To Be Loved: The Music, the Magic, the Memories of Motown : An Autobiography

Now the man who made Motown, the revolutionary who shattered the color barrier in the American entertainment industry, the visionary who forever changed the way the world hears its music, finally breaks his silence after decades of rumor, gossip and misinformation. In TO BE LOVED, Berry Gordy tells it from the inside, as he lived it, as he made it happen. The son of a plastering contractor in Detroit's inner city, Gordy rose to become one of the twentieth century's most stunning success stories, following a sometimes stumbling, but always determined course. Within this kid, known as the "black sheep" of his family, burned an aspiration to greatness, a desire to be special, a fire lit by the heroes of his youth - the legendary boxers, as well as the artists and musicians flourishing in Detroit's club scene - who showed him there was a way out of the ghetto. Torn between boxing and music, the teenage Gordy took his professional plunge as a boxer, then turned to his real love - songwriting. The tenacity of this young fighter, along with the creative drive of a developing songwriter, laid a strong foundation for the company he established in 1959 in a Detroit house that came to be known as Hitsville, USA. Gordy's standards were ferociously exacting. With determination and constant innovations, he cultivated a music that communicated basic feelings, cutting through cultural and language barriers. By the mid-60s, Motown dominated the nation's pop music charts, becoming the soundtrack for the lives of millions of young Americans - black and white. Full of joy and heartbreak, triumph and disaster, TO BE LOVED is one extraordinary man's saga - an adventurous yet tumultuous journey thatchronicles the building and the selling of Motown...and finally, the sacrifices made in order to preserve its unparalleled legacy and black heritage. Gordy's belief in the potential of all people resulted in the music the world listened to, danced to, made love to - even today. And what ultimately emerges is someone whose labor of love and very being became a source of instruction and inspiration for young and old of all colors. Featuring over 30 pages of rare photographs that capture the personalities and excitement of an astonishing era, TO BE LOVED is the very intimate and powerful story of the man who created the sound heard 'round the world.