Sylvia Rose Moy (September 15, 1938 – April 15, 2017) was an American

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music ...

and

record producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure. Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

, formerly associated with the Motown Records group. The first woman at the

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

-based music label to write and produce for Motown acts, she is probably best known for her songs written with and for Stevie Wonder.

Life and career

Born and brought up on the northeast side of Detroit, Sylvia Moy, ''Songwriters Hall of Fame''
Retrieved 16 April 2017 Moy studied and performed

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

and classical music at Northern High School, before she was seen performing in a club in 1963 by Marvin Gaye and

Mickey Stevenson Mickey is a given name and nickname, almost always masculine and often a short form (hypocorism) of Michael, and occasionally a surname. Notable people and characters with the name include: People Given name or nickname Men * Mickey Andrews (bor ...

. She was given recording and songwriting contracts by Motown, but was urged to prioritize her songwriting because the company was short of material for its artists. Graham Betts, ''Motown Encyclopedia''
Retrieved 17 February 2015 According to

Berry Gordy Berry Gordy III (born November 28, 1929), known professionally as Berry Gordy Jr., is a retired American record executive, record producer, songwriter, film producer and television producer. He is best known as the founder of the Motown record l ...

's autobiography ''To Be Loved'', Moy was directly responsible for the label keeping Stevie Wonder. Gordy wrote that, after Stevie's voice began to change as a result of puberty, he was going to drop him from the label. It was then that Moy went to Gordy and asked "if she could come up with a hit for Stevie would he reconsider"; he agreed. Her first writing success came with "

Uptight (Everything's Alright) "Uptight (Everything's Alright)" is a 1965 hit single recorded by American singer-songwriter Stevie Wonder for the Tamla (Motown) label. One of his most popular early singles, "Uptight (Everything's Alright)" was the first hit single Wonder co-wrot ...

", which she co-wrote with Henry "Hank" Cosby after hearing Wonder improvising on piano. Moy wrote lyrics to the song, which she conveyed to Wonder by singing into his headphones one line ahead as he recorded. Among the subsequent hit singles Moy wrote and/or produced while at Motown were Stevie Wonder's " My Cherie Amour", "

I Was Made to Love Her "I Was Made to Love Her" is a soul music song recorded by American musician Stevie Wonder for Motown's Tamla label in 1967. The song was written by Wonder, his mother Lula Mae Hardaway, Sylvia Moy, and producer Henry Cosby and included on Wonder' ...

", and " Never Had a Dream Come True"; and " Honey Chile" and "

Love Bug Leave My Heart Alone "Love Bug Leave My Heart Alone" is a 1967 single released by Motown girl group Martha and the Vandellas. The song's production was a departure from the Vandellas' repertoire as their label, Motown, was having a harder time staying with the times ...

" by Martha and the Vandellas.Ribowsky, Mark
Signed, Sealed, and Delivered: The Soulful Journey of Stevie Wonder
p.133-44 (2010) She also co-wrote "

This Old Heart of Mine (Is Weak for You) "This Old Heart of Mine (Is Weak for You)" is a Holland–Dozier–Holland song that was a hit for American musical group the Isley Brothers in January 1966 during their brief tenure on Motown's Tamla label. Featuring Ronald Isley on lead vocal ...

" with Holland-Dozier-Holland for

the Isley Brothers The Isley Brothers ( ) are an American musical group originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, that began as a vocal trio consisting of brothers O'Kelly Isley Jr., Rudolph Isley and Ronald Isley in the 1950s. With a career spanning over seven decade ...

; and " It Takes Two" with William "Mickey" Stevenson for Marvin Gaye and

Kim Weston Kim Weston (born December 20, 1939) is an American soul singer, and Motown alumna. In the 1960s, Weston scored hits with the songs "Love Me All the Way" and "Take Me in Your Arms (Rock Me a Little While)", and with her duet with Marvin Gaye ...

. She later wrote theme songs for several television shows, and was involved in writing film music. She was inducted into the

Songwriters Hall of Fame The Songwriters Hall of Fame (SHOF) is an American institution founded in 1969 by songwriter Johnny Mercer, music publisher/songwriter Abe Olman, and publisher/executive Howie Richmond to honor those whose work, represent, and maintain, the her ...

alongside fellow Motown songwriter and producer Hank Cosby in 2006.Perone, James E
The sound of Stevie Wonder: his words and music
p. 5-11 (2006)Mitchell, Gail (22 April 2006)
Rhythm & Blues
'' Billboard'' She also set up a non-profit group, Center for Creative Communications, working with underprivileged children in Detroit. Moy died of complications from pneumonia in Dearborn, Michigan, on April 15, 2017, at the age of 78.

Accolades

In 1969, Moy won three

BMI Awards The BMI Film & TV Awards are accolades presented annually by Broadcast Music, Inc., honoring songwriters, composers, and music publishers in various genres. Based in the United States, the awards include the BMI Christian Awards, BMI Country Award ...

for the songs "Honey Chile," "I Was Made to Love Her," and "Shoo-Be-Doo-Be-Doo-Da-Day."

Selective Discography

Singles Songs written by Sylvia Moy, ''MusicVF.com''
Retrieved 16 April 2017

References

External links