For this assignment, I chose to
read the autobiography of Berry Gordy, a record producer, songwriter, and
founder of the Motown record label; Gordy has worked with artists such as
Smokey Robinson, Diana Ross, and The Jackson Five. Titled To Be Loved: The Music, The Magic, The Memories of Motown, this
book dives into Gordy’s backstory from his perspective, and he talks about the
people who have influenced him and debunks many of the myths and rumors that
have surrounded him and his company.
What surprised me the most about
Gordy was two-fold – first, the tone of the book was very effervescent. Gordy
was 65 years old when he wrote the book, but his tone, demeanor, and writing
style almost makes it sound like a cool guy in his early 20’s wrote it. It made
the book very enjoyable to read, and really gave the reader tremendous insight
into Gordy’s personality. Secondly, I wasn’t too familiar with Gordy, and I
initially thought he was more of a music-business executive than actual record
producer. Early on in his career, he was very hands-on when it came to actually
making music. I was definitely surprised by that, and he even mentions that he
enjoys being creative far more than the business aspect of being the head of
Motown (before he sold it). What I admired the most me Gordy was the fact that
he is such a humble, down-to-Earth person. Here’s a guy that has had a ton of
success in the music industry, yet he is still very critical of himself. He
truly recognizes his failures, and he often embraced them. I also appreciated
his military background – what HASN’T this man done? There isn’t really
anything that I don’t admire about Gordy, as he’s a very genuine and sincere
businessman (those are hard to come by), but if I COULD criticize one thing
about him, it’d be his inability to see when he needs to cut his losses. He
even admits that he should have sold MCA far sooner than he actually did (he
almost did 17 months before he finally sold it), and would have made “more
money than I could spend in a lifetime, but just didn’t want to give it up at
that time.” Gordy encountered a lot of adversity, and his biggest failure was
not adapting MCA to the changes of the world of technology in that era. His
struggles and adversity began as a child, as he was an African-American boy
living in the Great Depression era. His family lost their home and had to go
into welfare. His rough, humble beginning ultimately formed him into the great
man that he continues to be today.
The competencies that I noticed
that Gordy exhibited is his passion for being creative. He isn’t your average
music-business executive. It isn’t just about the bottom line, dollar signs,
and the net-profit margin. He truly just cares about making great music. The
other thing that I noticed about him is that he truly, truly cares and loves
the people that he works for. I think that’s an absolutely critical quality for
an entrepreneur to have – it’s hard to find good people, and it’s even harder
to keep them. Gordy has an eye for talent that is completely unrivaled, which
is why he was so successful in the music industry.
The only part of the book that I
found a bit confusing was why Gordy fired Barney Ales, a Sales and Marketing
executive at Motown. It wasn’t clear why, but Barney and Gordy were constantly
at odds about something. Gordy called their relationship “complex”, yet Gordy
also admired him, and also said that they had fun doing their jobs. They were
both strong-head figures, sure, but couldn’t they find a way to make it work? It
just seemed like a falling out that was downplayed significantly, and I just
didn’t understand why.
If I could ask Gordy two questions,
I’d ask him if he ever felt that any project was too big for him, and if he had
any regrets. The premise behind the first question stems from Gordy’s first
film, Lady Sings the Blues, is a
five-time Academy-Award nominated film, and it was Gordy’s first film that he
ever produced or directed. How could a man with little to no experience in major
film-making be confident in essentially co-directing a feature film? I believe
the book mentions Motown producing a film made for TV, but Lady Sings the Blues is on a different level. It’s interesting
because we all have goals, but I sometimes question if my goals are within a
realistic reach or if I’m just dreaming. The premise behind asking him if he
has any regrets is because I’d be interested in knowing if he would make the
same decisions if he could do it all over again (would he fire Barney Ales? Would
he sell Motown earlier than he actually did?).
I believe that Gordy’s work ethic
is special – here’s a man that rose through financial adversity in his youth,
and did it in a time where the nation was racially divided. He dealt with
racism, and he didn’t let it define him or control him. I also think that he
has an eye for seeing hard work in people, and appreciates it, as well. I
believe it’s actually why he might have fired Barney Ales, although that’s not
confirmed. I share his opinion of hard work – I want people that work for me to
work their tails off because I’m working my tail off to keep them employed. It’s
a mutually beneficial relationship, and I just appreciate when people work hard
whether it’s for me or someone else.
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