*(Via SoulTracks) – He was quietly a pioneer on the label that became synonymous with 60s soul music: both the organization’s first hitmaker and one of its key songwriters for a decade. Today we are sad to report the passing of Motown star Barrett Strong at age 81.
The Mississippi-born Strong was one of the first artists to sign to the fledgling Motown label in 1960, and it was later that same year that the 19-year-old delivered the first major hit for Berry Gordy’s company, shooting all the way to #2 on the charts with “Money (That’s What I Want),” a chugging number that announced the arrival of the Detroit label to the world.
“Money” went on to be recorded countless times over the years by various artists, but Strong didn’t use it as a springboard for a long recording career of his own. Instead, he teamed with music wunderkind Norman Whitfield to create one of the most successful songwriting teams in popular music. The two penned the guts of Motown’s biggest hits in the late 60s and early 70s by such artists as The Temptations (“Papa Was A Rolling Stone,” “Just My Imagination,” “Cloud Nine” and many more), Marvin Gaye (“I Heard It Through The Grapevine”), and Edwin Starr (“War”). Strong and Whitfield’s ability to move the label’s sweet, orchestral soul into a hot, grittier blend that incorporated rock and the funk sounds pioneered by Sly & The Family Stone and James Brown, gave Motown its second life as America’s #1 record label.
In the early 70s, Motown relocated to the West Coast and Whitfield left the fold to form his own label. This became the opportunity for Strong to resurrect his solo career, and he released albums on both Capitol Records and Epic Records, achieving some success with the single “Is It True” and the 1975 album Stronghold.
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While his production slowed down beginning in the 80s and beyond, Strong continued to write for other artists and returned in 2008 to record a sequel to his Stronghold album, Stronghold II. Strong was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2004.
Motown Records provided us with the following statement from Berry Gordy, Jr.
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