With Berry Gordy, Jr.’s 80th birthday coming up in a few days, listener Roger reminded me that it would be a great time for a Berry Gordy & Motown Cover Story. I happily agree!
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A hell of a lot of those early Motown classics were simultaneously recorded by pretty much all the stars on the label, I think as a means Berry had for instilling competition and not letting anyone get too big for their boots. He then selected the best of the bunch to release. I have always wondered too if Berry was really a writer, or was this again part of a way of getting in on the action and controlling things in all respects? A bit like Executive Producers in movies!
Certainly, Gordy wrote those early Jackie Wilson songs, indeed his 1st five hits. The story behind Money was that he was challenged by someone – Smokey? – to write about something he cared about besides the ladies; clearly his. The exec producer label would make more sense if he did it more often, but for every song to which he was co-writer (You Made Me..), he was solo listed on others (Do You Love Me, which BTW was supposed to be a Temptations song, but they weren't available.)
Now The Corporation (TM), formed in response to the departure of Holland-Dozier-Holland, I've not read that anyone has ever said who wrote what; it's always been billed collectively, or later, as four individuals, including Gordy.
My Berry Gordy blogpost. Natturally, I mentioned Coverille: http://rogerowengreen.blogspot.com/2009/11/berry-…
The original of "I Wish It Would Rain" is not by Marvin Gaye but by The Temptations.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Wish_It_Would_Rain