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Motown NHD

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Motown NHD
Berry Gordy was a leader in the field of being the founder of Motown music and was responsible for the success of many artists. Gordy's legacy of Motown music communicated and brought together a racially divided country and segregated society, around the world, touching all people of all ages and races. He did what many people of his time believed could never be done; he brought black music into millions of white Americans' homes, helping both black artists and their culture gain acceptance, and opening the door for a multitude of successful black record executives and producers. The back story was that during a disgraceful time in U.S. history, blacks were being beaten on the streets of urban America, and the Motown stars were performing to the delight of white audiences, slowly chipping away at racist attitudes. Motown music became a symbol of hope, and it was doing extremely well by reaching audiences across ethnic lines around the world.

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

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