Motown pioneer Janie Bradford Hobbs dies at 87 after long illness

Janie Bradford Hobbs, born in Charleston, Missouri, moved to Detroit where singer Jackie Wilson introduced her to Motown founder Berry Gordy in the late 1950s. Starting as a receptionist in 1958, she quickly became a co-writer of “Money (That’s What I Want)”, recorded by Barrett Strong in 1959 and later covered by The Beatles. Her catalog also includes “Too Busy Thinking About My Baby”, recorded by The Temptations and Marvin Gaye, as well as songs for Stevie Wonder, The Supremes and Martha & The Vandellas.

Gordy praised her as part of the original Motown family that believed in the label’s dream. Bradford Hobbs later served as head of Writer Relations for Jobete, Motown’s publishing company, and founded the annual Heroes and Legends Awards, which ran for about 30 years. She died at a Los Angeles hospital after a prolonged illness, leaving behind husband Wardean Hobbs, daughter Nicole Hobbs, son Lance Finney and two grandsons; funeral plans remain pending.