Edwards was a Motown executive for nearly three decades, holding numerous leadership positions within the music company whose artists included Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, The Supremes, Marvin Gaye, The Temptations and The Four Tops. Motown Records, which Berry Gordy started with a family loan in 1959, churned out scores of global hits from the building it dubbed "Hitsville, U.S.A." in Detroit. Edwards served as senior vice president, corporate secretary and director of Motown International Operations, where she was charged with exposing the famed "Motown sound" to international audiences.
When Motown and most of her family moved to California, Edwards stayed behind. She amassed what would become Motown memorabilia and set to work on preserving the old headquarters, including the label's famed Studio A. Gordy also said Edwards gave him "the hardest time" when he sought to get the family loan to start what would become Motown Records. She became, he said, "one of my biggest assets at Motown."
Berry Gordy Jr. and the Gordy family
"Esther Gordy Edwards was a top Motown executive, businesswoman, civil and political leader, who received numerous awards, commendations and accolades. "Esther turned the so-called trash left behind after I sold the company in 1988 into a phenomenal world-class monument where Hitsville started—the Motown Museum.
"I’m taken back by the loss of Esther Gordy Edwards. Esther Gordy Edwards, who helped build Motown Records alongside her brother Berry Gordy Jr. and led efforts to turn its original Detroit headquarters into a museum, has died. Edwards died Wednesday surrounded by family and friends in Detroit, the Motown Historical Museum said in a statement.
Edwards served as senior vice president, corporate secretary and director of Motown International Operations, where she was charged with exposing the famed “Motown sound” to international audiences.
When Motown and most of her family moved to California, Edwards stayed behind. Gordy also said Edwards gave him “the hardest time” when he sought to get the family loan to start what would become Motown Records.