Motown founder Berry Gordy, Jr. once said, “Don’t judge yourself by others’ standards…have your own. And don’t get caught up into the trap of changing yourself to fit the world.”
Berry Gordy, Jr. was born in Detroit as one of eight children in his family. His mother and father were Berry Gordy and Bertha Fuller Gordy. Berry Gordy’s father had many different jobs. Berry and Robert, two of the youngest brothers, liked singing and dancing. Berry Gordy dropped out of high school. Unfortunately, he was drafted and had to fight in the Korean War, and after that married Thelma Louise Coleman. He found success as a professional songwriter and started creating Motown. With the help of other people, it became an amazing music sensation!
Motown was one of the first African-American-run record companies. The Motown music company made many tours and had lots of concerts. It even had some child prodigies on its roster like Stevie Wonder and the Jackson Five. It had many other musicians like the Supremes, the Temptations and Marvin Gaye. Motown was such an amazing company that fought for African-American rights.
Motown grew into such a huge music company in the Sixties that it crossed over into the white audience more than any African-American music company ever had. It was the first African-American company to become part of the mainstream culture. The Beatles have even covered some of the Motown music. Berry Gordy, Jr. put Detroit on the map as a major musical center in America.
Some additional facts are that Berry Gordy, Jr. liked to box, which is why he dropped out of high school. He was also married three times, and had eight children. He has lived and done so much to bring Black and white people together through music. He has even met Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Berry Gordy Jr. is now 91 years old.
A famous quote of his is: “Don’t judge yourself by others’ standards…have your own. And don’t get caught up into the trap of changing yourself to fit the world.”
I am like Berry Gordy because we both see the magic and enjoy music. • ROGER C.