With archival releases, documentaries and even a Broadway musical on tap, Berry Gordy, Jr., says there will be nowhere to run and nowhere to hide from the celebration of Motown's 50th anniversary during the coming two years.
Gordy, who founded the Motown empire after securing an $800 loan from his family on Jan. 12, 1969, tells Billboard.com that “I've been fighting to protect the legacy for 50 years, and now it seems that after 50 years we can go and talk about the real deal, what really happened ... and how it happened, my story and everything that goes with it. And I'm just thrilled that I'm here to enjoy now what I couldn't enjoy while I was doing it."
The official Motown 50th celebration kicks off Tuesday (Dec. 9) with the release of “Motown: The Complete No. 1's,", a 10-disc set housed in a package designed to look like the company's original Hitsville U.S.A. headquarters in Detroit. Gordy and former Motown staffer Suzanne DePasse, who won a 1983 Emmy Award for the Motown 25th anniversary TV special, are also producing a documentary about the company that's due to roll out in September.
Gordy, who founded the Motown empire after securing an $800 loan from his family on Jan. 12, 1969, tells Billboard.com that “I've been fighting to protect the legacy for 50 years, and now it seems that after 50 years we can go and talk about the real deal, what really happened ... and how it happened, my story and everything that goes with it. And I'm just thrilled that I'm here to enjoy now what I couldn't enjoy while I was doing it."
The official Motown 50th celebration kicks off Tuesday (Dec. 9) with the release of “Motown: The Complete No. 1's,", a 10-disc set housed in a package designed to look like the company's original Hitsville U.S.A. headquarters in Detroit. Gordy and former Motown staffer Suzanne DePasse, who won a 1983 Emmy Award for the Motown 25th anniversary TV special, are also producing a documentary about the company that's due to roll out in September.
