Janie Bradford Hobbs, Motown ‘unsung hero’ who co-wrote ‘Money,’ dead at 87
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Janie Bradford Hobbs, a key player in Motown’s early hitmaking machine, has died in Los Angeles at 87.
The longtime LA resident died Saturday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center following an extended illness, her family said.
Bradford Hobbs later became a familiar face in the city’s music scene, where she ran the Heroes and Legends Awards for about 30 years.
The annual event honored music icons, handed out scholarships and became a reunion spot for former Motown stars, according to her family.
She also founded Mountain Goat Music and opened the Music Notes Gift Shop in Beverly Hills.
But Bradford Hobbs first made her name in Detroit.
Born in Charleston, Missouri, she moved to Detroit and was introduced to Motown founder Berry Gordy in the late 1950s by her neighbor, singer Jackie Wilson.
She joined Motown as a receptionist in 1958, eventually becoming part of the creative operation behind the label’s rise.
Bradford Hobbs and Gordy co-wrote “Money (That’s What I Want),” which Barrett Strong recorded in 1959.
The song became an early hit and was later covered by The Beatles.
She also wrote “Too Busy Thinking About My Baby,” first recorded by The Temptations and later made a hit by Marvin Gaye. Her songwriting credits included work for Stevie Wonder, The Supremes, Martha & The Vandellas and others.
“Janie was there with me from the very beginning, before there was even a Motown, and she will always hold a very special place in my heart and in the Motown family,” Gordy said.
“Janie was one of a special group I have always thought of as the original Motown family,” he continued. “She was one of the people who helped make Motown what it became.”
Bradford Hobbs later became head of Writer Relations for Jobete, Motown’s publishing company.
She is survived by her husband, Wardean Hobbs; daughter, Nicole Hobbs; son, Lance Finney; and two grandsons.
Funeral services have not been completed.