Latest news with #BerryGordy
Yahoo
04-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Universal Music Group, UCLA Launch Berry Gordy Music Industry Scholarship
Universal Music Group and UCLA's Herb Alpert School of Music announced the creation of the Berry Gordy Music Industry Scholarship on Monday, the latest namesake at the school for the famed founder of Motown. The scholarship comes just over a year after Gordy's $5 million helped establish UCLA's Berry Gordy Music Industry Center last May. The new scholarship is designed for students in the music industry program to help pay for educational expenses including tuition and housing. One student will be selected each year, and recipients will be eligible for the scholarship on consecutive years based on financial need. More from The Hollywood Reporter BoyNextDoor on 'No Genre' and Gearing Up for Lollapalooza: "We're Really Giving it Our All" 'Every Time You Lose Your Mind': '90s Alt-Rockers Failure Talk Their Long-Awaited Documentary and Rewriting Their "Tumultuous" Legacy Bob Vylan Lose Visas, Dropped by UTA Following "Death to IDF" Chant at Glastonbury 'For more than 65 years, Berry Gordy's name has been synonymous with artistry and the transformative power of music,' UMG chairman and CEO Lucian Grainge said in a statement. 'Through this scholarship, UMG is honoring his enduring legacy by investing in a new generation of young people who will help carry that spirit forward — creators and changemakers, who will have an opportunity to reflect the innovation and entrepreneurial genius that Mr. Gordy helped bring to the world through Motown, Tamla and the pioneering sound of Detroit.' The director of the Gordy Center, will select the scholarship recipient each year, UCLA said, and the recipient will be 'a student demonstrating exceptional promise and financial need.' 'I am thrilled that my friend Sir Lucian Grainge and Universal Music Group have committed to support this program with their endowment that will help open doors for many more students and continue to pave the way for music to be a force for good and change,' Gordy said in a statement. 'The center provides vital opportunities for students at UCLA to help prepare for careers in the music industry, so that future generations of young talent will continue to innovate, inspire and bring together culture and communities through the power of music.' Robert Fink, acting dean of the Herb Alpert School of Music and director of the Gordy Center, said the partnership 'reflects our belief that increasing access to education and professional training is a powerful tool for transforming the music industry,.' 'This endowment ensures that the next generation of music executives, artists, and entrepreneurs will not only be inspired by Berry Gordy's legacy of innovation but also equipped to build on it,' he said. Best of The Hollywood Reporter Most Anticipated Concert Tours of 2025: Beyoncé, Billie Eilish, Kendrick Lamar & SZA, Sabrina Carpenter and More Hollywood's Most Notable Deaths of 2025 Hollywood's Highest-Profile Harris Endorsements: Taylor Swift, George Clooney, Bruce Springsteen and More
Malaysian Reserve
30-06-2025
- Business
- Malaysian Reserve
UNIVERSAL MUSIC GROUP AND THE UCLA HERB ALPERT SCHOOL OF MUSIC ESTABLISH THE BERRY GORDY MUSIC INDUSTRY SCHOLARSHIP TO HONOR THE LEGACY OF A MUSIC PIONEER
The endowed scholarship builds on UMG's Sounds of the Future initiative and The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music's commitment to nurturing the next generation of music industry leaders. LOS ANGELES, June 30, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Universal Music Group (UMG), the world leader in music-based entertainment, today announced the establishment of the Berry Gordy Music Industry Scholarship at The Herb Alpert School of Music. In partnership with The UCLA Foundation, UMG has endowed a new scholarship, which will support high-potential students studying in the school's Music Industry Program. The scholarship builds on the 2024 launch of The UCLA Berry Gordy Music Industry Center at the school of music, a hub dedicated to research, teaching, and community engagement and career support around the evolving global music business. Each year, a student demonstrating exceptional promise and financial need will be named a Berry Gordy Scholar and receive funding towards tuition, housing, and other educational expenses. The recipient will also play an active role in the life and mission of the Center, helping to shape the future of the music industry from within one of the country's top public universities. In making the announcement, Sir Lucian Grainge, Universal Music Group Chairman & CEO said, 'For more than 65 years, Berry Gordy's name has been synonymous with artistry and the transformative power of music. Through this scholarship, UMG is honoring his enduring legacy by investing in a new generation of young people who will help carry that spirit forward—creators and changemakers, who will have an opportunity to reflect the innovation and entrepreneurial genius that Mr. Gordy helped bring to the world through Motown, Tamla and the pioneering sound of Detroit.' Berry Gordy said, 'I am thrilled that my friend Sir Lucian Grainge and Universal Music Group have committed to support this program with their endowment that will help open doors for many more students and continue to pave the way for music to be a force for good and change. The center provides vital opportunities for students at UCLA to help prepare for careers in the music industry, so that future generations of young talent will continue to innovate, inspire and bring together culture and communities through the power of music.' The Berry Gordy Music Industry Scholarship aligns with UMG's ongoing Sounds of the Future campaign, launched by its Task Force for Meaningful Change in 2023. Now in its third year, Sounds of the Future supports initiatives that amplify Black creativity, preserve cultural heritage, and ensure equity in the music business. The establishment of this scholarship directly supports the 'Invest' pillar of Sounds of the Future—advancing the commitment to schools, institutions, and community-led programs that preserve and pass down the creative legacy of Black music for generations to come. 