Berry Gordy (Soundtrack) – Overview, Biography

Name:Berry Gordy
Occupation: Soundtrack
Gender:Male
Birth Day: November 28,
1929
Age: 91
Birth Place:  Detroit, Michigan,
United States
Zodiac Sign:Sagittarius

Berry Gordy

Berry Gordy was born on November 28, 1929 in  Detroit, Michigan, United States (91 years old). Berry Gordy is a Soundtrack, zodiac sign: Sagittarius. Nationality: United States. Approx. Net Worth: $400 Million. With the net worth of $400 Million, Berry Gordy is the #1542 richest person on earth all the time in our database.

Net Worth 2020

$400 Million
Find out more about Berry Gordy net worth here.

Family Members

#NameRelationshipNet WorthSalaryAgeOccupation
#1George Gordy Brother N/A N/A N/A
#2Terry James Gordy Children N/A N/A N/A
#3Sherry Gordy Daughter N/A N/A N/A
#4Kerry Gordy Daughter N/A N/A N/A
#5
Rhonda Ross Kendrick
Rhonda Ross Kendrick
Daughter$1 Million – $2 Million (Approx.) N/A 49 Celebrity Family Member
#6
Hazel Gordy
Daughter$1 Million (Approx.) N/A 66 Celebrity Family Member
#7Thelma Coleman Former spouse N/A N/A N/A
#8Ray Singleton Former spouse N/A N/A N/A
#9Grace Eaton Former spouse N/A N/A N/A
#10Sky Blu Grandson N/A N/A N/A
#11
Anna Gordy Gaye
Anna Gordy Gaye
Sister$1 Million – $2 Million (Approx.) N/A 98 Business
#12Berry Gordy IV Son N/A N/A N/A
#13
Redfoo
Redfoo
Son$4 Million N/A 45 Singers
#14
Rockwell
Rockwell
Son$1 Million – $2 Million (Approx.) N/A 56 Pop Singer

Physique

HeightWeightHair ColourEye ColourBlood TypeTattoo(s)
N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

Biography

Biography Timeline

1929

Berry Gordy III (also known as Berry Gordy Jr.) was the seventh of eight children (Fuller, Esther, Anna, Loucye, George, Gwen, Berry and Robert), born on November 28, 1929 in Detroit, to the middle-class family of Berry Gordy II (also known as Berry Gordy Sr.), who had relocated to Detroit from Oconee in Washington County, Georgia, in 1922. His grandfather, named Berry Gordy I, was the son of James Gordy, a white plantation owner in Georgia, and a woman he enslaved. His half-brother, James (son of the elder James and his legal wife), was the grandfather of President Jimmy Carter. Berry Gordy II was led to Detroit both by the job opportunities offered by the booming automotive businesses, and also by worries over the atmosphere in the American South where black men were lynched ‘with chilling regularity by the Ku Klux Klan’; in the first twenty years of the twentieth century, 1,502 lynchings were reported, most in Southern states. Gordy’s father opened a grocery store, owned a plastering and carpentry business, and a printing shop. Whilst his brothers Fuller and George were happy to work at jobs their father assigned to them in construction and printing, Berry and Robert, the younger boys, were less inclined to follow that path. Both Robert and Berry liked dancing and music, but Berry’s greatest interest was in boxing.

1952

Gordy dropped out of 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 for service in the Korean War. Arriving in Korea in May 1952, Gordy was first assigned to the 58th Field Artillery Bn., 3rd Inf. Div., 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 General Educational Development degree (equivalent to a high school degree).

1953

After his return from Korea in 1953, he married nineteen year old Thelma Louise Coleman in Toledo, Ohio. Gordy Jr. developed his interest in music by writing songs and opening the 3-D Record Mart, a record store featuring jazz music and 3-D glasses. 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.

He had three children with his first wife, Thelma Coleman, whom he married in 1953 (they were divorced in 1959):

1957

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.

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. “Come to Me” by Marv Johnson was issued as Tamla 101. United Artists Records picked up “Come to Me” for national distribution, as well as Johnson’s more successful follow-up records such as “You Got What It Takes”, co-produced by Gordy, who also received a co-writer credit, though the song was originally written and recorded by guitarist Bobby Parker for Vee Jay records a year and a half earlier. Gordy’s next release was the only 45 ever issued on his Rayber label, featuring Wade Jones with an unnamed female backup group. The record did not sell well and is now one of the rarest issues from the Motown stable. Berry’s third release was “Bad Girl” by the Miracles, the first release on the Motown record label. “Bad Girl” was a solid hit in 1959 after Chess Records picked it up. Barrett Strong’s “Money (That’s What I Want)” initially appeared on Tamla and then charted on Gordy’s sister’s label, Anna Records, in February 1960. It was The Miracles who gave the label its first million-selling hit single, with the 1960 Grammy Hall of Fame smash, “Shop Around” and this song, and its follow up hits,”You’ve Really Got a Hold on Me” (another Grammy Hall of Fame-inducted hit), “Mickey’s Monkey”,”What’s So Good About Goodbye”, and “I’ll Try Something New”, made The Miracles the label’s first stars.

1960

The Tamla and Motown labels were then merged into a new company, Motown Record Corporation, incorporated on April 14, 1960. In 1960, Gordy signed an unknown singer, Mary Wells, who became the fledgling label’s second star, with Smokey Robinson penning her hits “You Beat Me to the Punch”, “Two Lovers”, and “My Guy”. The Miracles’ hit “Shop Around” peaked at No. 1 on the national R&B charts in late 1960 and at No. 2 on the Billboard pop charts on January 16, 1961 (No. 1 pop, Cash Box), which established Motown as an independent company worthy of notice. Later in 1961, the Marvelettes’ “Please Mr. Postman” made it to the top of both charts.

1972

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. Berry 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.

1984

Following the funeral of Marvin Gaye on April 5, 1984, Gordy declared Gaye “the greatest of his time” and stated the singer “had no musical equals”, comparing his talents to those of Billie Holiday.

1988

Although Motown continued to produce major hits throughout the 1970s and 1980s by artists including the Jacksons, 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 was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988. 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.

1990

Berry married Grace Eaton on July 17, 1990; they divorced in 1993.

1994

Gordy published an autobiography, To Be Loved, in 1994.

2009

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.”

At the age of 79, 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.”

2011

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.

2013

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.

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.

2016

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.”

The UK version of Motown the Musical opened in the West End in January 2016. Berry Gordy went to the opening night.

Upcoming Birthday

Currently, Berry Gordy is 92 years, 5 months and 25 days old. Berry Gordy will celebrate 93rd birthday on a Monday 28th of November 2022.

Find out about Berry Gordy birthday activities in timeline view here.

Berry Gordy trends


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