Gordy family was also a professional in bowling. His daughter Iris was married to singer Johnny Bristol. The eldest Gordy daughter, Esther (April 25, 1920 – August 24, 2011), born in Georgia, established herself early in business as a political campaigner for her husband, Detroit politician George Edwards. In the late 1950s, she formed a loan company named after her parents; in 1959, she helped her brother Berry with a $800 loan to start Tamla Records. She borrowed the proceeds from the college tuition fund their father had established for Berry. Edwards served as mentor, adviser, and vice president of Motown's main
Nat Tarnopol Gordy and Roquel "Billy" Davis. According to Jackie Wilson, “Lonely Teardrops” was originally written and recorded as a blues ballad. After playing it back in the recording in the studio, it was Tarnopol who instructed Decca's staff producer Dick Jacobs to reconfigure the song as an up-tempo recording. “Lonely Teardrops” became a number one record which skyrocketed Jackie Wilson's singing career and helped provide Berry Gordy the funds used to establish his Hitsville USA recording studio, the foundation for his Tamla and Motown record labels. Decca's ultra conservative approach to music and promotion was a continuous hurdle that Tarnopol struggled