Barrett Strong, the Motown singer and songwriter whose hits included “I Heard It Through the Grapevine”, “Papa Was a Rolling Stone” and “Money”, has died at the age of 81.
The news of Strong’s death was confirmed by the Motown Museum on January 30. “It is with great sadness that we share the passing of legendary @ClassicMotown singer and songwriter Barrett Strong,” it shared in a tweet.
No cause of death has been given at the time of writing.
Strong rose to fame after appearing on Motown’s first hit single, “Money (That’s What I Want)”, which was released in 1959. The track peaked at Number Two on the R&B singles chart and Number 23 on the Billboard Hot 100. It would go on to be covered by many other artists, including The Beatles and The Rolling Stones.
It is with great sadness that we share the passing of legendary @ClassicMotown singer and songwriter Barrett Strong.
The voice behind @motown's first hit, the iconic “Money (That’s What I Want),” was born in West Point, Mississippi on February 5, 1941 and was raised in Detroit. pic.twitter.com/RvINyjJgcc
— Motown Museum (@Motown_Museum) January 30, 2023
After a brief stint working at a Chrysler factory in the ‘60s to make enough money to provide for his family, Strong returned to Motown as a songwriter. During that period, he and producer Norman Whitfield penned a number of classic songs, including “I Heard It Through The Grapevine”, “War”, and “Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone”.
After collecting a Grammy for Best R&B Song for the latter track, the star left Motown for Capitol Records, where he continued as a solo artist. He released his debut album Stronghold in 1975, followed by ‘Live & Love’ a year later, but would only release a further two LPs in the subsequent decades.
In 2004, Strong’s rich contribution to music was recognised with an induction into the Songwriters Hall Of Fame. His final album, Stronghold II, followed in 2008.
“I am saddened to hear of the passing of Barrett Strong, one of my earliest artists, and the man who sang my first big hit “Money (That’s What I Want)” in 1959,” Motown founder Berry Gordy wrote in a statement given to Variety.
“Barrett was not only a great singer and piano player, but he, along with his writing partner Norman Whitfield, created an incredible body of work, primarily with The Temptations. Their hit songs were revolutionary in sound and captured the spirit of the times like “Cloud Nine” and the still relevant, “Ball of Confusion (That’s What the World is Today)”. My heartfelt condolences go out to his family and friends. Barrett is an original member of the Motown family and will be missed by all of us.”
“Last night – or was it the night before? – the opening riff of this tune was threaded through my dreams,” Billy Bragg wrote on Twitter following the news. “3 mins and 48 secs of perfection. And now I hear that Barrett Strong, who wrote the song with Norman Whitfield has passed away. Damn.”
Last night – or was it the night before? – the opening riff of this tune was threaded through my dreams. 3 mins and 48 secs of perfection. And now I hear that Barrett Strong, who wrote the song with Norman Whitfield has passed away. Damn. https://t.co/vi7nvw2UFY
— Billy Bragg (@billybragg) January 30, 2023