Although there are numerous of people who have made contributions to the music industry, Berry Gordy stands out above the rest because of his versatility and creativity. Born in 1929 in Detroit, Berry Gordy Jr. became one of the most successful music executives in the United States. Gordy is responsible for creating the “Motown sound” throughout the city of Detroit and he accomplished this task by using powerful songs from artists such as Diana Ross and the Supremes and Smokey Robinson (Skyes, 2000). However, Gordy’s success did not come overnight and he had to overcome several obstacles to achieve his goals. Before Berry Gordy pursued a career in the music industry, he had aspirations of becoming a professional boxer, but his life took another course (Lagassé, 2012). As a member of a low income family in Detroit, Gordy often struggled in school and he was expelled at a young age (Anonymous, 2011). Therefore, Gordy became involved with professional boxing and he won…show more content… Motown's artists, songwriters and producers have influenced everyone from the Beatles and the Rolling Stones to recent chart toppers like Janet Jackson, Paula Abdul and Madonna” (p.66). Without Berry Gordy’s contributions to music, there would be a large amount of African Americans who would have limited on opportunities in the music industry. Thus, Gordy has opened doors in the music industry for groups. Michael Jackson was one greatest entertainers of all time, but his success would not have been possible without the help of Berry Gordy (Skyes, 2000). Before the introduction of Motown Records, black music was excluded from the mainstream and most Americans were not exposed to the sweet sounds of the rhythm and blues (Holmes, 1994). After the creations of several hits, the music of Motown Records could be heard all across America and the songs influenced thousands (Holmes,
