The final CV of Berry Gordy Jr makes impressive reading; Record Executive, Film Producer, Television Producer, Record Producer, Songwriter, Pianist.

Add to that, The Motown Corporation, being the most successful black-owned music business in the United States and one of the most successful independent music companies of all time.

Impressive stuff, but close examination of the facts shows that Gordy encountered many highs and lows as he fought his way through a business which treats you well if you’ve got money and treats you badly if you don’t. Talent wasn’t enough to ensure success. If you were young you needed family, friends, inter-personal skills, strong work ethic and no amount of luck. You also needed to be streetwise and very, very shrewd. 

The young Berry Gordy was fortunate on two of those fronts; his family were a strong unit with an unwavering desire to work hard and become successful.

Gordy’s father and grandfather were also called Berry, which probably means that our subject matter should be more accurately known as Berry Gordy III. Regardless, grandfather Berry was a landowner in Georgia at the turn of the century, owning 168 acres of land around the city of Milledgeville, north east of Macon. That was no small achievement in the racist south. 

Father, Berry, who was affectionately known as Pops by his children, knew and understood his parent’s travails, and learned much from his own Father before moving permanently to Detroit in 1922 in search of a better life. However, although city life was a whole lot different, the problems were much the same, not least when it came to racism. 

Pops Gordy on West Grand Boulevard in 1962

Those early years in Detroit were tough as Pops struggled to get a decent job and to make things worse, the world economy was on the edge of Depression, and his wife Bertha, was ready to give birth to their seventh child, Berry Gordy III, in November 1929. 

Not being one to give up easy, Pops rented a failing grocery store on the near east side. He managed to turn it around and continued to keep an eye on other opportunities. 

As the Depression came to an end, he saw an opening for a plastering business in the construction industry.

He also managed to acquire a large property on St Antoine, at Farnsworth, from where he and his family were able to run the new business. Not content with that he also opened small grocery store called Booker T Washington on the same block. 

Teenager Berry Jr drifted into boxing in the mid-forties, learning his skills in the Brewster Recreation Center near the river, and although he was good enough to fight on the same bill as Joe Louis in 1948, ten wins and three losses later he realised that there must be an easier way to make a living.

Junior’s other interest was music, particularly that of the Ink Spots and the Mills Brothers, and he was picking up song writing tips by studying the lyrical concepts of their songs.

Three of Berry’s siblings, Fuller, Esther and George had opened a Print Shop in the same block as the other businesses, but were struggling to find enough customers. The family then decided that it would be a good idea to get some advertising time on the local radio.

an advert from 1952

Berry jumped in and offered to write a song, much to the amusement of the family. But he convinced them eventually, and the self-written ditty was recorded in Bristoe Bryant’s studio.

The advert went out on WJLB and did enough to help the business move forward. Perhaps the cynics then realised that their brother had more musical skills than previously thought. 

Regrettably Gordy’s new found enthusiasm for song writing was dampened when he was drafted into the armed forces in 1951 and posted to Korea. However his two years in the forces helped him appreciate life a bit more and on release he couldn’t wait to get more involved in the music business, opening a Jazz Record store with his brother George.

They named the shop 3D Record Mart. 3D being the in thing at that time. Again, the premises were part of the complex at St Antoine and Farnsworth but this particular venture didn’t last long because it specialised in Jazz too much.  

Around this time, Berry’s close friend Billy Davis introduced him to a girl by the name of Thelma Coleman who was a nurse at Harper Hospital. By 1953, they were married and the following year had their first child called Hazel Joy. Another two children soon followed called Berry IV and Terry. 

Thelma’s parents were proud people and worried about Berry spending so much time on his song writing, so they pressured him into getting a job as a salesman. When that didn’t work out, they got him a job in the car industry, fastening upholstery at Lincoln Mercury.

But this was not what Berry wanted and his determination to write songs continued unabated.

He devised a way of remembering newly created songs by way of a simple 1 – 7 numbering system and every day he was sending songs to potential buyers.

At night he began to hang out in Paradise Valley, the main black entertainment strip in Detroit.

 Music : "Ain't Gonna Be That Way" - Marv Johnson (United Artists 116a)

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