Barrett Strong recorded “Money (That’s What I Want”) for Berry Gordy’s Tamla Records in 1959. Gordy and Janie Bradford were the songwriters of the song that was a no. 2 R&B hit and the first one for the label. Strong’s gritty pleas, Gordy’s pounding piano, and Brian Holland’s shaky tambourineContinue Reading
Berry Gordy Jr. was a high school dropout, Army veteran , retired boxer and former record-store owner when he co-wrote Jackie Wilson’s 1957 hit “Reet Petite” with his sister Gwen Gordy Fuqua and Wilson’s cousin Billy Davis. This early success as a songwriter gave Gordy the finances to transition intoContinue Reading
[youtube id=”sTbb39iNNqo”]The Motown story has a new Showtime documentary called Hitsville: The Making Of Motown. The Showtime documentary uncovers the workings of the legendary Detroit record label by talking to its founder Berry Gordy and many others who were there as well as contemporary artists such as John Legend. Motown’sContinue Reading
Would it have been better to cast someone other than Zoe Saldana in the role of Nina Simone in the movie Nina? If so, who? And why did director Cynthia Mort want to make a movie about Simone based on a fictitious relationship? Is Berry Gordy right about Michael JacksonContinue Reading