Barney Ales
Baldassare "Barney" Ales (May 13, 1934 – April 17, 2020) was an American music industry executive best known as a leading figure and sometime company president at
Motown Records
. He is credited with successfully promoting the black-owned company in the wider white-dominated music industry in the US.
Biography
Barney Ales was born in
In 1960 Ales met
Berry Gordy Jr., who soon hired him as the national sales and promotion manager for his new Motown company. He built a team to promote Motown's records and ensure their effective distribution across national and international markets. He later said: "It was a well-thought-out philosophy that we had... Motown was a music company. It wasn’t an R&B company. It wasn’t a soul company. It was the same as Capitol Records or CBS: a company devoted to making music." According to Motown chronicler Adam White: "There’s no question that Ales's race gave him access to, and influence with, pop radio DJs and programmers... That was the reality of the times."[2]
Ales was also credited as a co-writer on some Motown songs, including the hits "Once Upon a Time" and "What's the Matter with You Baby", recorded by Marvin Gaye and Mary Wells.[4]
When Gordy moved Motown's headquarters to
Rocket label, Bob Guccione's Penthouse label, Norman Granz's Pablo Records, and George Clinton's company AEM.[1][2][3]
Ales died in 2020, aged 85.[2][3]
References
- ^ a b Tatiana Cirisano, "Former Motown Records President & Sales Chief Barney Ales Dies at 85", Billboard, April 19, 2020. Retrieved 1 July 2020
- ^ a b c d Ben Sisario, "Barney Ales, Indispensable Motown Executive, Is Dead at 85", The New York Times, April 29, 2020. Retrieved 1 July 2020
- ^ a b c Jem Aswad, "Barney Ales, Legendary Promo Exec and Former President of Motown Records, Dies at 85", Variety, April 19, 2020. Retrieved 1 July 2020
- ^ Songs written by Barney Ales, MusicVf.com. Retrieved 1 July 2020