Revised Essay- To be Graded

  To me, the most admirable qualities about being an entrepreneur is the passion that they all seem to possess for their businesses. Not so much for “business”, but for the industry in which they’re creating an original method and mechanism to make money and to market their ideas and passions.

Berry Gordy Jr. was born in 1929, to a family of 8. His father was a white farmer and his mother a Georgian slave. Often criticized for his “get rich quick” schemes, Gordy dropped out of the 11th grade in a Detroit City high school with aspirations of becoming a boxer until his plans were put on hold by the draft in 1950.

In 1953 when Gordy returned, still using his entrepreneurial instincts to devise a way to make money, Gordy opened his own music store. Unfortunately, this small record business was unsuccessful and he ended up working a manual job at a Lincoln-Mercury plant. Soon after he was put in touch with an owner of a local bar and talent club where he met famous singer Jackie Wilson.

This began Gordy’s career in the music industry, and in 1957 Gordy helped Jackie Wilson co-write over 6 songs most of which topped the R and B charts nation wide and in the U.K. After the success with Wilson, Gordy redirected his interests in music from songwriting to producing. He went through a series of RandB groups his first being The Miracles in 1957. Only two years later he took 800 dollars and founded an R&B label called Tamia Records which housed artists such as Marv Johnson. Soon after United Artist Records picked up some of his artists for national distribution.

Only 12 months later Berry Gory created the famous record labeled known around the world as Motown, this included artists such as The Marvalettes, Smokey Robinson, Mary Wells, The Supremes, Marvin Gaye, The Temptations, The Four Tops, Gladys Knight and The Pips, The Commodores, The Velvelletes, Martha & the Vandellas, Stevie Wonder and the Jackson 5.

What set Berry Gordy’s company apart from other producing companies is Berry Gordy’s attention to bringing his music and his artists to an international appreciation. In a Jim-Crow time period, Berry Gordy seemed to feel like it would limit his success to only promote his artist’s to a black audience, instead he was able to get many of his artists featured on White popular television, and at upscale white music clubs like The Tropicana.

Gordy made this possible through marketing. He marketed his artists to the interests and the taste of a broader audience. This often raised a lot of controversy in regards to what he was willing to “change” about his artists in order to reach a larger market in his music company. Changes that were made reflected the ideals and opinions of order, conservativeness, and beauty of the white audience that Gordy was trying to reach. Despite the criticism Gordy’s interest in a larger market and dedication to converting the skeptics, was indeed the major root of his success in that era.

In the 70s and 80s Gordy added to his list of artists Rick James, and Lionel Richie. He eventually sold his interests and the name in June 28, 1988 for 61 million dollars, including his publishing agency and movie department. A man like Berry Gordy has to be admired. He had the tenacity that was un-relinquishing. He would not stand for familiar, being uneducated, being poor and being black did not have any hold or constraint on the multitude of achievements he was able to accomplish.

He accomplished so much, that the world recognized it ant in 1998 he was inducted into the junior achievement U.S. Business Hall of Fame for all his successful music endeavors. With 800 dollars and a passions for music Berry Gordy transcended into a level of professionalism and business savvy that made black music a vast contribution to popular color. He helped cross race and economic barriers in a Jim Crow United States through the universal language of music, and he expanded his company to include other aspects that appealed to the times. To even further fortify what made Berry an ideal businessman he knew when it was time to give his company up, and invest himself in his time when he sold Motown in 1988.

The reason why Berry Gordy is my favorite entrepreneur is because he took art and marketed it to people in a positive way. It still makes my parents (who are 69 and 70) to take out an old Motown Record and put it on their ancient turntable. Modern musicians are still using Motown Records for samples and inspiration for new songs. People still remember how clubs, and parties use to be segregated and the not too soon after that they were dancing to the Temptations next to people of difference races and enjoying life together.

Music does this. Art does this. Art crosses boundaries and Berry Gordy was able to make all that possible. The true entrepreneur in my opinion doesn’t just make money off an idea, but he helps people and makes a cultural and social impact. Gordy made sure that his entrepreneurial contributions will out live him, and made sure that what he did in the music industry changed the face (and the radios) of an entire nation.



Sources:

Wikipedia contributors, "Berry Gordy," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia,http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Berry_Gordy&oldid=267894090 (accessed February 2, 2009).

http://www.history-of-rock.com/motown_records.htm

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/239162/Berry-Gordy-Jr