Morris Ervin Broadnax (February 9, 1931 – February 17, 2009), sometimes credited as Luvel Broadnax (the name of his first wife), was an American songwriter for

Motown Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''mot ...

in the 1960s, most notably working with

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, pop, sou ...

with whom, along with Clarence Paul, he co-wrote

Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Referred to as the "Queen of Soul", she has twice been placed ninth in ''Rolling Stone''s "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". With ...

's hit " Until You Come Back to Me (That's What I'm Gonna Do)".

Life and career

He was born in

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

, and after graduating high school joined the

US Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part ...

. He later worked on the Ford assembly line in Detroit, and his friend Abdul "Duke" Fakir of

the Four Tops ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in ...

encouraged his singing career. He auditioned for Mickey Stevenson at Motown and, though the company did not offer him a recording contract, Stevenson liked one of the songs he had written and performed, and signed him to a songwriting contract in 1961. Graham Betts, "Morris Broadnax", ''Motown Encyclopedia'', AC Publishing, 2014
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Retrieved 21 July 2016 At Motown, he worked closely with songwriter and

record producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure. Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

Clarence Paul, and with the young

. His most successful songs, all co-written with Paul and Wonder, included

the Contours The Contours is one of the early American soul singing groups signed to Motown Records. The group is best known for its classic chart-topping 1962 hit, "Do You Love Me", which sold over 1 million copies and became a major hit again in 1988. His ...

' 1966 hit " Just a Little Misunderstanding"; "

All I Do (Is Think About You) "All I Do" is a song written and performed by Ian Thomas. It was later recorded by Daryl Braithwaite as the second single from his second studio album, ''Edge''. The song was also released in the UK. Track listing CD single # "All I Do" # "Th ...

", first recorded by Tammi Terrell and later by

Brenda Holloway Brenda Holloway (born June 26, 1946) is an American singer and songwriter, who was a recording artist for Motown Records during the 1960s. Her best-known recordings are the soul hits, " Every Little Bit Hurts", " When I'm Gone", and " You've Ma ...

, and by Stevie Wonder on his album '' Hotter Than July''; and " Until You Come Back to Me (That's What I'm Gonna Do)", first recorded by Wonder but unreleased at the time and picked up by

. Franklin's recording of the song reached No. 1 on the

R&B chart The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

and No. 3 on the Hot 100 chart in 1974. Broadnax also wrote for the Four Tops,

the Temptations The Temptations are an American vocal group from Detroit, Michigan, who released a series of successful singles and albums with Motown Records during the 1960s and 1970s. The group's work with producer Norman Whitfield, beginning with the Top ...

Gladys Knight & The Pips Gladys Knight & the Pips were an American R&B, 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 1950s. Starting out as simpl ...

Marvin Gaye Marvin Pentz Gay Jr., who also spelled his surname as Gaye (April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984), was an American singer and songwriter. He helped to shape the sound of Motown (music style), Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player ...

– for whom he co-wrote with Mickey Stevenson and Fredericka Foreman the title track of his 1964 album ''

When I'm Alone I Cry ''When I'm Alone I Cry'' is the third studio album by Marvin Gaye, released in 1964. It was one of several attempts by the singer and his record company, Motown, to make his name as a jazz vocalist. Recording The album includes ten pop and jaz ...

'' – and other Motown artists. Broadnax left Motown in 1969. He became a community activist, promoting higher quality education in Detroit's public schools. In the late 1980s he also tried, unsuccessfully, to organize a Motown Alumni Association. He received many awards, including the Award of Merit from Mayor

Coleman A. Young Coleman may refer to: Places Antarctica * Coleman Glacier (Antarctica) * Coleman Peak, Ross Island Canada * Coleman, Alberta * Coleman, Ontario * Coleman, Prince Edward Island United Kingdom * Coleman, Leicester, England United States * Col ...

, the Spirit of Detroit Award, and recognition from Black Parents for A Quality Education. James Mathenia, "The Morris Broadnax Story", ''math555.wordpress.com'', December 2, 2009
Retrieved 21 July 2016 He died on February 17, 2009, from

congestive heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome, a group of signs and symptoms caused by an impairment of the heart's blood pumping function. Symptoms typically include shortness of breath, excessive fatigue, ...

References

External links

Interview with Motown's Morris Broadnax (YouTube Video)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Broadnax, Morris 1931 births 2009 deaths American male songwriters Songwriters from Michigan Musicians from Detroit Motown artists 20th-century male musicians