Barrett Strong

1941–2023 · American singer and songwriter · Detroit

Barrett Strong Jr. was born in West Point, Mississippi in 1941 and raised in Detroit. His 1959 Tamla single was the first hit record Berry Gordy’s operation ever had — the seed money, in every sense, for Motown. He never had another hit that size as a singer, but he became one of the label’s great lyricists, writing with producer Norman Whitfield for The Temptations, Marvin Gaye, Edwin Starr and Gladys Knight & the Pips. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2004 and died in January 2023.

Who recorded it

Songs Barrett Strong recorded first

Money (That's What I Want)

Recorded it first — now often credited to The Beatles

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