opinion
“Competition breeds champions.” Was that said by 18th century economic philosopher Adam Smith? 20th century economist Milton Friedman? Neither. It was Berry Gordy, a former boxer and auto assembly line worker turned film producer, author, songwriter, television producer, and founder of Motown Records.
Gordy announced his retirement a month ago during Motown’s 60th anniversary celebration in Detroit. This year’s festivities have also included groundbreaking on a major expansion of the Motown Museum, the Showtime documentary “Hitsville: The Making of Motown,” and a night of Motown films Oct. 22 on Turner Classic Movies.
Millions of us who grew up listening to The Supremes, the Four Tops, The Temptations, The Jackson 5, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, and Smokey Robinson and the Miracles remember Motown for the best music we’d heard before or since. Some have come to believe, as Jimi Hendrix said, “Music doesn’t lie. If there is something to be changed in this world, then it can only happen through music.”
Motown music helped heal a nation
In the 1960s, something needed to change. Race problems resulted in riots like Bloody Sunday in 1965, when 600 peaceful demonstrators were beaten and teargassed by Alabama police for protesting the killing of a black civil rights activist. But at the same time, kids of every color were dancing to Motown hits like “Stop! In the Name of Love” and “It’s the Same Old Song.”
I could never sit when the Four Tops played “Reach Out.” It felt like my song. Gordy —affectionately known as B.G. — understood Motown’s appeal, saying “it’s not really black music. It’s music by black stars.”
In his memoir, he explained, “I learned we all basically wanted and needed the same things. As a songwriter, that’s what I wanted to write about — what people needed —whether it was love, a reason to dance, a reason to cry.”
He recalls Martin Luther King Jr. saying that Berry was “bringing emotional integration.” As King made a monumental impact with his words, Berry softened Americans’ hearts with dance music. At Motown concerts, the ropes that divided black and white kids came down and everyone danced together.
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Motown’s music and message were bolstered by Gordy’s business acumen. He created a friendly competition among singing groups and, as Motown artist Valerie Simpson said, “It made you sharpen your tools … to come up with something that would stand apart.” Another motto Berry impressed on Motown writers, choreographers and singers was “Innovate or stagnate.” He was certainly an innovator. Before starting Motown in April 1960, Gordy had worked on the Lincoln-Mercury assembly line in Detroit. He set out to apply that production method to the seemingly unrelated music business.
Creating greatness amid poverty
In some ways, Gordy’s motivation was just like most people’s. One of the first songs he co-wrote was “Money, (That’s What I Want),” and, as he once put it, “I can make a lot more money if I sell it to white people, too.”
I visited Hitsville U.S.A., Motown’s first headquarters, a few years ago and hung around for a few hours. I was struck by what I saw. Nine out of 10 visitors looked like me, older and white. They also had that same dreamlike look on their faces as they recalled the wonderful music of their youth and realized it was all made in this small house on West Grand Boulevard.
Gordy created so many great musicians, often from very poor districts in Detroit. His friend Smokey Robinson reflected on this and said that while every place on Earth has the same amount of talent, “they just don’t have a Berry Gordy.” Smokey was also right when he said, “Motown is a great example of the American Dream.”
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In his 1776 book, “The Wealth of Nations,” Adam Smith wrote, “It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest.” Berry put it more simply: “When I started, all I wanted to do was make some music, make some money, and meet some girls.”
He did all of that, but he also did what Motown artist Marvin Gaye sang about in one of the most beautiful songs ever recorded, “What’s Going On.” Berry found a way “to bring some lovin’ here today.”
Richard Williams is a senior affiliated scholar with the Mercatus Center at George Mason University.
