Berry Gordy's father worked in a Ford plant for the majority of his life, while his older siblings became prominent business owners throughout Detroit. Gordy, himself, dropped out of high school in eleventh grade and became a professional boxer before being drafted for the Korean War.
Following his time in Korea, Berry Gordy returned to marry Thelma Coleman and open a record store called the 3-D Record Mart. After the store folded, Gordy resigned himself to working at the Lincoln-Mercury plant.
In 1957, Berry Gordy was offered an opportunity to write a song for Jackie Wilson. The song, "Reet Petite," reached the Top 10 charts in the U.K. He then wrote more songs for the artist, including "Lonely Teardrops," which was a huge success worldwide.
Berry Gordy discovered the Miracles R&B group in the late 1950s and started a record label called Tamla Records. National distribution came from United Artist Records and gave Gordy a famous name from within the recording industry.
Gordy launched Motown on December 14, 1959. The first two hits from the record label were "Money (That's What I Want)" and "Please Mr. Postman." He established a headquarters called Hitsville USA in Detroit and began grooming new artists for promotion.