Motown Founder Berry Gordy Named a Kennedy Center 2021 Honoree

Berry Gordy is one of five to be celebrated as a Kennedy Center honoree for his exceptional achievement in arts and culture.

The Motown founder has made the 2021 list for the institution’s 44th class, including opera singer Justino Díaz, “Saturday Night Live” creator Lorne Michaels, singer-actress Bette Midler, and singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell, Freep reported.

“My first reaction was joy, then disbelief and then: ‘Did I hear that right?’” Gordy told the Detroit Free Press about receiving the news. “It was so exciting to me overall. I had all these emotions at one time, and I realized how much it meant to me.”

Gordy,91, is a Detroit native and rose to fame after building his homemade music operation into one of the most legendary independent record companies. He has also been honored by the Grammys, inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and received the National Medal of Arts.

However, he calls his upcoming December award a special distinction.

“President Kennedy was one of my favorite heroes, so to be honored in his name means the world to me,” Gordy said. “I’m extremely happy to join the past and present honorees and become part of this American legacy.”

A statement from Kennedy Center Chairman David Rubenstein was released, calling Gordy a visionary figure who “brought the quintessential soulfulness of Detroit into every home in America, elevating the Motown sound to become a national treasure.”

Gordy will now be among other greats on the Kennedy Center roll call, which already includes Stevie Wonder (1999), Smokey Robinson (2006), Diana Ross (2007), and the late Detroiter Arthera Franklin, who was honored in 1994.

The special event will take place on December 5 and will be taped to air on CBS and stream on Paramount+.

“After the challenges and heartbreak of the last many months, and as we celebrate 50 years of the Kennedy Center, I dare add that we are prepared to throw ‘the party to end all parties’ in D.C. on December 5th, feting these extraordinary people and welcoming audiences back to our campus,” Kennedy Center President Deborah Rutter said in a statement.