rry's store eventually closed due to financial difficulties.
             Gordy soon found himself working at Ford's Mercury plant, earning $85 a week. Bored with his assembly line job, he spent all of his free time writing songs. Berry would hum melodies and make up song lyrics in his head to break the monotony of everyday work. Berry soon began to get serious about song writing and he got his big break when he won a talent contest. He wrote a song for Jackie Wilson called "Reet Petite." It became a major R&B hit in late 1957. Gordy continued to dabble in freelance songwriting and he found success with "Lonely Teardrops," and "To Be Loved," which were two other hits that he wrote for Jackie Wilson. He also wrote a hit song for Barret Strong called "Money (That's What I Want)." This gave Berry a strong reputation as an accomplished songwriter in the music world. Berry was an outstanding writer despite the fact that he was unable to read music. Gordy had no musical talent at all, as far as singing or playing music was concerned. He did however have an ability to gauge whether a song had the elements of popular appeal. He had the power to detect star quality and potential in songs and performers.
             The first star that Gordy would discover would be William Smokey Robinson, a Detroit high schooler with a soothing falsetto voice and an ear for sweet lyrics. In 1957 Smokey Robinson was the lead singer of a group called the Matadors. They auditioned unsuccessfully for Jackie Wilson's manager, but Gordy who was instrumental in Wilson's earlier success happened to be present at the audition. His talent for recognizing star power came in handy because he saw something that everyone at that audition seemed to miss.
             Berry persuaded Smokey and the Matadors to change their names to the Miracles and work with him. Berry Gordy began recording Robinson's group, The Miracles, for New York based End Records. They had early success with their record "Got
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