Berry Gordy and the Process that Made the Motown Sound
Berry Gordy always knew that he would be in the music industry.
But, when his record store failed, he was forced to get a regular job, so he started work at the Lincoln-Mercury Plant assembling cars.
One day, as he was watching the cars move through the assembly line, something sparked in his mind.
“The cars started out as just a frame, pulled along on conveyor belts,” Gordy said, “until they emerged at the end of the line—brand spanking new cars.”
What if he took that same concept and applied it to music?
Just like that, Gordy’s idea of a Hit Factory had been born.
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When you think of the assembly line, you hardly think of creativity or making music.
But Gordy knew what everyone else didn’t.
He knew that, to make a hit, you’d need a wide range of talents—vocals, songwriting, the band, dance moves, public relations. Of course, you couldn’t get that kind of support as a start up.
Unless, Gordy figured, you did it all yourself under one roof.
“One station here, producers over here, arrangers over here, dance instructors over here,” Gordy said.
“They go from room to room and come off a brand new star.”
As the saying goes, creativity is a process, not an event.
A seed is planted, but needs nutritive soil, consistent watering, and ample sunlight to sprout.
And so it is with filmmaking, software development, or any creative endeavor—the idea is the starting point and the system is how it comes to fruition.
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Berry Gordy founded Motown in 1959 in a modest two-story home on Grand Blvd. in Detroit.
On the front of the house, he placed a sign that read ‘Hitsville, U.S.A.’, a brash gesture by any standard.
But then, with Gordy’s assembly line cranking, the sign came true.
Over the next decade or so, Motown would dominate the charts and define American music, collecting 35 number ones from 1961 to 1973, including hits from Stevie Wonder, Mary Wells, the Supremes, the Four Tops, the Temptations, Marvin Gaye, and the Jackson 5.
No record label before or after has come close to the creative output of Berry Gordy’s Hit Factory.
And it was due in large part to his assembly line approach.
