Motown hitmaker Barrett Strong dies at 81

Barrett Strong, one of Motown Records’ original hit makers and songwriters for “Money (That’s What I Want)” and other soul classics, has passed away at the age of 81.

Strong was perhaps best known for his collaborations with fellow Motown hitmaker Norman Whitfield, including Marvin Gaye’s “I Heard It Through the Grapevine” and Edwin Starr’s “War”, along with several songs performed by the Temptations such as “Just My Imagination ( Running Away With Me)’ and ‘Cloud Nine’, among many others.

News of Strong’s death was confirmed early Sunday afternoon by the Motown Museum on Twitter.

Motown founder Berry Gordy issued the following statement: “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 pianist, but he, along with his writing partner Norman Whitfield, created an incredible body of work, especially with The Temptations. Their hit songs were revolutionary in sound and captured the zeitgeist like “Cloud Nine” and the still relevant “Ball of Confusion (That’s What the World is Today).” My sincere 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.”

Strong was a pivotal figure in music during the late ’60s and early ’70s, both as a singer and as a composer who contributed huge hits during Motown’s formative years. He was one of Gordy’s first signings to the label and played their first hit, 1959’s “Money (That’s What I Want)”. Originally released on Tamla, Gordy’s first label, the track was written by the Motown- founder and his then secretary, Janie Bradford.

Money was subsequently covered by several popular bands such as the Beatles (1963), the Flying Lizards (1979) and the Rolling Stones (1964), to name a few.

The same year he released Money, Strong appeared on the little-distributed “Let’s Rock” under Tamla. From then on, he became one of Motown’s most successful songwriters in collaboration with Norman Whitfield.

The duo was pivotal in the label’s switch from orchestral soul to a mix of rhythmic funk and rock. Strong received a Grammy in 1973 for best rhythm and blues song for “Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone” by The Temptations.

By 1972, Strong had left Motown after the label moved to the West Coast. Instead, he pursued a solo career that began with a few albums on both Capitol Records and Epic Records. Under Capitol he released the 1975 LP ‘Stronghold’, which achieved some success with the standout single ‘Is It True’.

Strong had sporadic releases in the early 1980s and beyond, though he continued to write for other artists such as the Dells. In 2004 he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame and in 2008 he recorded a follow up to his album “Stronghold”, aptly titled “Stronghold II”.