February 14, 2024 https://gruncleodd.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Please_Mr._Postman_album-190x190.jpg

More than just the hits. How Berry Gordy, Jr. made the Motown miracle. In just under 30 years Berry Gordy, Jr. had taken the $800 (approximately $7,650 in 2023 dollars) loan from his family credit union and turned it into …

February 13, 2024 https://gruncleodd.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Vandellas-Album1-Discogscom-190x190.jpg

The accidental secretary becomes a hitmaking singer. Martha Rose Reeves never intended to do secretarial work at Motown. Like many aspiring singers, she had a series of day jobs but she spent her nights gigging at various Detroit nightclubs singing …

February 12, 2024 https://gruncleodd.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/IMG_20231104_111821-190x143.jpg

Home to much of the U S automotive industry, Detroit is often called the “Motor City” so it makes some sense that soon after establishing Tamla Records on 12 January 1959, Berry Gordy, Jr., a man looking to make his …