By Mariana Smith
FROM WIKIPEDIA COMMONS
Berry Gordy III (born November 28, 1929), known professionally as Berry Gordy Jr., is an American retired record executive, record producer, songwriter, film producer and television producer. He is best known as the founder of the Motown record label and its subsidiaries, which was the highest-earning African-American business for decades.
As a songwriter, Gordy composed or co-composed a number of hits including “Lonely Teardrops” and “That’s Why” (Jackie Wilson), “Shop Around” (the Miracles), and “Do You Love Me” (the Contours), all of which topped the US R&B charts, as well as the international hit “Reet Petite” (Jackie Wilson). As part of the Corporation, he wrote many hit songs for the Jackson 5, including “I Want You Back” and “ABC“. As a record producer, he launched the Miracles and signed acts like the Supremes, Marvin Gaye, the Temptations, the Four Tops, Gladys Knight & the Pips, and Stevie Wonder. He was known for carefully directing the public image, dress, manners, and choreography of his acts.
Gordy was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988, awarded the National Medal of Arts by President Barack Obama in 2016, and the Kennedy Center Honors in 2021. In 2022, he was inducted into the Black Music & Entertainment Walk of Fame.
He is also related to former US President Jimmy Carter. His relationship with Carter stems from his white great-grandfather James Thomas Gordy who owned a black, female slave named Esther Johnson.
TODAY’S ALMANAC
Question of the Day
Advice of the Day
Home Hint of the Day
Word of the Day
Puzzle of the Day
Born
- William Blake (poet) –
- Friedrich Engels (philosopher) –
- Earl Grey (Canadian Governor General 1904 – 1911) –
- James Connolly (first champion of modern Olympics) –
- Henry Bacon (architect) –
- Alberto Moravia (writer) –
- Berry Gordy, Jr. (founder of Motown Records) –
- Gary Hart (politician) –
- Paul Warfield (football player) –
- Randy Newman (singer & songwriter) –
- Alexander Godunov (composer, ballet dancer, & actor) –
- Paul Shaffer (musician & composer) –
- Dave Righetti (baseball player) –
- Judd Nelson (actor) –
- Jon Stewart (actor) –
- Mary Elizabeth Winstead (actress) –
- Scarlett N. Pomers (actress) –
Died
- Washington Irving (writer) –
- James Naismith (invented game of basketball) –
- Dwight Davis (tennis player) –
- Garry Moore (comedian) –
- Leslie Nielsen (actor) –
- Dale Armstrong (drag racer) –
Events
- Navigator Ferdinand Magellan reached the Pacific, emerging from what is now known as the Strait of Magellan–
- Banff Hot Springs Reserve (later renamed Banff National Park) established–
- North Pacific Canning Company formed, British Columbia–
- First recorded automobile race in America. Six cars left Chicago’s Jackson Park for a 54 mile race to Evanston, Illinois, and back through the snow–
- Grand Ole Opry made its radio debut–
- In Boston, Massachusetts, a fire in the Cocoanut Grove night club killed 492 people–
- John Lennon made a concert appearance at NYC’s Madison Square Garden–
- U.S. bill signed allowing states to set their own speed limits–
Weather
- Thomas Jefferson recorded in his journal: “It is so cold that the freezing of the ink on the point of my pen renders it difficult to write.”–
- A storm on Lake Superior damaged 29 ships–
- A Lake Superior storm caused waves 20 to 40 feet high–
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