Great American Business Leaders of the 20th Century
Berry Gordy, Jr.
Motown Records Corporation
1959–1986
1959–1986
Motown Records Corporation
1959–1986
1959–1986
- Industry: Entertainment & Broadcast Media
- Era: 1950
Gordy’s Motown Records became the most successful African-American enterprise of its time with sales in the early 1970s of $50 million. Gordy’s first gold record came just one year after the founding of Motown - Smokey Robinson and the Miracles’ 1960 hit “Shop Around.” Diana Ross and the Supremes was Motown’s most successful group in the 1960s, achieving record sales of over $12 million, second only to the Beatles. In the early 1970s, it was the Jackson Five that became Gordy’s most lucrative find.
Personal
- Born-Died: 1929
- Birthplace: Michigan
- Race: Black or African American
- Gender: Male
- Father: Laborer, Skilled
Education / Military
- Military Service: Army