In, Then Out, at Motown Industries

BERLE ADAMS’ BRIEF BALANCING ACT

Around this time 50 years ago, Berry Gordy and his chief operating officer were butting heads.

      “At first,” recalled Berle Adams, “Berry and I saw eye-to-eye. We had the same respect for talent and, I thought, for manpower. When I imposed my style of management, I learned that we differed greatly.”

      Adams joined Motown Industries as its executive VP and COO in March 1974 with all the right credentials. He had been a co-founder in 1945 of Mercury Records, the independent record company which challenged the majors of the day and signed artists such as Dinah Washington, who scored 32 R&B Top 10 hits from 1948-61.

Jump-blues pioneer Louis Jordan

      (Mercury Records was also where Eddie Holland had his first release as a singer: “You (You You You You)” in 1958. Another Mercury artist of that time, Dorisetta Clark, cut “You Love Me (You Love Me Not),” written by Gordy and Billy Davis aka Tyran Carlo.)

      In addition, Adams had managed Louis Jordan, the jump-blues pioneer who was hugely influential in the pre-rock & roll era, and whose style shaped many of those who followed. Adams almost got to manage Nat “King” Cole, too, a musician revered by Gordy, although Adams was beaten at the last moment by a competitor.

      As a talent agent, he represented the likes of Fred Astaire, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, Marlene Dietrich and Bob Newhart. Later, he joined MCA, Inc. and spent 20 years there, eventually rising to head its various corporate divisions. When Adams, at age 56, joined Motown Industries, the PR announcement had Berry Gordy say, “I believe he is uniquely qualified to harness the enormous energies and potential radiated by our various companies, executives and artists for maximum impact in the marketplace, not only today, but tomorrow which represents our biggest challenge.”

      Yet less than a year after his appointment, Adams was gone.

      That begs for detail, of course. Motown Industries was the corporate umbrella for Gordy’s various businesses, including Motown Records, music publisher Jobete, Multi-Media Management, and Motown Productions, the TV and movie division. Originally, Adams was approached by Motown Industries’ attorney, Lou Blau, who told him that “Gordy no longer wanted to be involved in the daily nitty-gritty of running a company.” In particular, he wanted to devote himself to filming Mahogany with Diana Ross, the follow-up to Lady Sings The Blues, “which he would direct and would keep him in Italy for a long time.”

      The two men met and, recalled Adams in his self-published 1995 memoir, A Sucker For Talent, “Gordy baited the hook very well by promising that I would be senior vice-president and chief operating officer and would be given a budget to build a television department, something I wanted to get back into. He said he was planning to go public, and I would have generous stock options. It sounded as if I would have the best of both worlds: a successful record company and a new television company. I couldn’t say no.”

BERRY BACK IN CHARGE

      Soon enough, Adams discovered a different reality. “Berry was the founder, leader, and teacher. He didn’t allow his manpower to do anything without discussing it with him. Nothing was put in writing so that he could never be proven wrong. When I requested written memos, the staff rebelled.

      “But when Berry left for Europe, they were forced to comply. The staff was sharp and adapted quickly to my style. They appreciated the opportunity to think for themselves. They knew the record business.” At that stage, the team included Ewart Abner, Motown Records’ president; Suzanne de Passe, vice president of the record company’s creative division; and attorney George Schiffer, director of planning, for whom Motown had been a client since 1960.

      Among Adams’ first priorities was accounts receivable – “and the pressure resulted in collection,” he wrote. “When Berry returned from Europe after six months, the company was operating smoothly. Sales were high, receivables low, and there were no complaints from the staff.”

Berle Adams, back in the day

      Still, the record division under Abner was falling short of the previous year’s performance in terms of major hits, whether on the pop charts or the R&B listings. Its biggest stars were doing well on the concert circuit, however, and Stevie Wonder had won four Grammy awards during the month Adams joined.

      When Berry Gordy returned from Europe after supervising Mahogany, he seemed to want to be back in charge. A meeting was held in which a number of Adams’ decisions were called into question. What also appears to have been a factor was the failure of Motown to acquire Paramount Records. “[Gordy] wanted Paramount very badly,” Adams remembered. The head of Paramount Pictures had called the Motown founder, because the president of the movie firm’s parent, Gulf & Western, wanted out of the record business.

      Gordy was “hungry to see the headline, ‘Motown Buys Paramount,’” according to Adams. When ABC made an offer without securing warranties for the Paramount liabilities – something which Adams was not prepared to do on Motown’s behalf – Gordy was “really ticked off.” ABC prevailed and at that point, it was evident that the two men were not on the same path.

      “Since it was his company, I had to leave,” declared Adams. “We resolved the terms of my contract amicably and I became a member of the Motown alumni.” Still, he regretted the outcome. “Having been an agent for so many years, I should have been able to work with Berry. If I were younger and had not been a top MCA executive, I would have been more flexible.”

      It wasn’t as if Adams had disappointed during his long MCA tenure. Among other accomplishments, he established Uni Records as a new industry player in the late 1960s, signing acts such as Neil Diamond and Elton John. Uni also made some noise in rhythm & blues, recruiting Betty Everett, the Mirettes, Jackie Lee and Hugh Masekela (whose label, Chisa, later cut a distribution deal with Motown).

NO NEGATIVE FEELINGS

      Had Motown’s attempt to buy Paramount Records succeeded, the latter’s assets could have comfortably fitted in. Among the artists under contract were Stephanie Mills, who would later star in the Broadway production of The Wiz (the film rights to which Gordy subsequently acquired) and the Jones Girls. Also, there was a singer/songwriter with previous Motown connections: Leon Ware. The soundtrack to Paramount Pictures’ The Education of Sonny Carson featured Ware’s vocals, with arrangements by Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson – who later handled the strings and horns for Ware’s album with Marvin Gaye, I Want You.

      Still, Berle Adams seemed to display no negative feelings about his brief stint at Berry Gordy’s business. “The nine months I spent at Motown were great fun,” he concluded in A Sucker For Talent. “It was stimulating to be back in the record business after having been away for 26 years. The sounds and styles were different, but the basics were the same. Spend effectively, pick the right talent and keep the receivables under control.”

      Adams was succeeded at Motown Industries in January 1975 by Gordon Riess, who had previously worked at Ford Motors, International Paper Co. and Cinema International Corp. He lasted longer in the post than his predecessor – but perhaps that’s a tale for another time.