George Ivy Hunter (August 28, 1940 – October 6, 2022), known as Ivy Jo Hunter, was an American R&B songwriter, record producer and singer, most associated with his work for

Motown Motown is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. Founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on January 12, 1959, it was incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau ...

in the 1960s.

Life and career

Raised in

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

, Michigan, Hunter was trained in orchestral music — primarily trumpet and keyboards. After a stint in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

, Hunter began performing as a singer in the proto-soul venues around Detroit, where he became friends with songwriter Hank Cosby. Cosby introduced him to Motown's first A&R man, William "Mickey" Stevenson. Hunter played keyboards on Motown sessions before Stevenson began working with him as a songwriter. He became a principal in the Motown Records house band, and began to write some of the most significant hits of the early Motown years. Hunter's songs included The Spinners' " Truly Yours" and "Sweet Thing";

The Temptations The Temptations is an American vocal group formed in Detroit, Michigan, in 1961 as The Elgins, known for their string of successful singles and albums with Motown from the 1960s to the mid-1970s. The group's work with producer Norman Whitfield ...

' " Sorry Is a Sorry Word";

The Isley Brothers The Isley Brothers ( ) are an American soul group originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, that began as a vocal trio consisting of the brothers O'Kelly Isley Jr., Rudolph Isley and Ronald Isley in the 1950s. With a career spanning over seven decades, ...

' " Behind a Painted Smile" and "My Love Is Your Love (Forever)"; and " Ask the Lonely" and " Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever" for the

Four Tops The Four Tops are an American vocal group formed in Detroit, Michigan in 1953 as the Four Aims. They were one of the most commercially successful American pop music groups of the 1960s and helped propel Motown Records to international fame. The ...

. With

Marvin Gaye Marvin Pentz Gaye Jr. (; April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984) was an American Rhythm and blues, R&B and soul singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He helped shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player an ...

and Stevenson, he co-wrote the

Martha and the Vandellas Martha and the Vandellas (known from 1967 to 1973 as Martha Reeves & the Vandellas) were an American girl group formed in Detroit, Michigan in 1957. The group achieved fame in the 1960s as a major act for Motown Records. Formed by friends Annett ...

hit " Dancing in the Street" which, in the fall of 1964, provided an American counterpart to the

British Invasion The British Invasion was a cultural phenomenon of the mid-1960s, when Rock music, rock and pop music acts from the United Kingdom and other aspects of Culture of the United Kingdom, British culture became popular in the United States with sign ...

. Hunter also produced and wrote songs for Motown artists like The Velvelettes (their single "That's a Funny Way"),

The Contours The Contours are an American rhythm and blues vocal group. They recorded for Motown Records. They are known for their 1962 hit single "Do You Love Me", which sold over 1 million copies and became a major hit again in 1988. History Establishment ...

(their 1964 hit, " Can You Jerk Like Me"),

The Marvelettes The Marvelettes were an American girl group formed in Inkster, Michigan, Inkster, Michigan in 1960, consisting of schoolmates Gladys Horton, Katherine Anderson, Georgeanna Tillman, Juanita Cowart (now Cowart Motley), and Georgia Dobbins, who was ...

(their hits "Danger Heartbreak Dead Ahead" and "

I'll Keep Holding On "I'll Keep Holding On" is a song composed by Mickey Stevenson and Ivy Jo Hunter and recorded by Motown Records, Motown singing group The Marvelettes, who released the single on the Tamla Records, Tamla imprint in 1965. Peaking at #34 on the Bill ...

"),

Gladys Knight & the Pips Gladys Knight & the Pips were an American Rhythm and blues, R&B, soul music, soul, and funk family music group from Atlanta, Georgia, that remained active on the music charts and performing circuit for over three decades starting from the early ...

(the album track "The Stranger") and Gaye, for whom he produced the Top 40 hit single "

You In Modern English, the word "''you''" is the second-person pronoun. It is grammatically plural, and was historically used only for the dative case, but in most modern dialects is used for all cases and numbers. History ''You'' comes from ...

" in 1968. Hunter continued to write, produce, serve as session musician, and perform. As a vocalist he recorded a great deal of material with Motown during the 1960s, including demos of his own compositions, but nothing was released until 1970, when Motown issued an Ivy Jo single on their soon to be discontinued VIP label entitled "I Remember When (Dedicated to Beverly)". The following year another single on VIP was issued entitled "I'd Still Love You". An album was also planned with the title ''Ivy Jo is in this Bag'', but was shelved. Shortly after this he left Motown. In 1970, he contributed to

Funkadelic Funkadelic was an American funk rock band formed in Plainfield, New Jersey in 1968 and active until 1982. As one of the two flagship groups of George Clinton's P-Funk collective, they helped pioneer the funk music culture of the 1970s.John, ...

's "Mommy, What's A Funkadelic?" on that band's eponymous first album. He also co-produced an album for Wee Gee (William Howard), the former lead singer of The Dramatics, which included the hit "Hold On (To Your Dream)", which has become a favorite in graduation ceremonies. In 2009, he took part in celebrations to mark Motown's 50th anniversary. Hunter died on October 6, 2022, at the age of 82.

References

External links

Rob Moss, "The Ivy Jo Hunter Story"
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hunter, Ivy Jo 1940 births 2022 deaths 20th-century African-American musicians 21st-century African-American musicians Motown artists Record producers from Michigan Songwriters from Michigan American soul musicians American session musicians Musicians from Detroit