Barrett Strong

about

Barrett Strong (born in West Point, Mississippi, on 5 February 1941 ; died 29 January 2023) was an American singer and songwriter. Amongst the first artists signed to Berry Gordy's Motown label, he is remembered as having the label's first hit (with "Money (That's What I Want)" in 1960) and for co-writing "I Heard It Through the Grapevine", "Wherever I Lay My Hat (That's My Home)", "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone", and many other hit songs. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2004. It was in the mid-1960s that Strong became a Motown staff lyricist, teaming with producer Norman Whitfield. Together, Strong and Whitfield wrote some of the most successful and critically acclaimed songs ever to be released by Motown, including "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" by both Gladys Knight & the Pips and Marvin Gaye, "War" by Edwin Starr, "Smiling Faces Sometimes" by The Undisputed Truth, and the long line of "psychedelic soul" records by The Temptations, including "Cloud Nine", "I Can't Get Next to You", "Psychedelic Shack", "Ball of Confusion (That's What the World is Today)", and "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone", among others. Strong received a Grammy Award for Best R&B Song for co-writing "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone". After Motown moved its operations base from Detroit, Michigan to Los Angeles, California, Strong left the label and resumed his singing career, recording two albums for Capitol Records in the mid-1970s. In the 1980s, Strong recorded "Rock It Easy" on an indep

top songs

albums

The Collection

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20th Century Masters

20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection: Best Of Barrett Strong

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True Motown / Spectrum 3 CD Set

The Rolling Stone Magazines 500 Greatest Songs Of All Time

The Very Best Of

Money (That's What I Want) - MotownSelect.com

Money

Motown 7" Singles No. 1

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Soul! The Very Best Of Motown (CD1)

Motown Classics Gold

20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection: The Best of Barrett Strong

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