Berry Gordy Father of the Motown Sound Essay Example For Students

Berry Gordy: Father of the Motown Sound Essay Berry Gordy Jr. was born 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 left 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 also 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 philosophy of Booker T. Washington, which stressed economic independence for blacks. Gordy Sr. named his store after him. Berry Gordy 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 drop out of Northeastern High School to peruse a featherweight boxing career. He once even fought on the same card as the great 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. After 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 see the performances of famous artists like pianist Thelonious Monk and saxophonist Charlie Bird 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 make 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. He wrote a song for Jackie Wilson called Reet Petite. It became a major RB hit in late 1957. Gordy continued to dabble in freelance songwriting and he found success with Lonely Teardrops, and To Be Loved, which were two other hits that he wrote for Jackie Wilson. He also wrote a hit song for Barret Strong called Money (Thats What I Want). This gave Berry a strong reputation as an accomplished songwriter in the music world. Berry was an outstanding writer despite the fact that he was unable to read music. Gordy had no musical talent at all, as far as singing or playing music was concerned. He did however have an ability to gauge whether a song had the elements of popular appeal. He had the power to detect star quality and potential in songs and performers. The first star that Gordy would discover would be William Smokey Robinson, a Detroit high schooler with a soothing falsetto voice and an ear for sweet lyrics. In 1957 Smokey Robinson was the lead singer of a group called the Matadors. They auditioned unsuccessfully for Jackie Wilsons manager, but Gordy who was instrumental in Wilsons earlier success happened to be present at the audition. His talent for recognizing star power came in handy because he saw something that everyone at that audition seemed to miss. Berry persuaded Smokey and the Matadors to change their names to the Miracles and work with him. Berry Gordy began recording Robinsons group, The Miracles, for New York based End Records. They had early success with their record Got a Job/My Momma Done Told Me. Gordy then established Jobete Publishing company and began Motown Records. The name was derived from the city of Detroits nickname The Motor City. Smokey Robinson convinced Gordy to start his own recording company because although Gordy was very successful as an independent songwriter he remained on the fringes of the popular music business, making very little money. He was writing great songs, but he most of the profits were ending up in the pockets of record labels or distributors. He rented an eight-room house on 2648 W. Grand Blvd with an $ 800 loan from his family. This two-story house would serve as both the recording studio and the administrative headquarters for Motown Records. Homely Business EssayOne of the most critical ingredients to the success of Motown was unquestionably the song writing. Motown records had some of the best songwriters in the business, besides Smokey Robinson and Berry Gordy there was the famous team of Holland and Dozier. They consisted of Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, and Eddie Holland who wrote and produced the Supremes mid-1960s hits. There were also famous songwriters Sylvia Moy, Norman Whitfield, Mickey Stevenson, and Ivy Joe Hunter. All of his songwriters were also producers. Gordy and his huge songwriting staff created what is known as the Motown sound, a ballad based blend of traditional black harmony and gospel music with the lively beat of rhythm and blues. Since Gordys business was small he had to run it different from other companies. The studio on West Grand Blvd. also served the purpose of a finishing school and an academy of popular arts. Gordy found a lot of his talent out of high school and most of them had little or no experience in actually performing for large crowds or being on television. His staff of coaches was known as the Motown U Pros, Cholly Atkins headed them. These coaches taught the artists etiquette, choreography, and how to handle fame. With the combination of opportunity, raw talent, and world-renowned song writing Motown easily took its place as the top record company of the 60s. Times and tastes changed as the 60s became the 70s and Motown eventually decided to move its operation from Detroit to Los Angeles, following the trend of many musicians who migrated West. Although the company didnt have as strong of an impact in the 70s it was still a formidable enterprise. Motown still had heavy weight acts like The Jackson 5, Rick James, The Commodores, Lionel Richie, and Marvin Gaye. Gordy also made the move into the filmmaking industry with popular movies like, Lady Sings the Blues, starring Diana Ross. In 1988 Berry Gordy decided to sell Motown to MCA for $61 million dollars because he found it difficult to compete with multinational conglomerates that began to dominate the industry. Later Motown was sold to PolyGram 1993. Although Gordy is no longer making records, he still has a hand in Motown-related projects as well, including a television miniseries and a Broadway musical. As for Motown records today, the label boasts a less substantial roster than in its glory years, but it still includes some very impressive acts such as Stevie Wonder, Johnny Gill, Queen Latifah, Jason Weaver, and Boyz II Men. Boyz II Mens single End of the Road set records in 1992 by remaining at number one on the Billboard charts for 13 weeks, longer than any other song since the pop charts began. Berry Gordy headed one of the most successful black-owned companies in the United States. By 1972 Berry Gordy was the richest black man in America with an annual income in excess of $ 10 million dollars. By 1982, the company boasted revenues of $ 104 million, and Motown acts had recorded 110 number one hits on the American pop charts. Gordy was honored with a lifetime achievement award at the American Music Awards in 1975 and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988. Gordy was given a star on Hollywoods Walk of Fame in 1996 and people even wanted to name the section of West Grand Boulevard in front of the Motown Museum (Hitsville USA) after Berry Gordy. Motown records helped bring black performers and black music to the mainstream popular music charts. Motown started at a time when the country as a whole was optimistic about the future. The election of JFK, and the growing popularity of MLK Jr. and his message, fostered a sense that blacks were soon to enter a world of equality through the front door. This feeling was particularly felt in Detroit, as Motown became a success and crossed over into white audiences as well. To this day the Motown sound still continues to influence pop music

