Berry Gordy Jr., the founder of Motown Records, will receive a Lifetime Achievement award from the 44th Annual Kennedy Center Honors, Variety reports.
The Kennedy Center Honors recognizes exceptional achievement in performing arts, including dance, music, the opera, theater, film and television. Opera singer Justino Díaz, singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell, performer Bette Midler and Lorne Michaels from Saturday Night Live will also be honored.
After a tour in Korea for the U.S. Army, Gordy worked as a boxer, assembly line worker and record store owner before founding Motown in 1959. The 91-year-old music icon started the label in Detroit with an $800 loan from family and launched the careers of The Supremes, The Jackson Five, The Temptations, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson and more. Diana Ross, Stevie Wonder and Smokey Robinson have all previously received an award from the Kennedy Center Honors.
“Throughout the years, I’ve been blessed with many wonderful memories, but this — the Kennedy Center Honors — is one that will be forever in my heart,” Gordy said.
Motown Records moved from Detroit to Los Angeles in 1972, and the original house has been turned into the Motown Museum.
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Congratulations to Motown’s Founding Father, Berry Gordy, for being announced among the 44th Kennedy Center Honors recipients this year, alongside Justino Díaz, Lorne Michaels, Bette Midler & Joni Mitchell. This momentous distinction is a huge honor! pic.twitter.com/ErGWUjn0eY
— Classic Motown (@ClassicMotown) July 21, 2021
His impressive talents are not limited to music. Gordy also directed several films, including Mahogany and Lady Sings the Blues. His play based on his autobiography was on Broadway in 2013 and received four Tony Award nominations. He is also a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and a street named after him in Hollywood. Gordy also has a Rainbow Coalition’s Man of the Millennium Award, a lifetime achievement award from the Rhythm and Blues Foundation and an award presented by President Barack Obama, the National Medal of Arts, to name a few.
Berry will receive his Kennedy Center Honors Lifetime Achievement Award on December 5 in Washington, D.C. The award show will air on CBS and Paramount Plus next year. Congratulations, Mr. Gordy. And Thank You!
