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Berry Gordy Talks Motown Musical, Love Affair with Diana Ross & More DETROIT, MI - Motown's 83-year-old founder Berry Gordy, a Detroit native, delivered quite a revealing interview Sunday on "CBS Sunday Morning" that helped promote "Motown: The Musical, a Broadway show entering its second week. Gordy addressed a variety of topics including his relationship with Diana Ross, his thoughts on Marvin Gaye's anti-war stance during the Vietnam War, what it took to create "Motown: The Musical," Michael Jackson's talent and his own legacy. Video of the interview can be found in the player below followed by some highlights typed out verbatim. Let us know what you think about Gordy, the Motown legacy, the musical and other related topics in our comments section.
The musical reportedly grossed more than $1 million last week - its first week on Broadway. Cast members are expected to appear Thursday on ABC's "Good Morning America." Berry Gordy on ... "I took some risks and they all paid off - big time. I mean really big time." "We had a rule that if you got that hit on an artist (as a songwriter), you would automatically get that next record." "It's less pressure than I had with Motown because I didn't know where I was going with Motown."
On why he started writing songs that led to the creation of Motown "My thought was 'Make some music, make some money and get some girls.' That was it - not necessarily in that order."
Smokey Robinson "Smokey Robinson had great talent; he was a wonderful poet, but he didn't know how to write songs. They would go on and on and on for days. I really taught him how to write a simple song - a front, middle and an end. I could see right away that he was starting to get better than me."
On how Ford Motor Co. assembly lines in Detroit inspired him "I got an idea for this assembly line, and I'd see cars come in one door with a bare metal frame. And then I would see them come out another door as a brand new car. So I said 'What if I can do that with music?'"
Stevie Wonder "I wanted him, but after I got him I didn't want him because you had to have chaperones ... and he was blind, and I didn't like his signing. I liked his harmonica playing. His first record we put out was a harmonica solo."
"Michael was this genius. it was like an old man in a kid's body. He would always watch me, what I was doing. The other kids would be out playing and he would always be staring at me, studying me."
"I had a big fight with Marvin Gaye about him doing a protest album. I said 'Why would you do a protest album?' I said 'What about your image?' and he said 'I don't care about no goddamn image, I got a brother in Vietnam and I want to awaken the minds of mankind.'"
On whether or not he was surprised of the response Gaye's "What's Going On?" had "Yes, and extremely happy! And so when the record became our biggest record in our history - at that time - you know, I came to him and said 'Man, you're right, I learned a lot.'"
What Diana Ross meant to him "I was madly in love with Diana Ross; she was the big star of my life.
The connection he felt with Ross during a Motown concert in Paris "That first night, I tried to make love to her and it didn't happen. And that was like the most embarrassing thing of my life. When you think of someone as a princess, the queen of your life, your mind plays tricks on you. And, of course, she made a joke out of it, and one which we use in the play. It's like: 'Well, you could look at it this way: 'At least you have power over everything else.'"
Creating "Motown: The Musical," writing it over a 5-year span and why he did it "Because I know it better than anyone. I know where it started. I lived it. Why wouldn't I write it?" "Very few people thought that a black kid from Detroit could do a Motown without being a gangster or in the mafia or anything like that."
His own legacy "I'm in heaven. I"m not sure I want to do this again, but it is a dream come true for me." "It's a labor of love, everything I've done. (The musical) is probably the last thing I'll do."
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I'd love to see it. Hope it's a success. I've always been a Berry Gordy Fan! | |
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I saw this last night. If you like the old Motown hits from the 60s and early 70s, you will love it. The boy who plays young Michael Jackson nailed the vocals. It was also cool to see later Motown acts get some love like The Commodores, Rick James and Teena Marie. | |
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