berry goody :: essays research papers

Berry Gordy Father of the Motown SoundBerry Gordy Jr. was innate(p) in Detroit, Michigan on November 28, 1929. He was the seventh born out of eight siblings. His parents migrated to Detroit from Georgia during 1922. They were part of a mass exodus of African Americans who go away the South in the 20s and traveled to northern cities in search of better economic futures. During that time jobs were plentiful in the factories, mainly the big four automotive plants that like, Chrysler, Ford, Chevrolet, and General Motors. Berry and Bertha Gordy would instill in Berry Jr. and his brothers and sisters a strong work ethic and a belief that anything could be achieved through persistence. His family in addition had deep roots in business. Berry Sr. owned a plastering and carpentry service, a general store, and a printing business. Gordys family believed in the doctrine of Booker T. Washington, which stressed economic independence for blacks. Gordy Sr. named his store after him. Berry Gord y Jr. was heavily influenced by the ambition of his father.Like his father, he was also very determined and he tried many new ventures. Berry was an average student who earned decent grades. Despite this he decided to degrade out of Northeastern High School to peruse a featherweight boxing career. He once even fought on the same card as the abundant Joe Louis. He had a brief but successful series of fights but decided to give up boxing in 1951. That same year he would then decide to try out the Army. He served for two years during the Korean War there he earned his high school equivalency diploma. later his short stint in the army, he decided to open a record store, which only sold jazz records. Berry always enjoyed listening to records in his basement and he had a great love of music. Berry always hung around Detroits popular nightspots to hear the bebop jazz sounds. He was able to hold the performances of famous artists like pianist Thelonious Monk and saxophonist Charlie &quo tBird" Parker. Unfortunately, Berrys store eventually closed due to financial difficulties.Gordy soon found himself working at Fords Mercury plant, earning $85 a week. Bored with his assembly line job, he spent all of his free time writing songs. Berry would hum melodies and chance on up song lyrics in his head to break the monotony of everyday work. Berry soon began to get serious about song writing and he got his big break when he won a talent contest.