Lamont Dozier was born and raised in Detroit, and was surrounded by music as a child. He began writing lyrics and music before he was a teenager. At the age of 13, Dozier founded The Romeos, was signed to Atco Records in 1957. The band had a charting R&B record with the song, "Fine Fine Baby". Shortly thereafter, The Romeos broke up, Dozier joined The Voicemasters, a doo-wop band on Anna Records.

Marvin Gaye (born Marvin Pentz Gay, Jr. was an American soul and R&B singer-songwriter, instrumentalist, record producer and performer who gained international fame as an artist on the Motown label in the 1960s and 1970s. Beginning his career at Motown in 1961, Gaye quickly became Motown's top solo male artist and scored numerous hits during the 1960s, among them "Stubborn Kind of Fellow", "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)", …

Stevie Wonder (born Stevland Hardaway Judkins on May 13, 1950, name later changed to Stevland Hardaway Morris), is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. Wonder has recorded more than thirty Top 10 hits, won twenty-two Grammy Awards (a record for a solo artist), plus one for lifetime achievement, won an Academy Award for Best Song and been inducted into both the Rock and Roll and Songwriters halls of fame.

Berry Gordy, Jr. (b. November 28 1929, Detroit, Michigan) is an American record producer, and the founder of the Motown record label and its many subsidiaries.

William "Smokey" Robinson, Jr. (born February 19, 1940) is an R&B and soul singer and songwriter. Robinson is noted for being one of the primary figures associated with the Motown record label, second only to the company's founder, Berry Gordy. As both a member of Motown group The Miracles and a solo artist, Robinson recorded thirty-seven Top 40 hits for Motown between 1960 and 1987, and also served as the company's Vice President from 1961 to 1988.

Norman Jesse Whitfield (born in Harlem, New York in 1943) is an American songwriter and producer, best known for his work with Berry Gordy's Motown label during the 1960s. He is credited as being one of the creators of the Motown Sound, as well as one of the major instrumental figures in the late-60s sub-genre of psychedelic soul.

Barrett Strong (born 5 February 1941 in West Point, Mississippi) is an American singer and songwriter. Strong was among the first artists signed to Berry Gordy's Motown Records, and is the performer on the company's first hit, "Money (That's What I Want)" (#2 U.S. R&B in 1960, on the Tamla label). In the mid 1960s, Strong became a Motown staff lyricist, teaming with producer Norman Whitfield.

Brian Holland (born February 15 1941 in Detroit, Michigan) is an African American songwriter and record producer, best known as a member of Holland-Dozier-Holland. That songwriting and production team that was responsible for much of the Motown sound and numerous hit records by artists such as Martha & the Vandellas, The Supremes, The Four Tops, and The Isley Brothers. Holland, along with Lamont Dozier, served as the team's musical arranger and producer.

Sylvia Moy is an acclaimed former Motown songwriter and record producer, notable for being one of the few women at the Detroit-based music label to write and produce for Motown acts. Among the hit singles Moy while at Motown include "This Old Heart of Mine (Is Weak for You)" by The Isley Brothers, "Uptight (Everything's Alright)" and "My Cherie Amour" by Stevie Wonder and "Honey Chile" and "Love Bug Leave My Heart Alone" by Martha and the Vandellas among others.

Harvey Fuqua, born July 27 1929 in Louisville, Kentucky, is an African-American soul singer, songwriter, record producer, and record label executive. He is noted for being one the key figures in the development of the Motown label in Detroit, Michigan: his doo-wop group gave Marvin Gaye his start in his career, and he and his wife Gwen Gordy distributed the very first Motown hit single, Barrett Strong's "Money (That's What I Want)", on their record label, …

Frank Wilson is an African American former songwriter and record producer for Motown Records. He joined the company in 1965, working with Brenda Holloway. He went on to write and produce hit records for Brenda Holloway, The Supremes, The Four Tops, Eddie Kendricks, and more. Wilson also tried his hand at being a recording artist himself, …

Willie McKinley Hutchinson, known professionally as Willie Hutch (December 6, 1944 - September 19, 2005) was an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, and record producer. Hutch, born in Los Angeles, California and raised in Dallas, Texas, is notable as both a performer and songwriter/producer for the Motown label during the 1970s. Before joining Motown, Hutch worked as a producer for acts such as The 5th Dimension.

