The Temptations, Supremes, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder and Four Tops all recorded on the Motown music label, singing with Berry Gordy as teenagers while wandering the streets of Detroit. Here’s what you may not know about some of these artists and the greatest music genre of all-time…
Berry was an amateur fighter with a losing record, giving the fight game up after his uncle lent him $800 to start a new music company out of his Grand Boulevard Detroit home.
Very few Motown artists were actually born in Detroit. Many moved as families from the South to earn more money in the thriving automotive business. Stevie Wonder was born in the Saginaw-Bay City area, while Marvin was born in DC. All of the Temptations were born outside of Michigan, Michael Jackson from Gary, IN.
Speaking of Michael Jackson, Berry originally refused to sign the Jackson 5 because he’d had it with child musicians; it was Gladys Knight who eventually persuaded him to bring them on board.
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