Almost Hits: Barrett Strong - Money (That's What I Want) (1959)

One-hit-wonder Barrett Strong passed away on January 29, 2023 at age 81, so today we'll honor him and his song "Money (That's What I Want)."

"Money" has the distinction of being the first hit Berry Gordy released from his now iconic Motown recording studio in Detroit. It was originally issued on Tamla, Gordy's first label.

"Money" reached #23 on the Hot 100 and #2 on the R&B chart. It sold 1,000,000 copies and earned a gold record. The song didn't become a hit nationally until it was leased to another fledgling label, Anna Records, led by Gordy's two sisters. It was their only significant hit before the label was absorbed by their brother's company.

Gordy's production sounds earthier and less polished than most of his later Motown songs we've come to know and love, but it's the record that helped the company become one of the dominant forces of pop music in the sixties. It brought in a lot of needed capital that helped Gordy keep the studio up and running.

Strong asserted that he wrote the song with Gordy and Janie Bradford, another Motown employee, but Motown's founder disputed his claim. According to Gordy, Strong's name only appeared on the record as a songwriter due to a clerical error, and it was eventually removed. In the 80s Strong's name reappeared as a composer when the song's copyright was renewed, but Gordy removed it a second time.

The Beatles famously recorded a more raucous version of "Money," on their second British LP, With The Beatles, in 1963 and on their second Capitol album in America.

Later, Strong became a very successful Motown lyricist. He worked with composer Norman Whitfield to write a string of hits for The Temptations, including "I Can't Get Next To You," "Cloud Nine," I Wish It Would Rain," and "Psychedelic Shack." The duo won a Grammy for best R&B song in 1973 for The Temps' "Papa Was A Rollin' Stone."

Strong also contributed lyrics to "Smiling Faces Sometimes" for The Undisputed Truth; "War, by Edwin Starr;" and "I Heard It Through the Grapevine," a hit for both Marvin Gaye and Gladys Knight and the Pips.
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Almost Hits is an occasional exploration into songs that failed to reach the top 20 on the American Billboard Hot 100. Many have become classics despite what their chart position may indicate.

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