Berry Gordy Thesis Statement

We all probably know of Jackson 5, Marvin Gaye, Diana Ross, Stevie Wonder and Michael Jackson, but do you know the person behind it all? Ladies and gentlemen, I introduce to you, Berry Gordy Junior, the founder of Motown Records- the home of several multi-platinum record artists and the most successful African American owned music company in the history of the United States of America. Motown was at its peak during the 70’s and 80’s. On November 28th of 1929 in Detroit Michigan, Bertha Fuller and Berry Gordy Sr. gave birth to their seventh child, Berry Gordy Jr. In school, Berry always gravitated towards music class opposed to subjects like mathematics. He struggled in school which led to him dropping out to pursue one of his other hobbies- boxing. He later went back to songwriting after realizing boxing would age him faster than if he pursued music. In 1951, …show more content…

Motown was gaining credibility and making a name. Gordy later went on to sign several artists who would later become hits such as Mary Wells, The Supremes, The Marvelettes, Temptations, Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye. By 1961, “The Marvelettes” song “Please Mr Postman,” was the first in Motown to hit #1 on the pop charts. Berry Gordy Jr. made sure his artists aimed towards mixing the genres of R&B, pop and gospel with repetitive courses which he described as the “Motown Sound.” Motown garnered several artists that became huge hits like Michael Jackson/Jackson 5, Stevie Wonder, Lionel Richie, Diana Ross, Marvin Gaye. Before Motown existed, minorities were not being signed to record labels which were mostly caucasian because of the segregation in America. Motown gave them a platform to share their music which helped people put race aside and just enjoy the music. In 1965, Motown brought in 15 million in sales, and 3/4 of songs made it to the charts. During the 1960’s Motown became the largest African American