[REMOVE ADS]




Results 1 to 25 of 25
  1. #1
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Posts
    43,221
    Rep Power
    600

    Motown and Berry Gordy Jr.'s Children

    Does anyone know why Berry Gordy Jr.'s children did not take over the operations of Motown?

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Dec 2016
    Posts
    1,523
    Rep Power
    120
    Quote Originally Posted by marv2 View Post
    Does anyone know why Berry Gordy Jr.'s children did not take over the operations of Motown?
    Listen to Evan Ross sing, and you will see the apple often falls VERY far from the tree.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Posts
    21,798
    Rep Power
    460
    Quote Originally Posted by Circa 1824 View Post
    Listen to Evan Ross sing, and you will see the apple often falls VERY far from the tree.
    Not really - Berry couldn’t sing either

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Posts
    3,983
    Rep Power
    351
    Because Berry sold it. I think he felt that was the best way to keep it going as he could no longer compete with the much larger, non-independent companies. That was for $61m in 1988 and later on, in 1997, he sold a part share of Jobete to EMI.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Dec 2016
    Posts
    1,523
    Rep Power
    120
    Quote Originally Posted by jobeterob View Post
    Not really - Berry couldn’t sing either
    you missed my point .... children often do not have the talent nor abilities of their successful parent.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Posts
    43,221
    Rep Power
    600
    Quote Originally Posted by mysterysinger View Post
    Because Berry sold it. I think he felt that was the best way to keep it going as he could no longer compete with the much larger, non-independent companies. That was for $61m in 1988 and later on, in 1997, he sold a part share of Jobete to EMI.
    I know he sold it in 1988 at what turned out to be a third of its real value. I am talking about back in the 70s, it seemed that he was grooming Berry IV and Terry to move into management at Motown. It was a family-owned [[and at one time, operated business). I just wondered why he did not turn things over to them once he got "tired". Kerry, went on to become a music business executive.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Posts
    644
    Rep Power
    173
    Quote Originally Posted by marv2 View Post
    I know he sold it in 1988 at what turned out to be a third of its real value. I am talking about back in the 70s, it seemed that he was grooming Berry IV and Terry to move into management at Motown. It was a family-owned [[and at one time, operated business). I just wondered why he did not turn things over to them once he got "tired". Kerry, went on to become a music business executive.
    Berry Gordy IV ran Jobete!!

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Nov 2017
    Posts
    1,475
    Rep Power
    121
    BG had a son in that quirky group that had the one hit wonder, "Party Rock."

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Posts
    10,018
    Rep Power
    314
    ^ Rockwell was another son who was also a one-hit wonder. Which some of the Gordys had in common [[Berry's brother Robert also scored a hit as Bob Kayli around '58).

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Posts
    10,018
    Rep Power
    314
    Quote Originally Posted by Circa 1824 View Post
    Listen to Evan Ross sing, and you will see the apple often falls VERY far from the tree.
    Rhonda Ross Kendrick, not Evan, is Berry's child with Diana.

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Posts
    43,221
    Rep Power
    600
    I did not care for any of the Gordy's performing. What I was most interested in is why none stepped up to run/manage Motown before Berry Gordy Jr. decided to sell it.

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Nov 2017
    Posts
    1,475
    Rep Power
    121
    Quote Originally Posted by midnightman View Post
    Rhonda Ross Kendrick, not Evan, is Berry's child with Diana.
    Rhonda was also in the Temps movie! And she sings.

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Posts
    10,018
    Rep Power
    314
    Quote Originally Posted by nativeNY63 View Post
    Rhonda was also in the Temps movie! And she sings.
    She played Paul Williams' wife. She can sing AND act... a chip off the old block as they say.

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Posts
    10,018
    Rep Power
    314
    Quote Originally Posted by marv2 View Post
    I did not care for any of the Gordy's performing. What I was most interested in is why none stepped up to run/manage Motown before Berry Gordy Jr. decided to sell it.
    Maybe because BG didn't trust any of them to do it? Maybe he would've picked Hazel [[she seems to know business or did, I don't know what she does now) but she was going through a very messy divorce with Tarhead Jackson [[Jermaine) lol

    But he also thought Kerry Gordy [[founder of the Apollo group) knew business. He actually wrote in "To Be Loved" that he felt Kenny Gordy, aka Rockwell, would be a record executive [[but Rockwell is what you call the "invisible one"). So maybe he felt "nah that's too much responsibility and I don't trust 'em with it" so he sold it.

