Barrett Strong, legendary Motown singer-songwriter, has died on the age of 81.
The information of his Jan. 29 dying was confirmed early Sunday afternoon by the Motown Museum on Twitter. “It is with nice unhappiness that we share the passing of legendary @ClassicMotown singer and songwriter Barrett Strong,” the entity introduced, including, “The voice behind @motown‘s first hit, the long-lasting “Money (That’s What I Want),” was born in West Point, Mississippi on February 5, 1941 and was raised in Detroit.”
The tweet included a basic black-and-white photograph of the artist from his early profession.
In 1959, the musician cemented Motown as a drive within the business along with his document, “Money (That’s What I Want),” the label’s very first hit monitor of many that might comply with.
Motown founder Berry Gordy issued an announcement detailing Strong’s accomplishments with the famed label. “I am saddened to hear of the passing of Barrett Strong, one of my earliest artists, and the man who sang my first big hit ‘Money (That’s What I Want)’ in 1959. Barrett was not only a great singer and piano player, but he, along with his writing partner Norman Whitfield, created an incredible body of work, primarily with the Temptations,” he wrote.
Gordy continued: “Their hit songs were revolutionary in sound and captured the spirit of the times like ‘Cloud Nine’ and the still relevant, ‘Ball of Confusion (That’s What the World is Today).’ My heartfelt condolences go out to his family and friends. Barrett is an original member of the Motown Family and will be missed by all of us.”
Among his different most notable accomplishments are iconic songs he co-wrote with Motown hitmaker Norman Whitfield, together with: “I Heard It Through the Grapevine” for Marvin Gaye and Gladys Knight & the Pips, “War” for Edwin Starr, the Undisputed Truth’s “Smiling Faces Sometimes” and a wealth of fabric for the Temptations—“I Wish It Would Rain,” “Just My Imagination,” “Cloud Nine,” “Psychedelic Shack” and “Papa Was a Rolling Stone,” for which Strong earned a Grammy Award.
His track “Money” went on to be lined by a number of in style bands such because the Beatles (1963), the Flying Lizards (1979) and the Rolling Stones (1964), to call just a few.
In addition to the Grammy, Strong was additionally honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Association of Songwriters in 1990 and a Songwriters Hall of Fame induction in 2004.
Strong had “little but positive” reminiscences of his songwriting heyday when trying again on his profession throughout a 2016 interview. “It was a great time,” he recalled to Billboard. “We were just kids, and we did it for the fun, not the money. We enjoyed being at the studio all day, working.”
