Berry Gordy

Kirsty Young's castaway is the producer Berry Gordy.

He founded the Motown record label and his musical empire made worldwide stars of Smokey Robinson, Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross & The Supremes, The Jackson 5 and Marvin Gaye.

The second youngest of eight children, he was brought up in Detroit. He left school at sixteen to become a Featherweight boxer, and served as a soldier in the Korean war before making music his career. His first foray into the music business was a jazz record store in Detroit but he was out of step with popular taste and he became bankrupt.

It was whilst working on a a car production line that he came up with the idea of setting up a record label. The combination of his song-writing skills and entrepreneurial spirit took Motown music to the top of the charts on both sides of the Atlantic and to the centre of American culture during a pivotal moment in America's civil rights history. He was friends with Dr Martin Luther King and recorded some of his speeches on the Motown label.

Producer: Sarah Taylor.

Denne episoden er hentet fra en åpen RSS-feed og er ikke publisert av Podme. Den kan derfor inneholde annonser.

Episoder(126)

75 Years of Desert Island Discs

75 Years of Desert Island Discs

75 Years of Desert Island Discs - Kirsty Young ends the programme's anniversary year with some gems from the archive, including the creator of the format, Roy Plomley, actress Bebe Daniels, broadcaste...

31 Des 201742min

Bruno Tonioli

Bruno Tonioli

Bruno Tonioli, dancer, choreographer and a judge on BBC One's Strictly Come Dancing, is Kirsty's guest. He was brought up in Ferrara, Northern Italy, and was the only child of hard-working parents wh...

24 Des 201734min

Christine McVie

Christine McVie

Christine McVie enjoyed huge success with Fleetwood Mac, penning many of their signature songs including You Make Loving Fun, Oh Daddy, Little Lies, Everywhere and Songbird. The band has sold more tha...

17 Des 201748min

Kelsey Grammer

Kelsey Grammer

Kelsey Grammer is best known for his two-decade-long portrayal of psychiatrist Dr Frasier Crane which began on the NBC sitcom Cheers. He continued the role in the hugely successful spin-off series Fra...

10 Des 201735min

Tim Martin

Tim Martin

Tim Martin is the chairman and founder of the pub company JD Wetherspoon. He opened his first pub, Martin's Free House, in 1979 in North London. Now the chain employs 37,000 people, in 891 pubs of whi...

3 Des 201734min

Naomi Klein

Naomi Klein

The writer and activist Naomi Klein reached an international audience with her first book, the best-selling No Logo, a rallying cry against the power of corporate brands and the replacement of traditi...

26 Nov 201734min

Micky Flanagan

Micky Flanagan

Micky Flanagan found mainstream success as a comedian in 2007 with his autobiographical 'What Chance Change?' show at the Edinburgh fringe, where he was nominated as best newcomer. Raised in the East ...

19 Nov 201734min

Anna Pavord

Anna Pavord

Anna Pavord, writer & gardener, is interviewed by Kirsty Young for Desert Island DiscsProducer: Cathy Drysdale.

12 Nov 201736min

Populært innen Samfunn

rss-spartsklubben
giver-og-gjengen-vg
aftenpodden
aftenpodden-usa
popradet
rss-nesten-hele-uka-med-lepperod
konspirasjonspodden
rss-henlagt-andy-larsgaard
lydartikler-fra-aftenposten
rss-espen-lee-usensurert
alt-fortalt
grenselos
wolfgang-wee-uncut
min-barneoppdragelse
rss-dette-ma-aldri-skje-igjen
rss-siktet
rss-dannet-uten-piano
synnve-og-vanessa
frokostshowet-pa-p5
den-politiske-situasjonen