (Diana Ross was given shares in this version of the label) for the Motown catalog.
Gordy published an autobiography, To Be Loved, in 1994.
Awards and accolades
thumb|Berry Gordy with [[John Legend, Smokey Robinson, and First Lady Michelle Obama at the White House in 2011.]]
Gordy was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988. In 1993, he received the CBC Lifetime Achievement Award. He was inducted into the Junior Achievement U.S. Business Hall of Fame in 1998 and the Michigan Rock and Roll Legends Hall of Fame in 2009.
When Gordy received the Songwriters Hall of Fame's Pioneer Award on June 13, 2013, he was the first living individual to receive the honor.
In 2014, Gordy received the key to the city from Mayor of Detroit Mike Duggan on October 22, 2014.
In 2016, Gordy received the National Medal of Arts from President Obama for "helping to create a trailblazing new sound in American music. As a record producer and songwriter, he helped build Motown, launching the music careers of countless legendary artists. His unique sound helped shape our Nation's story."
Berry Gordy Square in Los Angeles was designated by the City Council at intersection of Sunset Boulevard and Argyle where the office of Motown was located.
In 2021, he was awarded the Kennedy Center Honors alongside Bette Midler, Joni Mitchell, Justino Díaz, and Lorne Michaels.
In 2022, he was inducted into the Black Music & Entertainment Walk of Fame.
In 2022, he was awarded with an honorary doctorate from the University of Michigan.
Statements about Motown artists
Following the funeral of Marvin Gaye on April 5, 1984, Gordy declared Gaye "the greatest of his time." Berry said the singer "had no musical equals," while also discussing how he carried on the legacy of other soul singers who tackled a range of themes, from love to civil rights, such as Billie Holiday.
On March 20, 2009, Gordy was in Hollywood to pay tribute to his first group and first million-selling act, the Miracles, when the members received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Speaking in tribute to the group, Gordy said: "Without the Miracles, Motown would not be the Motown it is today."
Gordy spoke at the memorial service for Michael Jackson in Los Angeles on July 7, 2009. He suggested that "The King of Pop" was perhaps not the best description for Jackson in light of his achievements, referring to him instead as "the greatest entertainer that ever lived."
Motown: The Musical
On May 15, 2011, it was announced that Gordy was developing a Broadway musical about Motown. The show is said to be an account of events of the 1960s and how they shaped the creation of the label. Gordy hoped that the musical would improve the reputation of Motown Records and clear up any misconceptions regarding the label's demise.
Motown: The Musical began previews at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre on March 11, 2013, and began regular performances there on April 14.
The musical closed in January 2015.
The UK version of Motown: The Musical opened in London's West End in January 2016. Berry Gordy was present at the opening night.
Personal life
thumb|Berry Gordy celebrating his daughter Hazel Joy's birthday (1971)
Gordy, who was married and divorced three times, has eight children with six different women. His publishing company, Jobete, was named after his three eldest children: Joy, Berry and Terry.
He had three children with his first wife, Thelma Coleman, whom he married in 1953 (they were divorced in 1959):
- Hazel Joy Gordy (born August 24, 1954), was once married to Jermaine Jackson
- Berry Gordy IV (born October 1955), father to Skyler Austen Gordy
- Terry James Gordy (born August 1956)
In the spring of 1960 he married Raynoma Mayberry Liles and were divorced in 1964. They had one son:
- Kerry Gordy (born June 25, 1959)
With Jeana Jackson, Gordy had one daughter:
- Sherry Gordy (born May 23, 1963)
With his then-mistress Margaret Norton, Gordy had a son:
- Kennedy William Gordy (born March 15, 1964); would later become known as the Motown musician Rockwell
Gordy had a daughter with Motown artist Diana Ross, with whom he had an intimate relationship from 1965 through 1970:
- Rhonda Suzanne (born August 14, 1971)
Gordy's eighth and youngest child is a son born to Nancy Leiviska:
- Stefan Kendal Gordy (born September 3, 1975); he is known by his stage name, Redfoo, as one member of the duo LMFAO (the other member is Skyler Gordy, born August 23, 1986, known professionally as SkyBlu; he is a grandson of Gordy and Thelma Coleman through their son Berry IV and his wife, Valerie Robeson)
Berry married Grace Eaton on July 17, 1990, and they divorced in 1993.
He is also a second cousin of US president Jimmy Carter. His relation to Carter stems from their white great-grandfather James Thomas Gordy who owned a black female slave named Esther Johnson.
A sexual assault lawsuit filed against Jermaine Jackson in December 2023 by Rita Barrett, who was the wife of Gordy's friend Ben Barrett, alleged Gordy assisted in covering up Jackson's sexual assault of her in 1988.
Vistas Stables
Berry Gordy owned the colt Powis Castle whom he raced under the nom de course Vistas Stables. Racing in California, Powis Castle won the 1994 Oceanside Stakes and Malibu Stakes then finished 8th in the Kentucky Derby and 9th in the Preakness Stakes, the first two legs of the U.S. Triple Crown series.
- Gordy was portrayed by Brandon Victor Dixon in the 2013 stage play production Motown: The Musical
- In the 2026 biographical film Michael, Gordy was portrayed by Larenz Tate.
See also
- Album era
- List of songs written by Berry Gordy