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Posts
    43,221
    Rep Power
    600
    Quote Originally Posted by midnightman View Post
    Maybe because BG didn't trust any of them to do it? Maybe he would've picked Hazel [[she seems to know business or did, I don't know what she does now) but she was going through a very messy divorce with Tarhead Jackson [[Jermaine) lol

    But he also thought Kerry Gordy [[founder of the Apollo group) knew business. He actually wrote in "To Be Loved" that he felt Kenny Gordy, aka Rockwell, would be a record executive [[but Rockwell is what you call the "invisible one"). So maybe he felt "nah that's too much responsibility and I don't trust 'em with it" so he sold it.
    Thank you Midnightman for at least addressing the subject of this thread. You may be right. I do recall a few times in the 70s reading and seeing pics of Mr. Gordy's older sons, Berry !V and Terry Gordy working in the offices of Motown in LA. His niece Iris Gordy also played a key role at Motown starting back in the Detroit days. He had a large, extended family that grew up around the business and it just struck me as odd that the family firm was not passed down to the younger generation.
    Last edited by marv2; 04-14-2020 at 10:02 PM.

  16. #16
    Join Date
    Nov 2017
    Posts
    1,475
    Rep Power
    121
    Quote Originally Posted by marv2 View Post
    Thank you Midnightman for at least addressing the subject of this thread. You may be right. I do recall a few times in the 70s reading and seeing pics of Mr. Gordy's older songs, Berry !V and Terry Gordy working in the offices of Motown in LA. His niece Iris Gordy also played a key role at Motown starting back in the Detroit days. He had a large, extended family that grew up around the business and it just struck me as odd that the family firm was not passed down to the younger generation.
    Sadly, sometimes apples DO fall far from the tree!

  17. #17
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Posts
    43,221
    Rep Power
    600
    Quote Originally Posted by nativeNY63 View Post
    Sadly, sometimes apples DO fall far from the tree!
    I mean their grandparents, Pops and Bertha Gordy were entrepreneurs, along with most of their uncles and aunts.

  18. #18
    Join Date
    Jan 2011
    Posts
    1,845
    Rep Power
    179
    Quote Originally Posted by marv2 View Post
    I mean their grandparents, Pops and Bertha Gordy were entrepreneurs, along with most of their uncles and aunts.
    Maybe none of his brood were hungry enough money wise to do take on that responsibility. Would Berry keep getting dragged into business matters if was kept in the family? Did he just think that they did not possess the business skills and dedication necessary to run a large company?

  19. #19
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Posts
    43,221
    Rep Power
    600
    Quote Originally Posted by detmotownguy View Post
    Maybe none of his brood were hungry enough money wise to do take on that responsibility. Would Berry keep getting dragged into business matters if was kept in the family? Did he just think that they did not possess the business skills and dedication necessary to run a large company?
    Those are good questions.

  20. #20
    Join Date
    Jan 2011
    Posts
    1,845
    Rep Power
    179
    [QUOTE=marv2;572094]Those are good questions.[/QUOTE
    Do we know if any of his offspring were college educated in Business, Management, Marketing or some other degree to successfully run Motown?

  21. #21
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Posts
    43,221
    Rep Power
    600
    [QUOTE=detmotownguy;572349]
    Quote Originally Posted by marv2 View Post
    Those are good questions.[/QUOTE
    Do we know if any of his offspring were college educated in Business, Management, Marketing or some other degree to successfully run Motown?
    I am almost certain that all of them were college graduates. I do know Hazel graduated from Pepperdine University. Their father, Berry Gordy was not college educated.

  22. #22
    Join Date
    Jan 2011
    Posts
    1,845
    Rep Power
    179
    [QUOTE=marv2;572360]
    Quote Originally Posted by detmotownguy View Post

    I am almost certain that all of them were college graduates. I do know Hazel graduated from Pepperdine University. Their father, Berry Gordy was not college educated.
    Maybe they were simply "Motowned" out lol!

  23. #23
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Posts
    43,221
    Rep Power
    600
    [QUOTE=detmotownguy;572363]
    Quote Originally Posted by marv2 View Post

    Maybe they were simply "Motowned" out lol!
    We just don't know. I know if I were in their shoes, I would MADE my dad let me work there. LOL

  24. #24
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Posts
    927
    Rep Power
    187
    Maybe having grown up in/around it, they just didn't really have the interest in it as a career commitment....on a much much micro-smaller scale, we probably all know of family owned businesses we would have viewed as a "golden egg" if passed down to us, and our friends who were in the "gifted" position just did not want the opportunity.

  25. #25
    Join Date
    Jan 2011
    Posts
    1,845
    Rep Power
    179
    Quote Originally Posted by gman View Post
    Maybe having grown up in/around it, they just didn't really have the interest in it as a career commitment....on a much much micro-smaller scale, we probably all know of family owned businesses we would have viewed as a "golden egg" if passed down to us, and our friends who were in the "gifted" position just did not want the opportunity.
    Good analogy-makes sense. A friend's parents owned an insurance company whose kids wanted nothing to do with it as they wanted to pave their own road.

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  

[REMOVE ADS]

Ralph Terrana
MODERATOR

Welcome to Soulful Detroit! Kindly Consider Turning Off Your Ad BlockingX
Soulful Detroit is a free service that relies on revenue from ad display [regrettably] and donations. We notice that you are using an ad-blocking program that prevents us from earning revenue during your visit.
Ads are REMOVED for Members who donate to Soulful Detroit. [You must be logged in for ads to disappear]
DONATE HERE »
And have Ads removed.