Esther Gordy Edwards was a staff member and associate of her younger brother Berry Gordy

Berry Gordy

Berry Gordy, Jr. is an American record producer, and the founder of the Motown record label, as well as its many subsidiaries.-Early years:...

's fabled Motown label during the 1960s. Edwards created the Motown Museum, Hitsville U.S.A.

Hitsville U.S.A.

"Hitsville U.S.A." is the nickname given to Motown's first headquarters. A former photographers' studio located at 2648 West Grand Boulevard in Detroit, Michigan, it was purchased by Motown founder Berry Gordy in 1959 and converted into both the record label's administrative building and recording...

, by preserving the label's Detroit studio. She also served as President of the Motown Museum.

Biography

Esther Gordy Edwards was born to Berry Gordy, Sr. and Bertha Fuller Gordy in Oconee County, Georgia

Oconee County, Georgia

Oconee County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. It was created on February 25, 1875. As of the 2000 census, the population was 26,225. Census estimates for 2007 show a population of 31,367...

. She was the couple's second oldest child and eldest daughter. When she was two years old, her parents moved to Detroit, Michigan

Michigan

Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....

. Edwards' younger siblings included sisters Anna

Anna Gordy Gaye

Anna Gordy Gaye is an American songwriter and composer, known as the elder sister of Motown founder Berry Gordy and the first wife of soul legend Marvin Gaye, who used their troubled marriage as the focal point of his critically acclaimed 1978 effort, Here, My Dear, an album from which Gordy...

, the late Loucye, and Gwen

Gwen Gordy Fuqua

Gwen Gordy Fuqua was the elder sister of Motown founder Berry Gordy, sister of Motown songwriters Anna Gordy Gaye, Robert Gordy and George Gordy, sister of Motown Museum founder Esther Gordy Edwards, sister of Fuller Gordy and also Loucye Gordy, and the former wife of Harvey Fuqua...

, as well as brothers Fuller, George, Berry and Robert, who was the youngest of the family

Gordy family

The Gordys are an African-American family of businesspeople and music industry executives born to Georgia-reared parents Berry "Pops" Gordy, Sr. and Bertha Fuller Gordy and raised in Detroit, where a majority of the siblings had a pivotal role in the international acceptance of rhythm and blues...

. Edwards attended Detroit's prestigious Cass Technical High School

Cass Technical High School

The Cass Tech Technicians football team is a high school football program in Division 1 Public School League, representing the prestigious Cass Technical High School in Detroit, MI. Cass Tech High School has long been recognized nationwide for its extraordinary football program dating back to its...

. She later graduated from Howard University

Howard University

Howard University is a federally chartered, non-profit, private, coeducational, nonsectarian, historically black university located in Washington, D.C., United States...

. Esther married Detroit politician George Edwards in 1951, and they have a son, Robert Bullock (whom she had from a previous relationship).

Career

Edwards founded the Gordy Printing Company with two of her brothers in the mid-1940s. With her husband, they created the Ber-Berry Co-Op, which was intended to provide loans to family members. Her younger brother Berry reportedly asked for an $800 loan to help start Motown Records in 1959. After Motown became established, Edwards took an active role in management and booking tours, including the legendary Motortown Revue

Motortown Revue

The Motortown Revue was the name given to the package concert tours of Motown artists in the 1960s. Early tours featured Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, Mary Wells, The Marvelettes, Barrett Strong, and The Contours as headlining acts, and gave then-second-tier acts such as Marvin Gaye, Martha & The...

 in the early 1960s. While at Motown, Edwards took on a motherly role towards some of the label's younger acts. In the mid-1960s, she served as Motown's vice president and chief executive officer

Chief executive officer

A chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...

. She was succeeded in this role by Smokey Robinson

Smokey Robinson

William "Smokey" Robinson, Jr. is an American R&B singer-songwriter, record producer, and former record executive. Robinson is one of the primary figures associated with Motown, second only to the company's founder, Berry Gordy...

 in 1972. Edwards later served on the board for the Detroit Bank of Commonwealth and the Greater Detroit Chamber of Commerce.

In 1985, Edwards became the director of the Motown Historical Museum (Hitsville U.S.A.

Hitsville U.S.A.

"Hitsville U.S.A." is the nickname given to Motown's first headquarters. A former photographers' studio located at 2648 West Grand Boulevard in Detroit, Michigan, it was purchased by Motown founder Berry Gordy in 1959 and converted into both the record label's administrative building and recording...

) and has since been credited with carefully maintaining the original studios of Motown. Edwards is often described as "the pillar of Motown".