13A – Reading Reflection No.1

To Be Loved – Berry Gordy

Let me preface this with the fact that the only way to read this book is while listening to a Motown playlist.

1) I didn’t know much about Motown (besides some of the great music that was referred to as “Motown”), much less Berry Gordy, so I didn’t go in with many expectations. I think I was surprised by how honest Berry was with his story. He described his worst habits, fears, and failures, but they fit within the story and his personality; the book was stronger because of it and I enjoyed seeing into a less filtered version of a biography than I expected. I wasn’t sure I understood his obsession with women, as he lost his virginity at a young age to a prostitute, and after that had a rocky marriage, followed by a rather uncommitted relationship – but I was only surprised because he cares so much about his family. In terms of adversity and failure, Berry was “in trouble” most of the time. He didn’t get breaks, especially not early in his life. He found a solution/workaround every time through, usually by changing his tactics and perspective.

2) I loved how Berry approached problem solving. Even from a young age, he was quick to pick up on social ques and his own flaws, but he used them to his advantage to learn something new or approach a problem in a different way. He was also able to cut his losses and accept certain facts, but that didn’t mean he would give up. For example, rather than trying t convince people that Jazz was better than Blues, he simply started stocking more Clapton and B.B. King (R.I.P.).

3) I was a little thrown off by the sheer amount of detail Berry would sometimes go into when he was describing his life during/after 29. There were a lot of artists I didn’t know, a lot of different names to remember, and a lot of small social norms to acclimate to. Part of that was because so many people were involved, part of it was the different time period and perspective of the writer vs. reader. I didn’t find any part of the book actually confusing though, it was very well written and almost anyone can pick it up and understand most of it as long as they know a little about music.

4) What do you think about contemporary music? Out of all the modern-day artists, is there one that you want to jam with, write a song for, or record with?

5) Berry literally grew up on hard work. There wasn’t a time his father didn’t push him to be active, and it shows when he was hustling to succeed. There really isn’t an alternative to putting in the effort for working hard, and I don’t think he would have succeeded if he hadn’t tried so hard to make his dreams come true. And it requires a lot of sacrifice. More than most would ever imagine giving up. I agree that there isn’t an alternative to hard work, but I also think that I agree with his idea that working smarter over harder can be an option at times.