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Rest In Peace Al Abrams, Motown’s First Publicist

Hype & Soul by Al AbramsAl Abrams​ was such a great guy. I interviewed him for a couple of stories about Motown, and he was always funny and very excited, not only about the history he helped create, but about the future of music in Detroit. I’m glad to have known him.

From the Detroit Free Press:

Al Abrams was Motown before Motown even had its name.

Abrams, the first employee of Berry Gordy Jr. and the man who pushed artists like the Supremes and Stevie Wonder into news headlines around the world, died Saturday morning at home in Findlay, Ohio. He was 74.

The Detroit-born Abrams was the first press officer for Gordy’s Motown Records, grabbing media coverage and airplay for the fledgling label and its stable of young stars — and helping blast through entrenched racial walls in the process.

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© Nadir Omowale