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MPR News Staff

The song "Reet Petite" boosted Motown

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Today's Morning Edition music is from "Reet Petite" by Jackie Wilson, a song which was co-authored by Berry Gordy and released in 1957.

Today is Mr. Gordy's 88th birthday. The title of the song was taken from the 1947 film "Reet, Petite, and Gone," a musical starring bandleader Louis Jordan and an all-black cast.

Gordy used the royalties from this song and others he wrote for Jackie Wilson to get started as a producer. He would found Motown Records just two years later.