Motown Records artists and their sad stories

Motown Records, a label known for great tunes and killer leads, has launched a number of dizzying musical careers. If Michael Jackson has ever enthralled you, if The Supremes keep you in suspense with their songs or if you love listening to Lionel Richie, you have Motown to thank. Founded by. in 1959 in Detroit and then merged with Universal, the legendary record company was founded with an $800 loan taken from the founder's family savings Berry Gordy. A native of Detroit, Gordy previously worked in a car factory and applied the rules of the "assembly line" to create quality music.

Thanks to this label, many great artists have found fame and recorded their timeless classic! But sadly, many of them have had horrible lives and met a terrible end... Here are just some of the sad stories of Motown Records stars.

James Jamerson became the "foundation" of the Motown sound, but remained in obscurity

bassist James Jamerson was involved in the recording of dozens of Motown hits! Gordy himself described him as. "bass genius." и "incredible improviser.". Jamerson has given great sound to a number of worldwide hits, including "You Keep Me Hangin' On" by The Supremes and Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On"! But...

...But Jamerson's work, unfortunately, turned out to be less than thankless. His royalties were tiny, and one day there was a serious scandal between him and Motown management. Struggling with a creative breakdown, James turned to the band. to the bottle. Withered by addiction and emotional torment, he lay in psychiatric hospitals many times in the sunset of his days... As if it were a mockery of fate itself, shortly before his passing, his bass was stolen Fender Precision. James passed away in 1983 at the age of 47.

Mary Wells lost her voice to cancer

Before 1962, Motown artists couldn't make the top ten. But with the advent Mary Wells The situation has changed: Mary not only entered the top 10, but also presented the world with a resounding hit "My Guy."! Alas, after only a few years Mary broke off her association with Motown as she felt the company was underpaying her. However, her brilliant career went downhill after that.....

It wasn't just her career that Mary was struggling. Her private life also went badly wrong. She was unlucky in love, she became addicted to substances, and her love of smoking drove her to laryngeal cancer, which completely destroyed her voice... She could no longer sing, and became depressed. As her daughter recalled:

"They never complained, only cried..."

Mary passed away at the age of 49 yearsjust a few months short of his anniversary.

Marvin Gaye met a grisly end

Being killed by someone else's hand is always a terrible thing. But it's especially awful if it's your hand your own father... A great singer and songwriter, Marvin Gaye created music that made people's hearts beat faster. His sweet vocals were intoxicating and his lyrics made women awe and delight! Many of his songs were also politically and socially orientated. But the beauty he created in the studio contrasted sharply with the ugliness of his own life ...

His father was a man with a difficult character. He also liked to drink and was extremely violent towards his loved ones. In an interview, Marvin recalled:

"By the time I turned 12, there wasn't an inch of my body that didn't have bruises on it..."

The day before his 45th anniversary The singer clashed with his father, who shot and... And deprived millions of people of an idol. Rumour has it that Marvin's last words were:

"I got what I wanted... I couldn't do it myself, so I made him do it."

Florence Ballard - trouble and betrayal.

In 1964, America welcomed British invasion. But even as The Beatles were taking the U.S. by storm, The Supremes continued to dominate the charts. Starting in 1964, they had five number one hits, proving: these girls could be as awesome as the Magnificent Four! And just as the Beatles had their own problems inside, the Supremes had plenty of skeletons in their wardrobe....

Ballard had experienced tragedy firsthand from a young age. She lost her father early on, and an acquaintance who volunteered to escort her home brutally attacked her. Since then, Florence had had trouble trusting people... She drank a lot, and after leaving the Supremes, she wanted to start an solo career. But once again she was hooked: she was swindled again, this time for money. In the end, Ballard was living on welfare with her husband, who was always getting his hands dirty. The press was constantly discussing her failures, which only added to the drama. She passed away due to a blood clot at the age of 32 - so young, and so unhappy.....

Michael Jackson and his loneliness

"We are as close as two friends can be." - Michael Jackson sang these words not about the man, but about the music. This simple line from the song "Music in Me" unintentionally reflects the artist's deep sadness... Despite his early fame and frenzied popularity, throughout his life, Michael felt sadness and loneliness... One day he confessed:

"I felt trapped. I was sitting and looking out the window at the kids playing in the street, and tears were running down my cheeks. I wanted to join them too, but I had to record, rehearse and so on..."

Eventually Michael began to fear crowds. A lot of the credit for that was due to his fatherwho had been particularly cruel to Michael since childhood... What was going on in Michael's mind and soul is unknown to anyone.....