'UMG's partnership with The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music reflects our belief that increasing access to education and professional training is a powerful tool for transforming the music industry,' said Robert Fink, Acting Dean of The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music and Director of The Berry Gordy Music Industry Center. 'This endowment ensures that the next generation of music executives, artists, and entrepreneurs will not only be inspired by Berry Gordy's legacy of innovation but also equipped to build on it.' Scholarship recipients will be selected by the Director of the Gordy Center, and will be eligible to receive the award in consecutive years based on demonstrated financial need and academic engagement. In creating this lasting investment, UMG and The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music hope to honor the cultural contributions of Berry Gordy and the Motown legacy while opening doors for a new generation to thrive at the intersection of music, culture, and business. This year, UMG has expanded Sounds of the Future to honor not just the future of Black music, but its impact on the past and present. The campaign reaffirms UMG's dedication to celebrating the artists, teams and institutions who shape the soul of music and culture today, while also investing in those who will carry that creative legacy forward. The Sounds of the Future 2025 program has included: Deepened Investment in Grassroots, Safeguarding Black Music's Future. At a time when many community-led organizations are facing growing demand for their services but shrinking resources, UMG is deepening its investment in grassroots institutions that safeguard the future of Black music. This year, UMG has extended donations to two vital nonprofits: Roots of Music in New Orleans, which empowers youth through culturally rooted music education; and Girls Make Beats in Los Angeles, which opens doors for the next generation of female producers, DJs and engineers. While teaching music, these organizations are also cultivating confidence, creativity and opportunity for youth. Career Immersion Experience. UMG and its Interscope Records label joined together at the Chicago stop of the Grand National Tour to offer local youth a rare, behind-the-scenes look at careers in music – inviting them into the world of sound engineering, choreography, tour production, wardrobe, artist relations and more. Designed as a career immersion experience, the program provided a firsthand glimpse into how artists' creative visions come to life through collaboration. Immersive Art Installation with BLK MKT Vintage. Earlier this month, UMG hosted an immersive art installation at its Santa Monica headquarters, curated in partnership with BLK MKT Vintage, a Brooklyn-based archive concept shop devoted to Black ephemera and cultural storytelling. The exhibit, explored the continuum of Black music through the lens of sampling, highlighting how generations of UMG artists have borrowed, transformed, and echoed one another's genius. Salon-hung and deeply evocative, the installation traces the throughline of Black creativity that reverberates across time, sound, and genre. You can listen to a special Sounds of the Future playlist curated for the Installation HERE that showcases artists, past and present who have shaped – and will continue to shape – culture through truth, rhythm and innovation. About Universal Music GroupUniversal Music Group exists to shape culture through the power of artistry. UMG is the world leader in music-based entertainment, with a broad array of businesses engaged in recorded music, music publishing, merchandising and audiovisual content. Featuring the most comprehensive catalogue of recordings and songs across every musical genre, UMG identifies and develops artists and produces and distributes the most critically acclaimed and commercially successful music in the world. Committed to artistry, innovation and entrepreneurship, UMG fosters the development of services, platforms and business models in order to broaden artistic and commercial opportunities for our artists and create new experiences for fans. For more information, visit About Universal Music Global Impact TeamThrough the Global Impact Team, UMG amplifies its vision for positive change through community engagement, environmental sustainability, events and special projects. It drives positive impact across the company, industry, and local communities in which UMG operates. The Global Impact Team is comprised of members of UMG's Social Responsibility and Sustainability Teams, as well as The Universal Music All Together Now Foundation (ATNF), all of which partner with organizations around the globe that are working towards meaningful positive change. About The UCLA Herb Alpert School of MusicThe UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music prepares students for twenty-first century music careers. Home to renowned musical scholars, music industry experts and world-class musicians, educators and composers within one institution, the school of music offers students a vibrant interdisciplinary education that prizes music performance and scholarship while also emphasizing active engagement in the greater Los Angeles community. Esteeming all musical traditions as vital expressions of an evolving global society, the school of music boasts over 40 ensembles performing music from around the world.
