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Barrett Strong
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Miami Vice Performer
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Born
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February 5, 1941, West Point, Mississippi
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Died
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January 28, 2023, San Diego, California (age 83, undisclosed causes)
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Active
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1960-2008
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Spouse/Children
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Sandy White (1967-2002, seven children)
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Barrett Strong (February 5, 1941 - January 28, 2023) was an American singer-songwriter whose song "Money (That's What I Want)" appeared in the episode "Made for Each Other" of the series Miami Vice.
Career[]
Strong was born in West Point, Mississippi. He went to Detroit and signed with Barry Gordy's new Motown label in 1960 and recorded his first single, "Money (That's What I Want)", which reached #23 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #2 on the R&B chart. He later became a lyricist with the label and teamed with fellow songwriter Norman Whitfield and they wrote many of Motown's biggest hits in the late 1960s and early 1970's, including "I Heard It Through The Grapevine", "War", "Smiling Faces Sometimes", and several Temptations hits, "Ball of Confusion", "Cloud Nine", "I Can't Get Next To You", and "Papa Was A Rolling Stone", which won Strong a Grammy for Best R&B Song. He left Motown in the mid 1970s and resumed his singing career, but failed to have another chart single. His last album, Stronghold II, was released in digital form only in 2008.
Death[]
Strong died on January 28, 2023 in San Diego, California from undisclosed causes at the age of 83. His wife Sandy White passed away in 2002. Strong is survived by seven children and 10 grandchildren.