Berry Gordy b. 1929; Janie Bradford b. 1939 · American songwriters, Detroit
Berry Gordy wrote the song’s hammering piano figure; Janie Bradford, then a teenager working at the fledgling label, worked the words out with him on the spot. Gordy would go on to build Motown into the most successful Black-owned business in America, and Bradford stayed with the company for decades. Barrett Strong long maintained he had contributed to the writing as well — his name appears on the original copyright registration but was removed three years later, which Gordy attributed to a clerical error.