(Photo: Larry Busacca/Getty)
Edna Gundersen, USA TODAY 4:43 p.m. EST November 8, 2013
Motown Records is the focus of the Grammy Museum’s first Architect of Sound awards.
Motown Records founder Berry Gordy and R&B icon Smokey Robinson will be honored with the first Architects of Sound awards, bestowed by the Grammy Museum at its inaugural benefit gala Monday. Music veteran Randy Jackson will serve as host, and the ceremony will close with a concert featuring Boyz II Men and Kelly Rowland.
In recognition of their contributions to Motown, Gordy will receive the Architect of Sound: Vision Award and Robinson will receive the Architect of Sound: Artist Award. The awards, selected by the museum and its board of directors, honor members of the music industry who have been instrumental in shaping America’s musical legacy and the sound of a specific genre.
Gordy’s hit-making Detroit label paved the career paths for Smokey Robinson and The Miracles, Diana Ross and The Supremes, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, The Temptations, Michael Jackson and The Jackson 5, among many others. Also a songwriter, boxer, producer, director, entrepreneur, teacher and visionary, Gordy was active in the civil rights movement and released the recorded speeches of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Robinson, dubbed America’s “greatest living poet” by Bob Dylan, rose to fame in the 1960s making hits with the Miracles. He became vice president at Motown, serving as house producer, talent scout and songwriter, penning and producing hits for The Temptations, Mary Wells, Marvin Gaye and others.
Source: usatoday / MJ-Upbeat.com
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