Berry Gordy

CTL-E-5246 · Person · businessperson · 1929–present

VERIFIED evidence grade of this record

Berry Gordy (born November 28, 1929, in Detroit, Michigan) is an American songwriter, producer, and record executive who founded Motown Records, the most successful Black-owned record company in American music history. After writing hits for Jackie Wilson, including “Reet Petite” (1957) and “Lonely Teardrops,” he borrowed $800 from his family's Ber-Berry cooperative fund and founded Tamla Records in 1959; the Motown Record Corporation followed in 1960. From the Hitsville U.S.A. studio in Detroit, Gordy built an artist-development system — the Supremes, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, the Temptations, the Jackson 5 — whose polished soul crossed over to the pop mainstream. CultureTechLens research documents his ear for the Black audience: Gordy sent new Motown releases to Chicago's WVON first to test their appeal with Black listeners. He sold Motown in 1988 for $61 million, the year of his induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

The record

• Also known as: Berry Gordy Jr., Berry Gordy III

Notes

Staged 2026-10-15 under CTL-GOV-006; Gate A clear; Gate B met (2 independent authoritative sources). CTL treatment: appears as an actor in CTL's WVON research (CTL-RB-MEDIA-000002); subject of 17 CTL research files (19 mentions) per the 2026-10-15 corpus gap scan. Statistics carried: $800 founding loan from the family Ber-Berry Co-operative (Black Enterprise, checked 2026-10-15); Motown sold to MCA Inc. and Boston Ventures for $61 million in 1988 (Black Enterprise). His edge in this packet completes the Motown triangle staged in the Canon Six: Marvin Gaye (CTL-E-5236) and Michael Jackson (CTL-E-5237) recorded_for Motown Records; the founder now connects to his own institution.

Relationships

• Motown Records — founded
  Gordy founded Tamla Records in 1959 and incorporated the Motown Record Corporation in 1960, building Motown Records into the most successful Black-owned record company in the United States.

Sources

• Columbia Encyclopedia via FactMonster, “Gordy, Berry, Jr.” — https://www.factmonster.com/encyclopedia/arts/bios/pop-jazz/gordy-berry-jr (primary source)
• Black Enterprise, “45 Great Moments in Black Business – No. 28: Berry Gordy Sells Motown Records” — https://www.blackenterprise.com/45-great-moments-in-black-business-no-28-berry-gordy-sells-iconic-motown-records/

Record CTL-E-5246 · CultureTechLens Knowledge Graph · evidence grade: VERIFIED · 2 sources (1 primary) · 1 mapped relationship · CTL research: PPL-001.
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