Berry Gordy
March 5, 2001 Berry Gordy, founder of Motown Records, was singing two different tunes during the last election. Generally a supporter of liberal Democrats, Gordy supported Al Gore and gave $300,000 to the party and its congressional committee, including $100,000 less than a month before the election. At the same time, however, the recording industry legend contributed to the failed presidential campaign of Senator John McCain, who made much of the money he received from Gordy and other celebrity backers. In 1959, at the age of 29, Gordy borrowed $800 from family members to found Motown in Detroit. After his first gold record with "Shop Around" by the Miracles in 1961, the label took off, helping to shape popular music with such R&B classics as "My Guy," "Where Did Our Love Go?" "Heatwave," and "I Heard It Through the Grapevine." During his long career with Motown, Gordy promoted such legends as Diana Ross, Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson, Stevie Wonder, and Otis Williams. In 1988 he sold Motown to MCA Records, and in 1999 he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for his lifelong achievements in the music industry. Gordy, who has been criticized for underpaying artists at Motown, has recently supported a move to increase royalties for aging artists who signed small percentage contracts between the 1940s and 1970s. The call for royalty reform comes at a crucial time, as Motown and many other R&B song catalogues are about to be taken over by Universal Music, run by Edgar M. Bronfman Jr. (No. 243, $221,851). -- Brett Coker | | |