Philosophy Workfare Societys Restraint To Social Reform Of The Many

Philosophy : Workfare "Society's Restraint to Social Reform" Of the many chatted words in the social reform vocabulary of Canadians today, the term workfare seems to stimulate much debate and emotion. Along with the notions of self-sufficiency, employability enhancement, and work disincentives, it is the concept of workfare that causes the most tension between it's government and business supporters and it's anti-poverty and social justice critics. In actuality, workfare is a contraction of the concept of "working for welfare" which basically refers to the requirement that recipients perform unpaid work as a condition of receiving social assistance. Recent debates on the subject of welfare are far from unique. They are all simply contemporary attempts to decide if we live in a just society or not. This debate has been a major concern throughout history. Similarly, the provision of financial assistance to the able-bodied working-age poor has always been controversial. On one side are those who articulate the feelings and views of the poor, namely, the Permissive Position, who see them as victims of our society and deserving of community support. The problems of the poor range from personal (abandonment or death of the family income earner) to the social (racial prejudice in the job market) and economic (collapse in the market demand for their often limited skills due to an economic recession or shift in technology). The Permissive View reveals that all participants in society are deserving of the unconditional legal right to social security without any relation to the individual's behaviour. It is believed that any society which can afford to supply the basic needs of life to every individual of that society but does not, can be accused of imposing life-long deprivation or death to those needy individuals. The reason for the needy individual being in that situation, whether they are willing to work, or their actions while receiving support have almost no wei ght in their ability to acquire this welfare support. This view is presently not withheld in society, for if it was, the stereotype of the 'Typical Welfare Recipient' would be unheard of. On the other side, the Individualists believe that generous aid to the poor is a poisoned chalice that encourages the poor to pursue a life of poverty opposing their own long-term interests as well of those of society in general. Here, high values are placed on personal choice. Each participant in society is a responsible individual who is able to make his own decisions in order to manipulate the progression of his own life. In conjunction with this opinion, if you are given the freedom to make these decisions, then surely you must accept the consequences of those decisions. An individual must also work part of his time for others (by means of government taxing on earned income). Those in society who support potential welfare recipients do not give out of charity, but contrastingly are forced to do it when told by the Government. Each person in society contains ownership of their own body and labour. Therefore anything earned by this body and labour in our Free Market System is deserved entirely by that individual. Any means of deducting from these earnings to support others is equivalent to criminal activity. Potential welfare recipients should only be supported by voluntary funding. For this side, welfare ultimately endangers society by weakening two of it's moral foundations: that able-bodied adults should be engaged in some combination of working, learning and child rearing; and secondly, that both parents should assume all applicable responsibilities of raising their children.(5) In combination of the two previous views, the Puritan View basically involves the idea that within a society which has the ability to sufficiently support all of it's individuals, all participants in the society should have the legal right to Government supplied welfare benefits. However, t he individual's initiative to work is held strongly to this right. Potential welfare recipients are classified as a responsibility of the Government. The resources required to support the needy are taken by means of taxation from the earnings of the working public. This generates an obligation to work. Hence, if an individual does not make the sacrifice of his time and energy to contribute their earnings

Pornography and the internet (pros and cons) essays

Pornography and the internet (pros and cons) essays What was originally ment to be a form of controlling our governments missle supply 41 years ago, has now exploded into what we call today the internet. Sending and receiving information has never been as easy as it is today. With just a couple of keystrokes and mouseclicks we can have acess to almost anything we want on our computer screens. One of the biggest problems that has arisen with this new found technology is how easy it makes distributing and accessing pornographic material. Many citizens feel as though the internet needs to be regulated to keep pornographic imagry out of the hands of children. I feel that restricting the right of citizens to view and distribute legal pornography on the internet is a direct infringement on our First Amendment right. Allowing pornography to be distributed on the net helps keep in tact our rights as Americans, provides jobs to a whole new group of workers and entrapaneurs, and it provides a form of relief to people who might have otherw ise resorted to more drastic measures. To first understand the debate on whether or not pornography should be allowed on the internet, a basic knowledge of what the internet is, and when it was started is needed. Most of todays youth that uses the internet everyday for a variety of tasks take for granted that it has only been around and easily accessed for roughly 15 years. The concept of the internet, or what was then called Arpanet was created in 1957. The goal was to design a system that could be used from anywhere in the U.S. for the government to control its missile supply in case of war. The early 1990s is when the World Wide Web (or that www that is put in front of any webpage address) was created, and the public had access to it. In 1997 a study on site access showed that of the top 11,000 searches, 47% were targeted toward pornography. This would seem to show that pornography has given the internet a...

