MOTOWN ADDRESS BOOK OF ESTHER GORDY EDWARDS, SISTER OF MOTOWN FOUNDER BERRY GORDY, WITH CONTACT INFORMATION FOR SUCH CULTURAL ICONS AS STEVIE WONDER, SMOKEY ROBINSON, GLADYS KNIGHT, DIANA ROSS, MAYA ANGELOU, CORETTA KING AND MANY MORE

BULLOCK [i.e., EDWARDS], E[sther]. G[ordy]. [Motown Address Book]. Detroit, Michigan, circa 1970. Slim quarto (3-1/2 by 12 inches), original full floral-patterned cloth; pp. [68]. Housed in a custom clamshell box. $3200.

Vintage address book from the 1970s-80s, used by Esther Gordy Edwards—sister of Motown founder Berry Gordy, and executive and founder of the Motown Historical Museum—and filled with addresses and phone numbers for many members of her famous family and such celebrities as Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson, Gladys Knight, Diana Ross, Alex Haley, Maya Angelou, Coretta King and more.

"As Motown and its Detroit headquarters turned into a pop-soul powerhouse," Esther Gordy Edwards "served as a company executive who guided a young Stevie Wonder and managed the careers of such era-defining artists as Smokey Robinson, Marvin Gaye and the Supremes" (Los Angeles Times). Her book of addresses and telephone numbers includes information for such famous recording artists as Wonder, Robinson, Gladys Knight, Gladys Horton and Diana Ross. Other celebrities whose names appear are Maya Angelou, Alex Haley, Rev. Jesse Jackson, Coretta King and Betty Shabazz. Many members of the Gordy family also appear, including Motown founder Berry Gordy, Anna Gordy Gaye (songwriter, record executive and Marvin Gaye's first wife), Gwen Gordy Fuqua (songwriter best known for such hits as "Lonely Teardrops" and "All I Could Do Was Cry") and Kennedy Gordy (who changed his name to "Rockwell" in 1983 and recorded the hit song "Somebody's Watching Me"). Other noteworthy contacts include Judge Geraldine Ford (the first black female elected to a judgeship in the United States) and civil rights leader Benjamin Hooks. Most entries in the book are undated; many that are date from the 1970s and 1980s. During that era, following Motown's 1972 relocation to Los Angeles, Edwards was still in Detroit, transforming the company's original offices into the Motown Historical Museum. For whatever reason, the name "E.G. Bullock" is written at the top of the front pastedown. Esther Gordy's first marriage was to Robert Bullock; in 1951, however, she wed George Edwards, Michigan state legislator.

Index tabs lightly soiled, expert joint repairs. An intriguing piece of Motown memorabilia.