11/28/1929, Born on this day, Berry Gordy, founder of Motown Records. In 1957 Jackie Wilson recorded ‘Reet Petite’, a song Gordy had co-written with his sister Gwen and writer-producer Billy Davis. Wilson recorded six more songs co-written by Gordy over the next two years, including ‘Lonely Teardrops’. Gordy reinvested the profits from his songwriting success into producing. In 1957, he discovered the Miracles (originally known as the Matadors) and began building a portfolio of successful artists. Over the next decade, he signed such artists as The Supremes, Marvin Gaye, The Temptations, The Four Tops, Gladys Knight & The Pips, Stevie Wonder and the Jackson 5.

Gordy decided to take total control of his songs, so on January 12, 1959, he borrowed $800 from his family’s loan fund to start his own record label, called Tamla. He had originally wanted to call his label “Tammy,” after a Debbie Reynolds film, but that title was already taken. Tamla Records was located at 1719 Gladstone Street in Detroit, and the first release was Marv Johnson’s “Come to Me” [Tamla 101]. The song was picked up by United Artists and it became a mid-sized hit. United Artists signed Marv Johnson to a recording contract and Berry Gordy continued to produce him for that label. In 1959, Marv Johnson’s “You Got What It Takes” became his first production to break into the pop Top 10.

Di S 🙂