Janie Bradford Hobbs, an early Motown songwriter who co-wrote “Money (That’s What I Want)” and penned songs recorded by Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, The Supremes and Martha & The Vandellas, has died following an extended illness. She was 87.
Legendary Motown songwriter dies at 87
Bradford Hobbs died on Saturday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, where she had long lived, her family said.
Although she later founded Mountain Goat Music and opened the Music Notes Gift Shop in Beverly Hills, Bradford Hobbs first made her name in Detroit during the early years of what would become one of the most influential record labels in American music.
Born in Charleston, Missouri, she later moved to Detroit, where her neighbour, singer Jackie Wilson, introduced her to Motown founder Berry Gordy in the late 1950s.
Bradford Hobbs joined the company as a receptionist in 1958, but her role quickly extended beyond administrative work as she became part of Motown’s growing creative operation.
She and Gordy co-wrote “Money (That’s What I Want),” recorded by Barrett Strong in 1959. The song became one of Motown’s earliest hits and was later covered by The Beatles.
Bradford Hobbs also wrote “Too Busy Thinking About My Baby,” first recorded by The Temptations before Marvin Gaye turned it into a hit. Her songwriting credits also included work for Stevie Wonder, The Supremes, Martha & The Vandellas and other Motown artists.
She later became head of Writer Relations at Jobete, Motown’s publishing company, supporting the songwriters whose work was central to the label’s catalogue.
"Janie was there with me from the very beginning, before there was even a Motown, and she will always hold a very special place in my heart and in the Motown family. Janie was one of a special group I have always thought of as the original Motown family — the unsung heroes who believed in the dream before anyone knew what Motown would become. She was one of the people who helped make Motown what it became," Gordy said in a statement.
Gordy described Bradford Hobbs as one of the people who believed in Motown before anyone knew what it would become.
She is survived by her husband, Wardean Hobbs; daughter, Nicole Hobbs; son, Lance Finney; and two grandsons.
