Berry Gordy

American record producer, founder of Motown Records

Berry Gordy Jr. · 伯瑞·高迪 · ベリー・ゴーディ · 베리 고디

Born

28 November 1929, Detroit

Citizenship

United States

Sport

boxing

Occupation

record producer, autobiographer, songwriter, film producer, television producer

Berry Gordy III (born November 28, 1929), also known as Berry Gordy Jr., is an American retired record executive, record producer, songwriter, film producer, and television producer. He is best known as the founder of the Motown record label and its subsidiaries, which was the highest-earning African-American business for decades.

As a songwriter, Gordy composed or co-composed a number of hits including "Money (That's What I Want)", "Lonely Teardrops" and "That's Why" (Jackie Wilson), "Shop Around" (the Miracles), and "Do You Love Me" (the Contours), all of which topped the US R&B charts, as well as the international hit "Reet Petite" (Jackie Wilson). As part of The Corporation, he wrote many hit songs for the Jackson 5, including "I Want You Back" and "ABC".

As a record producer, he launched the Miracles and signed acts like the Supremes, Marvin Gaye, the Temptations, the Four Tops, Gladys Knight & the Pips, and Stevie Wonder. He was known for carefully directing the public image, dress, manners, and choreography of his acts.

Awards and honours

• Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 1988
• Grammy Trustees Award 1991
• Songwriters Hall of Fame 2013
• Black Music & Entertainment Walk of Fame 2022
• Honorary doctor of the University of Michigan 2022
• Kennedy Center Honors
• National Medal of Arts
• Star on Hollywood Walk of Fame

External links

• Wikipedia
• BoxRec
• IMDb
• Wikidata

Facts from Wikidata Q355288 (CC0); quoted introduction from English Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Data retrieved 2026-10-22.

Data: Wikidata (CC0 1.0); Wikipedia (English) (CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.