Thursday, March 28, 2024

Motown Songwriter and Stevie Wonder Collaborator, Sylvia Moy, Dies at 78

Sylvia Moy (Getty Images)
Sylvia Moy

*Sylvia Moy, the Motown songwriter who collaborated on such Stevie Wonder classics as “My Cherie Amour” and “I Was Made to Love Her,” has died. She was 78.

According to the Detroit Free Press, Moy died Friday at Beaumont (Oakwood) Hospital in Dearborn, Mich., due to complications from pneumonia. Her death occurred on the same day that Wonder received ASCAP’s inaugural Key of Life Award.

As one of Motown’s first female songwriter/producers, Moy was instrumental in shaping the label’s pioneering legacy. She, Wonder and fellow songwriter Henry Cosby initially teamed up in 1965 to write Wonder’s No. 1 R&B and No. 3 pop single “Uptight (Everything’s Alright).” The trio went on to pen “My Cherie Amour” and “Made to Love Her” as well as “I’m Wondering” and “Shoo-Be-Doo-Be-Doo-Da-Day.”

Among the Detroit native’s additional credits are The Isley Brothers’ “This Old Heart of Mine (Is Weak for You)” and Marvin Gaye and Kim Weston’s “It Takes Two.” Moy, a six-time Grammy Award nominee, was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2006 with Cosby.

Sony/ATV, publisher of Moy’s classic songs that are part of Motown’s Jobete catalog, issued a statement to Billboard: “We are extremely sad to hear about the death of Sylvia Moy, whose songwriting played an important part in Motown’s history, including its influence on Stevie Wonder’s career. Her songwriting versatility is also evident in songs including ‘It Takes Two’ and ‘This Old Heart Of Mine.’ She additionally broke down barriers as one of Motown’s first-ever female producers. Her classic songs will live on forever.”

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