Cold Mountain essays

Cold Mountain essays Written from a third person, perspective point of view, Cold Mountain is a novel that depicts the themes of self-determination, undying love, generosity, and self-reliance, several themes that are found in society. Author Charles Frazier creates the characters of Ada and Inman to take on a quest of self-discovery as they live through the aftermath of the Civil War and try hopelessly to move on and hopefully find their way back to a love they had in the past. Frazier begins the novel by introducing Inman, who is wounded and goes AWOL from a military hospital to begin a journey back to his love Ada. Soon thereafter, Ada is introduced, an attractive, educated girl, she is left alone when her father dies and must learn how to cope with her feelings and become self-reliant and move on with her life. The novel is the story of Inmans journey back to Ada, and the many encounters she and he witness along the way. The various people and circumstances that Inman and Ada encounter in their journey procreate several emotional responses that contribute to the several themes of the book. In the beginning of the story, Ada recollects the time when her father was ill with tuberculosis and dies, this sets much of the plot and will contribute to Adas role in the novel. Ada felt as if she had been abandoned and stranded alone. The farm that she lives on is falling into disrepair and she does not have any insight on how to fix or maintain it. This particular situation relates to the theme of self-reliance and self-determination because Ada must learn to live on her own and not rely on other individuals for support. Eventually, with some help from a woman named Ruby, Ada slowly begins to make reparations on the farm and continue on with her life. Inman confronts a number of different individuals amid his return to Ada, however one distinct occurrence with a woman named Sara results in violence. Sara has fed, housed, and clothed ...

International Entrepreneurship Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

International Entrepreneurship - Essay Example The investment fund is in a continuous recruitment process, especially in Africa. 1.3 Industry Sector the industry served by the company is financial services. The investment fund is involved in financing and advising of the smaller and less privileged business in the rural parts of Latin America and Africa (Root Capital, 2013c). The objective of the investment fund in to increase rural prosperity and decrease environmental vulnerability within small and medium businesses (Root Capital, 2013b). Offerings The company is involved in increasing its environmental and social impact with the help of three step strategy. These include financing, advising and catalyzing Financing- this involves providing leans to the small and medium business in rural and poor sections of various countries. Presently Root Capital operated in Africa and Latin America. The company is involved in both long term and short term financing of loans. Through lending, a support system is provided to the rural ecosyst em. Advising- the investment fund is involved in providing financial training to prospective clients as well as current clients. The objective of providing management training in finance is to make these clients capable of establishing and maintaining business. The service products in financial advisory include information seminars, diagnostic workshops, and financial training and preparation services for loan application Catalyze- root capital aims to create a financial market in which the underprivileged and vulnerable classes of business are provided with full potential and expertise so they are able to thrive in this competitive market and make a mark for themselves. The catalyze strategy for Root Capital is to innovate and accelerate. 1.4 Main market (Domestic/ International) Root capital is majorly involved in international market. Majority of its operational revenue come from Latin America and Africa. The target clients of Root Capital are small and medium businesses in rural areas. During the early days, majority of the clients were from agricultural background. Later on, the company started providing loans to coffee products and small trading companies. 1.5 B2B/B2C Root Capital falls in business to business category where small and medium businesses from rural parts of Latin America and Africa are its customers. Demographic Profile of the entrepreneur REF DESCRIPTION RESPONSE 2.1 Age, Gender, education, marital status etc. William Fulbright Foote popularly known as Willy Foote is the founder and current Chief Executive Officer of Root Capital. Willy is 43 years old and married to Virginia Foote. His present home address is Greater Boston. Willy completed his bachelors from Yale University in the year 1990. He then went on to pursue his masters in development economics from the London School of Economics 2.2 Prior Work Experience He stated his carrier working with Latin American Corporate Finance (LACF) as a financial analyst. After leaving Wall Street , Willy started working as a business journalist in Mexico. This was the time when he was confronted with the challenges of the small and medium businesses of the rural areas and the disadvantages they were facing. 2.3 Personal interest, special training Willy Foote completed his specialist training at the Aspen Institute in the year 2012. He attended the Henry Crown Fellowship Class. Apart from work, he likes to spend his time with family.

