Barrett Strong Jr was an American singer and songwriter who turned out to be a one hit wonder singer with the hit song Money (That’s What I Want) but ended up co-writing some of Motown’s most enduring songs, including I Heard It Through the Grapevine. Strong began playing Piano at a young age and by the time he was a teenager he was singing at school. He was one of the first artists to be signed to Berry Gordy Jr's Tamla Records, and was the performer on the company's first hit single. The song... moreBarrett Strong Jr was an American singer and songwriter who turned out to be a one hit wonder singer with the hit song Money (That’s What I Want) but ended up co-writing some of Motown’s most enduring songs, including I Heard It Through the Grapevine. Strong began playing Piano at a young age and by the time he was a teenager he was singing at school. He was one of the first artists to be signed to Berry Gordy Jr's Tamla Records, and was the performer on the company's first hit single. The song Money quickly rose to to No. 2 on the R&B chart and No. 23 on the Billboard Hot 100 and the song was later covered by numerous artists including the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin and the Kingsmen just to mention a few.
In 1961 Strong left Motown records but returned later as a songwriter working with producer Norman Whitfield. Together they wrote several hit songs like War, including Just My Imagination Running Away With Me and Papa Was Rollin' Stone. In 1995, Strong founded the record label Blarritt Record as a means of providing opportunity and support for aspiring musicians in Detroit. In 2001 he released an album called Stronghold II, which he wrote and composed with Eliza Neals. Strong alongside Whitfield was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2004.
