She Was the Motown Receptionist Who Co-Wrote Money, and the Beatles Sang Her Words

She Died in Los Angeles

Janie Bradford Hobbs died on August 22 at a Los Angeles hospital following an extended illness. She was 87.

She is credited as a co-writer of “Money (That’s What I Want),” the song that gave Motown its first real hit.

The Job She Was Doing At the Time

Bradford joined Motown as a receptionist in 1958. In 1959 she co-wrote “Money (That’s What I Want)” with Berry Gordy, and Barrett Strong recorded it.

She was answering the phones. That is the detail that makes the story, and it is a literal fact rather than a flourish - the label’s first genuine hit was co-written by the person at the front desk.

She later became head of Writer Relations for Jobete, Motown’s publishing arm.

Where Her Words Ended Up

“Money (That’s What I Want)” was covered by the Beatles. It became one of the most recorded songs of the era and a permanent piece of the rock and soul canon.

She also co-wrote “Too Busy Thinking About My Baby,” recorded by the Temptations and a hit for Marvin Gaye, and wrote songs for Stevie Wonder, the Supremes, and Martha and the Vandellas.

Very few people could have named her. Almost everyone has heard her.

What She Built Afterward

Bradford founded the Heroes and Legends Awards, an annual event she ran for roughly three decades honoring music figures and awarding scholarships.

The purpose was specific. The awards existed to recognize the people around the records - the writers, the session players, the staff - who made Motown work and whose names never made it onto a marquee. Having been the receptionist who wrote the hit, she understood exactly which credits go missing.

The Line Itself

The best-known lyric about money in American popular music was written by a teenager working a front desk in Detroit, and she spent the rest of her life making sure the other people at the other desks got named.

References: Early Motown songwriter Janie Bradford Hobbs dies after illness at age 87 | Janie Bradford, Motown Songwriter Who Co-Wrote ‘Money (That’s What I Want),’ Dead at 87 | Janie Bradford, Early Motown Songwriter & ‘Money (That’s What I Want)’ Co-Writer, Dies at 87