Janie Bradford was the receptionist at Hitsville U.S.A., the house on West Grand Boulevard in Detroit where Berry Gordy ran Motown Records. With Gordy, Janie Bradford co-authored Motown's first big hit, Barrett Strong's "Money (That's What I Want)", while she and Strong were still both high school students. While working for a major record label in California, …

Ivy Jo Hunter (born George Ivy Hunter and often confused with blues singer Ivory Joe Hunter) was a soul musician and rock and roll pioneer, a songwriter and record producer for the Motown label. Raised in Detroit, Michigan, he was trained in orchestral music-- primarily trumpet and keyboards. After a stint in the United States Army, Hunter began performing as a singer in the proto-soul venues around Detroit, …

Hal Davis was an African American songwriter and record producer, best known as the key figure in the latter part of the Motown career of The Jackson 5. The co-writer and producer of Jackson 5 hits such as "I'll Be There" and "Dancing Machine", and Eddie Kendricks' "Can I", Davis also produced for Bobby Taylor & the Vancouvers, The Supremes, Gladys Knight & the Pips, Brenda Holloway, Thelma Houston, Diana Ross, Mary Wilson, Marvin Gaye, Little Stevie Wonder, Four Tops, …

Johnny Bristol (born John William Bristol, February 3 1939 - March 21 2004), was an African American musician, most famous as a songwriter and record producer for the Motown label in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He was a native of Morganton, North Carolina.

Frederick "Freddie" Perren (May 15, 1943 - December 16 2004) was an American songwriter, record producer, arranger, and orchestra conductor. He is notable for being a member of The Corporation, a hitmaking production team which included Fonce Mizell, Deke Richards and Berry Gordy that wrote and produced The Jackson 5's early hits, including "I Want You Back", "ABC", "The Love You Save", "Mama's Pearl", and "Maybe Tomorrow".

R. Dean Taylor (born 1939) is a Canadian born singer, most famous as an artist, songwriter, and record producer for Motown Records during the 1960s and 1970s.

Deke Richards, also known as Dennis Lussier, is a songwriter and record producer, one of many white musicians/songwriters who were affiliated with Motown. He is notable for being a member of The Corporation™, a hitmaking production team that wrote and produced The Jackson 5's early hits, including "I Want You Back", "ABC", "The Love You Save", "Mama's Pearl", and "Maybe Tomorrow". Deke also wrote and produced for The Supremes, Martha & The Vandellas, …

Clarence Paul was a songwriter and record producer for Detroit's Motown label. Born Clarence Pauling, he was the brother of legendary "5" Royales guitarist Lowman Pauling. Their father was a coal miner in Bluefield, West Virginia, where the brothers listened to country music on the town's only radio station. Lowman Pauling Sr. later moved his family to Winston-Salem, North Carolina, where the brothers would join a gospel group, the Royal Sons Quintet, …

Edward "Eddie" Holland, Jr. (born October 30, 1939 in Detroit, Michigan) is an American singer, songwriter and record producer. Although Holland was an early Motown artist who recorded minor hits such as "Jamie", he started working behind the scenes due to stage fright. He is best known as a member of Holland-Dozier-Holland, …

Henry "Hank" Cosby (May 12, 1928, Detroit, Michigan - January 22 2002, Detroit, Michigan) was an African American songwriter and record producer for Motown Records. Although he worked with many of the label's artists, from The Supremes to The Temptations, Cosby is best known for helming many of Stevie Wonder's early hits, including "My Cherie Amour", "I Was Made to Love Her", and "Uptight (Everything's Alright)".

Bobby Rogers (born Robert Rogers, February 19 1940 in Detroit, Michigan) is an African American soul singer, notable as a member of Motown group The Miracles from 1956 onwards. His cousin, Claudette Rogers, was also a member of the group, and later married Miracles lead singer Smokey Robinson. Bobby himself married Marvelettes member and lead singer Wanda Young. In addition to his work in The Miracles, …

Marvin "Marv" Tarplin (born in Detroit, Michigan) is an American guitarist and songwriter, best known as the guitarist for The Miracles during the 1960s,and is one of the group's original members. Tarplin began his career accompanying a teenage Detroit girl group known as The Primettes (later The Supremes). The Primettes sought an audition with Motown Records, …

Al Cleveland was an African-American songwriter for the Motown label. Among his most popular co-compositions are "I Second That Emotion" by Smokey Robinson & the Miracles and "What's Going On" by Marvin Gaye.

