Young Berry despised manual labor, and he was the only Gordy to bring home poor grades. He was considered “the black sheep of the family—mischievous, terrible in school, and always in trouble.” Berry was cocky and self-confident; he even dropped out of high school to pursue a boxing career, but he gave up boxing by realizing the tough life of a boxer compared to the classier life of a musician. Therefore, he devoted all his energies to songwriting, which was a deep passion, a burning desire to be special, to win, and to be somebody. His first successful attempt was a one-minute commercial jingle for the Gordy Print Shop, which he wrote and recorded in the basement studio of a local disc jockey. Inspired and nurtured by his ambitious and loving family, he grew more and more confident in himself.
With an $800 loan in hand from his family, Berry built the Empire on West Grand Boulevard, known as Motown Records. Motown Record Corporation was incorporated in April 1960. Berry set out to start his future to success with the