Daily Mail
18-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Diana Ross gives rare insight into her family life as she says they are her 'greatest joy and blessing' and discusses her daughter joining her on tour ahead of hotly-awaited UK dates
opened up about her family in a rare interview ahead of kicking off her hotly-anticipated UK tour. The American singer, 81, has five kids and eight grandchildren and her eldest daughter Rhonda, 53, often travels with her on tour. During a wide-ranging chat, Diana gave a rare insight into her family life as she gushed that her family mean everything to her. She told The Mirror: 'My family is really my greatest joy and blessing. Rhonda travels with me on tour and will be at the shows, my five children really take care of their mum.' Diana shares Rhonda with Motown legend Berry Gordy in 1971. Later that same year, she married her first husband, music executive Robert Ellis Silberstein, and they had two more daughters: Tracee, 52, and Chudney, 49. She split from Robert in 1977 and went on to marry Norwegian mountaineer Arne Naess Jr. in 1986. The former couple welcomed sons Ross, 37, and Evan, 36. Diana proudly showed off her love for her family as she made a rare tribute to them while walking the carpet at the Met Gala. Diana looked sensational in a floor-grazing white gown complete with a feather-boa-trimmed cape and hat as she made her first appearance at the fashion event in 20 years. Determined to pay homage to all her children and grandchildren at the event, Diana had all their names sewn onto her extravagant gown. 'My son Evan and a young designer, Ugo Mozie, and I collaborated on the gown and cloak that I wore, we wanted something meaningful,' she explained. 'The 18-foot train stretches across generations with the names of my adult children and grandchildren beautifully embroidered on it, it's beaded and has crystals— the details celebrate my family and our love.' She hopes to make a similar fashion statement when kicking off her UK tour, where she plans to make a whole host of dazzling outfit changes. All of her gowns for the upcoming shows have been custom-made, with Diana personally designing each one and working with a seamstress to bring them to life. Diana is set to begin her UK tour next week with shows in Birmingham, Nottingham, Glasgow, Manchester, Leeds, Liverpool, and London. She will kick things off on June 22 at Birmingham's BP Pulse Live before travelling around the UK for five other shows, then wrapping things up at London's O2 Arena on July 1. The star will be bringing along her live band as well as an orchestra and a choir to all of her shows in a unique touch. She is set to perform five times with the Manchester-based Hallé Orchestra before being joined by the Royal Scottish National Orchestra in Glasgow and the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra in London. In preparation for her tour, Diana has a few strategies up her sleeve to ensure she is performance ready including steaming her throat, drinking hot tea with honey, and plenty of breathing exercises. Despite a career spanning six decades, Diana revealed that she still gets as much of a thrill from performing live to audiences and described performing live as her 'life force'. Born in Detroit's Brewster-Douglass Housing Project, America's first federally funded housing for African Americans, Diana was one of six children and grew up singing at family parties and in a Baptist church gospel choir. But her life changed forever when she met Florence Ballard and Mary Wilson in early 1959. The three girls, along with Betty McGlown, formed The Primettes, an all-girl singing group. The trio auditioned for the fledgling Motown label, and in January 1961, they were eventually signed as The Supremes. By 1965, they had racked up five consecutive number-one hits with popular tunes such as Baby Love and Stop! In the Name of Love. However, in 1967, the band's name changed to Diana Ross and The Supremes before she went solo three years later.
Yahoo
02-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
What was Detroit like in the 1960s? Take a look back in time.
