Morris Ervin Broadnax (February 9, 1931 – February 17, 2009), sometimes credited as Luvel Broadnax (the name of his second wife), was an American songwriter 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, most notably working with

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris (; Judkins; born May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American and Ghanaian singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th c ...

with whom, along with

Clarence Paul Clarence Otto Pauling (March 19, 1928 – May 6, 1995) better known and published as Clarence Paul, was an American songwriter and record producer who was best known for his career with Detroit's Motown Records. Early life and career Born i ...

, he co-wrote

Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Honored as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Soul", she was twice named by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine as the Roll ...

's hit "

Until You Come Back to Me (That's What I'm Gonna Do) "Until You Come Back to Me (That's What I'm Gonna Do)" is a song written by Morris Broadnax, Clarence Paul, and Stevie Wonder. The song was originally recorded by Stevie Wonder in 1967, but his version was not released as a single and did not a ...

Life and career

He was born in

Detroit, Michigan 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 ...

, and after graduating high school joined the

US Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

. He later worked on the

Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

assembly line in Detroit, and his friend

Abdul "Duke" Fakir Abdul Kareem "Duke" Fakir (December 26, 1935 – July 22, 2024) was an American singer. He co-founded the Motown quartet the Four Tops and performed in an ensemble under that name from 1953 until shortly before his death. He was the group's las ...

the Four Tops ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns 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 English. ''The ...

encouraged his singing career. He auditioned for

Mickey Stevenson Mickey is a given name and nickname, often a short form (hypocorism) of Michael, Michaela, and Michelle, and occasionally a surname. Notable people and characters with the name include: People Given name or nickname Men * Mickey Andrews (bor ...

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 or music producer is a music creating project's overall supervisor whose responsibilities can involve a range of creative and technical leadership roles. Typically the job involves hands-on oversight of recording sessions; ensu ...

, and with the young

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

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 ...

' 1966 hit "

Just a Little Misunderstanding "Just a Little Misunderstanding" (G7052) is a 1966 song by Motown Records R&B group The Contours on the company's Gordy subsidiary label. It was composed by Stevie Wonder, along with Motown staff songwriters Clarence Paul and Morris Broadnax. The ...

"; " All I Do (Is Think About You)", first recorded by

Tammi Terrell Thomasina Winifred Montgomery (April 29, 1945 – March 16, 1970), professionally known as Tammi Terrell, was an American singer-songwriter, widely known as a star singer for Motown Records during the 1960s, notably for a series of duets with ...

and later by

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

, and by Stevie Wonder on his album '' Hotter Than July''; and "

", 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 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), o ...

chart in 1974. Broadnax also wrote for the Four Tops,

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

– for whom he co-wrote with

and Fredericka Foreman the title track of his 1964 album '' When I'm Alone I Cry'' – 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, 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 caused by an impairment in the heart's ability to fill with and pump blood. Although symptoms vary based on which side of the heart is affected, HF typically pr ...

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 American male musicians 20th-century American songwriters