Music
Sylvia Moy
1938–2017 · songwriter, record producer
Detroit-born songwriter, the first woman to write and produce for Motown acts, whose "Uptight" kept Stevie Wonder on the label.
- Born
Detroit, Michigan- Died
Dearborn, Michigan
aged 78- Birth name
- Sylvia Rose Moy
- Detroit years
- 1938–2017
- Field
- Music
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Moy grew up on Detroit's northeast side, one of nine children in a family that made music on pots and pans, and studied jazz and classical music at Northern High School. In 1963 Marvin Gaye and Mickey Stevenson saw her sing in a club and brought her to Motown, which pushed her toward writing because it needed songs. According to Berry Gordy, when Stevie Wonder's voice broke and Gordy considered dropping him, Moy asked for a chance to write him a hit: the result, with Hank Cosby, was "Uptight (Everything's Alright)", whose lyrics she fed to Wonder line by line through his headphones. She went on to write or produce "I Was Made to Love Her", "My Cherie Amour", "It Takes Two" and "This Old Heart of Mine". Later she founded the Center for Creative Communications for Detroit children. She died in Dearborn in 2017.
Highlights
- First woman to write and produce for Motown acts
- Co-wrote "Uptight", "I Was Made to Love Her" and "My Cherie Amour"
- Co-wrote "It Takes Two" and "This Old Heart of Mine"
- Songwriters Hall of Fame 2006 (with Hank Cosby)
- Three BMI Awards in 1969
02 / Their Detroit places
Their Detroit places 3
Where they lived, worked, performed and liked to hang out. Closed and demolished places stay here too, because they are part of the city's history.
Studied here · 1950s
Northern High School
Closed · 1916–2007
She studied and performed jazz and classical music here. The school closed in 2007.
Worked here · 1963–1972
Motown Museum
Wrote and produced sessions in Studio A at Motown's first headquarters.
Buried here · 2017
Elmwood Cemetery
Her grave (per Wikidata).