Dear Professor Argo,

My person of interest would have to be Barry Gordy. I was intrigued with Mr. Gordy when I watched the “Jacksons: The American Dream” movie when I was a kid. As stated in the article “Barry Gordy’s Motown Records” www.history-of-rock.com/motown_records.htm, he was the founder and owner of Tamla-Motown family record labels which became the largest and fastest growing independent labels in pop music history. Mr. Gordy has worked with acts such as The Jackson Five, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, and Boys to Men just to name a few. He did this by successfully assembling a team of songwriters, producers, and musicians.

As stated in this article Mr. Gordy actually started out as a boxer even fighting on the undercard for “Smokin” Joe Lewis in the early 1950’s and then fought in the Korean War where he developed a love for jazz music. After returning home he opened up 3-D Record Mart, which quickly went bankrupt due to the fact that he wouldn’t shelve Jazz musicians that he didn’t care for even if the consumers did.

He then wrote songs and worked with several different artists until he met Smokey Robinson who told him that he had to start his own label and distribution, which we now know as Motown records. By the mid 1960’s, Mr. Gordy had a sound of his own which was a combination of sultry gospel singers with a funky r and b sound with heavy percussion, which was unheard of at this time in music.

The biggest obstacle that Mr. Gordy had to overcome was copyright infringement as stated in the movie which is a depiction of the Diana Ross story “Dream Girls.” At this time African American artists would write, produce, compose, and perform classic tunes that would sell very little by that artist and later sell out of the stores when performed by a Caucasian artist. The original artist would not receive any recognition, money or royalties for their hard work and brilliance while the Caucasian artist would prosper. Being the genius that he is, Mr. Gordy traveled the U.S and hand delivered his music and bribing radio show hosts, which in time broke the color barrier in music.

As quoted in the article “Berry Gordy Jr. (2012). Biography.com.
Retrieved 12:58, Apr 15, 2012 from http://www.biography.com/people/berry-gordy-jr-9316017 “ Best known for:
Berry Gordy founded Motown Records, the most successful black owned music company in the history of the United States.
That is a huge statement in my eyes, considering how far Pop, R& B, hip hop, and rap music have evolved since then.

Mr. Gordy is still making headlines today with the “breathe of fresh air” group LMFAO, which the two group members consist of his Son and Grandson.

In closing, Berry Gordy is a true American icon who has paved the way for young aspiring producers, composers, songwriters, and musicians such as myself and my classmates.

Citations www.history-of-rock.com/motown_records.htm, As quoted in the article “Berry Gordy Jr. (2012). Biography.com.
Retrieved 12:58, Apr 15, 2012 from http://www.biography.com/people/berry-gordy-jr-9316017

Sincerely,
Gary Hodges
3204995