Singer/songwriter-turned-music mogul HARVEY FUQUA has died after suffering a heart attack. The 80-year-old star, whose nephew is director Antoine Fuqua, passed away in a hospital in Detroit, Michigan on Tuesday (06Jul10). Fuqua began his career in the music industry as a singer and songwriter with the 1950s doo-wop group the Moonglows. He quit the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame group in 1958 and went on to become a key player in the development and success of the Motown record label in Detroit, helping his then-brother-in-law Berry Gordy set up the company by helping to distribute its first hit single, Barrett Strong's Money ( That's What I Want), through his own Anna Records.
Fuqua later sold the label to Gordy and accepted a position as a songwriter and executive at Motown. He also worked with blues icon Etta James during a stint at Chess Records and went on to serve as Smokey Robinson's road manager. Throughout his career Fuqua was linked to soul legend Marvin Gaye - he discovered the young singer when he was part of Washington, D.C. group the Marquees and reunited with him to produce the Sexual Healing singer's acclaimed final album Midnight Love.
No comments:
Post a Comment