Berry Gordy, Jr. American Record Executive, Record Producer, Songwriter, Film & Television Producer.

Berry Gordy is the founder of Motown, the hit- making enterprise, birthed in Detroit, Michigan, that nurtured the careers of Smokey Robinson and The Miracles, Diana Ross and The Supremes, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Martha Reeves & the Vandellas, The Temptations, Michael Jackson and The Jackson 5, and many other music greats. The “Motown Sound” reached out across a racially divided, politically and socially charged country to transform popular music. Mr. Gordy became a songwriter, boxer, producer, director, innovative entrepreneur, teacher and visionary. In the 1960s, Gordy moved his artists into television, on shows like American Bandstand and The Ed Sullivan Show. Actively involved in the Civil Rights movement, he also released the recorded speeches of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. His films include Mahogany and Lady Sings the Blues, which garnered five Academy Award nominations. Gordy has received four honorary doctorates, and among the numerous awards recognizing his accomplishments are the Martin Luther King, Jr. Leadership Award, induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, recognition by the Ebony Power 100 with its first Lifetime Achievement Award and the Grammy Museum with its first Architects of Sound: Vision Award, and BET’s Visionary Award. In a White House ceremony in 2016, President Barack Obama presented Gordy with the 2015 National Medal of Arts for a lifetime of achievement that “transformed music and American life and still reverberates today.” Then in 2017, after three previous awards from the Songwriters Hall of Fame, Gordy finally received the award that meant so much to him - induction as a songwriter. Berry Gordy’s unparalleled contribution to music and popular culture is chronicled in his autobiography, To Be Loved: The Music, The Magic, The Memories of Motown. It is the basis for his play, Motown the Musical, which had its world premiere on Broadway on April 14, 2013, garnered 4 Tony nominations, The New York Times calling it Broadway’s “biggest box office hit of the year.” The UK production of the musical opened in London’s West End in March 2016 playing to rave reviews and ecstatic audiences, and the tour opened in 2018, currently playing in various cities in the UK. 2019 marked the year-long celebration of Motown’s 60th Anniversary. On April 21, 2019, CBS aired “Motown 60: A Grammy Celebration,” and on August 24, Showtime released the documentary, “Hitsville, the Making of Motown.” There are two streets named after him, Berry Gordy, Jr. Boulevard in Detroit, MI and Berry Gordy Square in Los Angeles, CA. Berry Gordy is 91 years old.