Lessons of Gordy’s Detroit ‘Dream’
With all the success and hype around Dreamgirls, the movie based on the play based on Motown singing group The Supremes, we should remember that Detroit’s Berry Gordy was a role model for all entrepreneurs. He turned an $800 investment into a multi-million dollar empire and changed the world’s culture in the process.
Mark Reynolds offers an insightful article about Motown and Gordy’s role in what was once America’s largest Black-owned business on Pop Matters.
…Gordy was the right person with the right vision in the right place at the right time. As a songwriter with a couple of hits to his name, he knew how the music industry functioned. Detroit auto assembly lines fed his ideas for efficient music production. There was plenty of available talent, with musicians from the vibrant club scene and a public school system with strong music and English programs.
Motown lost a lot of its soul in 1988 when Gordy left Detroit in the middle of the night and moved the company to Los Angeles. A lot of the label’s magic sprang from the Motor City, and it never duplicated its early successes once it moved to La La Land.
Though the Motown model was never duplicated as successfully here or anywhere, the city’s musicians went on to influence funk, techno and hip hop. Detroit’s small businesses have had an impact on fashion, science and industry. Much of the inspiration for these businesses is owed to Gordy’s example.
