Berry Gordy, Jr. was born in Detroit, Michigan, November 28, 1929. Berry was the seventh of eight children. Berry's parents were both hard working people.

Always ambitious, he dropped out of high school to become a professional boxer. His boxing profession was short lived. In 1951, he was drafted into the Army. He completed his high school education while he was in the army.

After the Army he tried his luck with a record store, it failed. Like many others during this time, he worked for the Ford Motor Company on as assembly line. This was when he decided to write songs. As fate would have it, he wrote a couple of hit songs. He was now a song writer.

Berry found himself still working for others, he wanted to have his own empire. With a $800.00 loan from his famiy he started his own record label, Tamla. The third lable was called Motown. It was Motown that this empire became know as to millions of baby-boomers .

Berry Gordy was the drive and determination behind Motown records, the "sound of young America" during the sixties. With hit after hit, Motown brought Black musicians like the Four Tops, Marvin Gaye, the Supremes, the Jackson Five, and many others into the forefront of America's musical scene. By 1977, Motown was the largest Black-owned company in the United States.