Berry Gordy, Jr. was a man with a dream and an incredible knack for picking out musical talent. On this day in 1959, he launched Tamla Records with an $800 loan from the Gordy family savings fund. It would later be known as Motown, the most successful soul music label, with a net worth of $61 million. During the 1960s, Motown achieved 79 records in the top-ten of the Billboard Hot 100.