Anna Gordy Gaye (born 1922) is the eldest sister of Motown founder Berry Gordy and was the first wife of soul legend Marvin Gaye. Born Anna Ruby Gordy in Detroit, Michigan, she was thirty-eight when she first met Marvin Gaye while the two were at a Christmas party at the Motown studios. At the time, Gaye was signed to Motown as a session musician. By the time he signed as a solo act for the label in 1961, he and Anna had started a romantic relationship.

Suzanne de Passe (born in 1948 in New York City, New York) is an American entertainment executive; the CEO of television production company de Passe Entertainment; and the first (and so far, only) African-American woman to be nominated for an Academy Award for writing. De Passe first became notable as an executive for Motown Records, a company which she joined in 1968 after being introduced to Motown chief Berry Gordy by Supremes member Cindy Birdsong.

Pete Moore (born Warren Moore, 19 November 1935, Detroit, Michigan) is an African American soul singer, notable as the bass singer for Motown group The Miracles from 1956 onwards. Besides his work in The Miracles, Moore is also notable for having helped Miracles member Smokey Robinson write several hit songs, including The Temptations' "It's Growing" and "Since I Lost My Baby". Moore also composed the Pearl & Dean theme song, "Asteroid", …

Roger Penzabene was an songwriter for the Motown label. Among his most notable compositions are "The End of Our Road" by Gladys Knight & the Pips and Marvin Gaye, and a trilogy of three hits for the Temptations: "You're My Everything", "I Wish It Would Rain", and "I Could Never Love Another (After Loving You)". The mournful break-up song "I Wish It Would Rain" in particular drew from Penzabene's real-life pain. The songwriter found out that his wife was cheating on him, …

Clifton Davis (born October 4, 1945 in Chicago, Illinois) is an American actor who has appeared on television shows such as "A World Apart" (playing Matt Hampton) and "That's My Mama" (on which he had the lead role) in the 1970s, and on "Amen" from 1986 to 1991. Davis has also acted on Broadway, and he was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Actor in 1972 for his performance in a musical version of "Two Gentlemen of Verona".

Lawrence Horn is an African-American musician, formerly a record producer and chief recording engineer for Motown Records. He is currently serving a life sentence for hiring a hit man to commit a triple-murder. Horn was notable for pioneering many mixing techniques while at Motown, and for directly supervising most of the mixes for Motown singles during the label's success period from 1964 to 1967. Laid off by Motown in 1990, Horn slid into debt.

Pamela Sawyer is an American songwriter most noted for her tenure at Motown Records from 1967 to 1977. Sawyer co-wrote several hits for artists such as The Supremes, Diana Ross, Michael Jackson and others during her time at the label. Among her co-compositions are singles such as "Love Child", "Love Hangover" and "My Mistake (Was to Love You)". She has also written for many non-Motown artists, including The O'Jays and Patti LaBelle & the Bluebelles.

Ronald "Ronnie" White (April 5, 1939 - August 26, 1995) was an African American soul singer and songwriter, notable as a founding member of The Miracles, and the only member to survive all of that group's lineup changes.He is also noted as the man who actually discovered Steve Wonder,when the latter was only an 11 year old child ,living as a nearby neighbor. A childhood friend of fellow Miracle William "Smokey" Robinson, …

Jeffrey Bowen was a songwriter and record producer, notable for his work at both Motown Records and Holland-Dozier-Holland's Invictus and Hot Wax labels. He is best known for his work with the Detroit male vocal groups Chairmen of the Board and The Temptations. Bowen produced three albums for the Temptations: "The Temptations in a Mellow Mood", "A Song for You", and "Wings of Love".

Jerry Long, Sr. is a former American composer and arranger for Berry Gordy's Motown Records. He is the father of Jerry Long, Jr., aka the rapper Kokane.

William "Mickey" Stevenson was a songwriter and record producer for the Motown Records group of labels from the early days of Berry Gordy's company until 1967, when he and his then-wife, singer Kim Weston, left for MGM. Stevenson was head of A&R for Motown during the "glory" years of the mid 1960s when artists such as The Supremes, Marvin Gaye, The Temptations, The Miracles and Martha & the Vandellas came to the fore.

Arthur "T-Boy" Ross (January 1, 1949 - April 22, 1996) was an American singer and songwriter most notable for his collaborations with Leon Ware and for being the younger brother of American R&B singer Diana Ross. Born in Detroit, Michigan, Arthur hung around rougher sections of Detroit while his elder sister went on to fame as lead singer of The Supremes in the 1960s and later solo fame in 1970s. Around the time his sister had established herself, …