Ray Singleton

Sensing that Gordy was not excited about their singing, Raynoma told him that she could also write and arrange music. Before long, she was doing just that, becoming a vital part of his budding operation.<br /><br /> Later, Gordy had her put together a backup vocal group, which was composed of singers that had been hanging around the studio. Gordy, who loved contractions, decided to call the group the Rayber Voices after their given names, Raynoma and Berry. In addition to Ray, the singers in the group were Brian Holland, Robert Bateman, Sonny Sanders and later, Gwendolyn Murray and Louvain Demps. Together, Ray and Berry also formed a music producing and publishing firm, Rayber Music Writing Company.<br /><br /> Tired of the paltry royalty checks that he was receiving, Gordy was encouraged by Ray and Smokey Robinson to start his own record company. Ray located a two-story house at 2648 West Grand Boulevard as the headquarters for the new enterprise. Gordy placed her in charge of the company's publishing operations (now known as Jobete) with the assistance of her brother, Mike Ossman, and Janie Bradford, the company's first receptionist. Read Less