Janie Bradford, Co-Writer of Motown's First Hit 'Money (That's What I Want)', Dies at 87

Janie Bradford, who co-wrote Motown's first hit single and served as the label's first receptionist, died on 21 August at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles following an extended illness. She was 87. Her family announced her death on Saturday, 22 August, according to Rolling Stone.

Born on 2 June 1939 and also known as Janie Bradford Hobbs, she was introduced to Berry Gordy by her neighbourhood friend Jackie Wilson — the singer who had recorded the Gordy-penned 'Reet Petite'. That introduction placed Bradford at the founding edge of what became Motown Records.

In 1959, Bradford and Gordy co-wrote 'Money (That's What I Want)'. Recorded by Barrett Strong, it became the label's first hit single, a breakthrough that gave a fledgling Detroit operation its first commercial foothold. The song's reach extended well beyond Motown's own roster: the Beatles recorded it for their 1963 album 'With the Beatles', and the Rolling Stones cut their own version on a 1964 EP.

During a quarter-century at Motown, Bradford co-wrote songs that defined the label's catalogue. Her credits include Marvin Gaye's 'Too Busy Thinking About My Baby', Mary Wells' 'Your Old Standby', and songs for Diana Ross and the Supremes, Stevie Wonder, the Temptations and the Marvelettes. Gordy, Motown's founder, paid tribute by saying Bradford was with him from the very beginning, before there was even a Motown.

After her time at the label, Bradford founded the Heroes and Legends Scholarship Fund in the 1990s to support emerging musicians. She was recently inducted into the Women Songwriter's Hall of Fame, and she attended a Hollywood ceremony honouring Gordy at the dedication of Berry Gordy Square.

She leaves behind a songbook that three generations of artists have drawn from — and a place in the story of a label that changed American music.