Research paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Research Paper Example The poor usually undergo a lot of stress, which lead to change of eating habits; they eat more while bored and angered. In conclusion, obesity can be reduced among the poor if better living conditions are provided and inflation rates brought down. Introduction Obesity refers to a situation in which a human body accumulates a lot of fats that end up with adverse effects. Obesity is measured using the body mass index (BMI). Therefore, individuals are considered to be overweight when their body mass index is between 25 and 30, but any person whose BMI is above 30 is said to be obese. Normally, obesity is associated with too much consumption of calories accompanied by little amount of exercise. Additionally, several other factors are to contribute to obesity, for example, age, gender, medication, health conditions, and environmental factors, emotional and physical activities. It is evident that when people grow older their metabolic rates reduce; therefore, they should take different kin ds of food. Young people have a lot of energy to break down the calories, which is why obesity cases are rare among them as compared to those in their 40s. In terms of gender, research shows that women are prone to obesity than men (Sutton 2005). This is because men burn up a lot of calories while resting. It has also been established that when women reach menopause, they tend to gain more weight because they experience a decrease in their metabolic rate. Research also indicates that genetic makeup of an individual can contribute to obesity. If a person’s biological mother or father is heavy, there is about 75% probability of the sibling being overweight. This is unavoidable because one is born with those genes. With the changing lifestyles, people tend to eat a lot of junk food leading to them being overweight. Working schedules have interfered with the normal functioning of human bodies because many people seat for longer hours in the office. Emotional issues influence eati ng habits; emotionally disturbed individuals tend to eat a lot hence poorly manage their weight. Anger and boredom also believed to cause too much eating. Ill health can also cause obesity because of hormonal changes, which slowdown metabolism (Sutton 2005). Depression and some mental diseases can also lead to too much consumption of food. While, under medication, some individual can gain weight because of the drugs they are subjected to, for example, antidepressants and steroids. Obesity can be treated through physical exercises, using foods with low fat content and high fiber; a balanced diet is emphasized. Changes in lifestyles and reduction of psychological disturbances, as well as, taking medications can reduce obesity. Several negative effects are associated with obesity for instance high blood pressure, diabetes and disease of the heart. Moreover, cancer has been associated with obesity; uterus, breast and gallbladder cancer in women while prostate cancer in men. Because a lo t of weight exerts stress on the joints, the hips and knees suffer. Many people view that obese individuals are not attractive; therefore, they undergo stress because of rejection and criticism. Recently, it has been found out that the poor get obese too. Therefore, this paper seeks to identify the reasons behind obesity among the poor (Sutton 2005). Body Over the years, poverty is said to a major factor towards obesity. Inflation and high food prices will

Critical Essay by Juda Smith Essay Example for Free

Critical Essay by Juda Smith Essay I think the nether grave is the best story, because it’s very relatable. Majority of kids get bullied and or go through a bad time at least once in their life, so they either find ways to escape it or lie to people about how â€Å"good† their life is so nobody knows how bad it actually it. People connect more with things they can relate too. Fact. But, ‘†A Sound of Thunder† is a better story that can be classified as science fiction because it has something to do with time travel, dinosaurs, and history. â€Å"A Sound of Thunder† fits into the science fiction category because it’s based on time travel, dinosaurs ruling the Earth, and staying on the correct path so he doesn’t â€Å"change the course of history†. Those are all science related things so that’s the science part. It’s fiction because its fact but science related. No one can go back in time or change the course of history that’s where the fiction comes into play. In the story â€Å"nether grave† it’s harder to classify it as science fiction, because it’s not like it has something to do with time travel or dinosaurs, but it does have to do with gaming and leaving behind his own life to be a jaguar in a video game life. It does have to with people and how their life effects their life decisions which is science. It’s fiction because people can’t trade in their bad life to be in a video game. In the story â€Å"A Sound of Thunder† he uses sensory imagery, which uses very descriptive words to evoke images of sight, sounds, feelings, touch, and smells. In the first line, the protagonist swallows and they tell us about the â€Å"muscles around his mouth† and he waves his hand, while in the background there comes a â€Å"sound like a gigantic bonfire.† In the story the nethergrave it was hard to tell you were in another world because of the lack of detail. They didn’t give you a time period too, so there isn’t really to relate to besides the fact that it’s about a boy who uses his computer to hide and lie about his life. The theme in the story â€Å"A sound of thunder† you have to stay on the correct path in life or it will go all wrong. The plans you thought you had will change and everything will be challenging and hard. In the stor y the â€Å"Nether grave†, the theme of the story I believe it is when you feel like your life is bad, don’t go on trying to hide what’s going on. I think the first story has the best theme â€Å"A sound of thunder† because it is true. If you don’t stay on the correct paths of life and associate yourself with good people, your life and plans  can all change. You can’t have the both of best worlds.