Janie Bradford Hobbs, the songwriter behind Motown‘s first hit, “Money (That’s What I Want),” has died at 87 following an extended illness at Los Angeles’ Cedars-Sinai Hospital, her family announced Saturday, Aug. 22, according to Rolling Stone. Born in Charleston, Missouri, before later moving to Detroit, Bradford’s path to music history began almost by chance, when neighbor and singer Jackie Wilson introduced her to a young Berry Gordy in the late 1950s.
What started as a receptionist job at Motown quickly became something much bigger. “She became Motown’s first receptionist, but her talents quickly took her far beyond that desk,” Gordy said in a statement. “Janie was smart, clever, witty, and fun. She was also talented and determined.”
That talent showed in 1959, when Bradford joined Gordy at the piano and added the now-iconic line, “Your love gives me such a thrill, but your love don’t pay my bills. Gimme some money baby!” The result, “Money (That’s What I Want),” became Motown’s first hit single and was later covered by both the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, cementing its place as one of the most influential songs of the era. (*Later covers by both John Belushi and The Flying Lizards would give their own spin on the hit.)
Bradford’s songwriting reach extended well beyond that hit. Over her quarter-century at Motown, she co-wrote “Too Busy Thinking About My Baby” for Marvin Gaye, “Your Old Standby” for Mary Wells, and songs for the Supremes, Stevie Wonder, and the Temptations, helping shape the sound that defined a generation.
“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,” Gordy said, according to Billboard.
Bradford later led Writer Relations for Motown’s publishing company and founded the Heroes and Legends Awards, honoring music icons and funding scholarships for nearly 30 years. She was recently inducted into the Women Songwriters Hall of Fame and is survived by her husband, Wardean Hobbs, daughter Nicole Hobbs, son Lance Finney, and two grandsons.
Before there was a “sound of young America,” there was Janie Bradford – one of the unsung architects who helped write it.