Iris Gordy
Music industry veteran, Iris Gordy began her career working as a clerk and music evaluator in Motown's Quality Control Department, at Hitsville U.S.A. She says, she was proud, as a young teen, to have been recognized by her uncle, Berry Gordy, as having a 'great ear' for music. Ms. Gordy rose from clerk to west coast music evaluator, to department head, to pioneering record producer - when it was quite rare to see a woman doing so - to Vice President of Creative. She is credited with launching the successful Motown careers of Rick James, Teena Marie and DeBarge, as well as, producing album projects, on DeBarge, Smokey Robinson, The Temptations and others.
A respected influencer, her essay, Two Dreams Rising: "Motown and the Movement," is included in a civil rights anthology she co-authored. Ms. Gordy is a trustee of Motown Museum, on the Board of The Rhythm and Blues Foundation and she co-founded and co-produced 13 Friends of Fuller Gordy "Strikefest", an entertainment extravaganza event, along with her daughter, Karla Gordy Bristol.
A respected influencer, her essay, Two Dreams Rising: "Motown and the Movement," is included in a civil rights anthology she co-authored. Ms. Gordy is a trustee of Motown Museum, on the Board of The Rhythm and Blues Foundation and she co-founded and co-produced 13 Friends of Fuller Gordy "Strikefest", an entertainment extravaganza event, along with her daughter, Karla Gordy Bristol.