It was the best of times — and the boiling point. In the 1960s, Detroit roared with the sounds of new muscle cars and the distinctive sounds of Motown. Woodward Avenue was the glittering spine of the city, lined with movie theaters, shops and crowds. At Motown's Hitsville U.S.A., Berry Gordy was changing the sound of America, while downtown department stores like Hudson's remained bustling centers of fashion and community life. But beneath the rhythm of those radio hits and the hum of the assembly line, tensions between police and the city's Black residents were brewing in the neighborhoods, ultimately leading to a deadly five-day uprising. Take a look back at Detroit in the 1960s with our curated photo gallery, featuring images from the Free Press archives and beyond, capturing the city's highs, lows and everyday life during a decade that changed everything. Riot or rebellion? The debate on what to call Detroit '67 More: Marvin Gaye's 'What's Going On' still relevant and revealing, 50 years on More: Detroit's Algiers Motel site, where 3 teens were killed in 1967, to get historical marker More: Willie Horton book excerpt: 1967 riot may have been first time I embraced my community This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: What was Detroit like in the 1960s? Photos take you back in time
Gulf Today
17-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Gulf Today
Robinson is ready to bring his timeless hits to audiences
There's a reason Smokey Robinson is known as the 'King of Motown.' His voice — smooth, drenched in soul — has carried across generations, weaving through love stories, heartbreaks, and dance floors for more than five decades. Whether it was the unmistakable falsetto that made 'The Tracks of My Tears' an anthem or the lyrical touch that gifted 'My Girl' to the Temptations, Robinson's mark on music is unmistakable. When asked if it feels surreal to look back on all he's accomplished, Robinson's response is grounded in humility. 'None of it, or the magnitude of it, was expected,' he shared over the phone, still lively as ever. Robinson hails from Detroit, where he was a kid with big dreams and a notebook full of lyrics long before Motown existed. He formed The Miracles in the mid-1950s and when Berry Gordy took notice, everything changed. Robinson didn't just become a star — he became the architect of a sound that broke racial barriers and shaped American music. The Miracles' hits, from 'Shop Around' to 'You've Really Got a Hold on Me,' became top hits and cultural gems. And even beyond his own recordings, Robinson was the pen behind some of Motown's greatest classics, writing for Marvin Gaye, The Temptations, and Mary Wells. 'When we first started out, I never imagined this level of success,' he continued. 'I met Berry Gordy before Motown even began. On that very first day, neither of us anticipated that Motown would become a global phenomenon. We were just making music because we loved it. Back then, it wasn't even guaranteed that we'd be paid fairly, especially being Black. It's gone far beyond what we ever imagined.' At the time, music was still deeply segregated, and mainstream success for Black artists was far from guaranteed. But Motown wasn't just a record label—it was a movement. 'Berry Gordy said, 'We're not just going to make Black music; we're going to make music for everyone,'' Robinson recalled. 'And I'm proud to say we accomplished that.' Now, at 84, Robinson is still doing what he loves—performing, creating, and proving that timeless music never really fades. As he celebrates 50 years of 'Being With You,' Robinson is reflecting on his journey, his enduring passion, and the music that continues to bring people together. Songs like 'Ooo Baby Baby,' ' Cruisin',' and 'Being With You' became soundtracks to people's lives, and Robinson's ability to write with both heartache and hope ensured his music never lost relevance. For Robinson, the connection with his audience has always been at the heart of his performances, and it's something that has only deepened over the years. 'I do concerts, honey,' he said, his voice filled with joy. 'And it really makes me feel good. I see people at my concerts with their children, their children's children, all sitting on their laps. When I first saw them, they were on their parents' laps.' Despite the decades that have passed, he finds that every night offers a new opportunity to rediscover the joy in his own music. 'Every night, those songs feel new to me,' he continued. 'I'm extremely blessed to have a job I love, and I look forward to it every night. I'm having such a good time.' It's that sense of excitement that he brings to every show, often adjusting his setlist based on the energy of the crowd. 'I mix it up depending on where I'm performing,' he explained. 'If it's a younger crowd, I'll pick songs that resonate with them. Every concert is a unique experience.' Though his music is timeless, Robinson isn't one to look back when creating new work. 'I don't think about the past or any of that when I write,' Robinson said. 'Inspiration just hits me. When I write a song, I aim for it to resonate today and 50 years from now.' His approach to songwriting remains as fresh as ever, with his upcoming album 'What the World Needs Now' being a prime example. Associated Press
