Who was the first Motown artist to win an Oscar?

Posted On January 18, 2025January 18, 2025

The influence of Motown on music and popular culture more broadly cannot be overstated. Founded by Berry Gordy in 1959, the record label played a key role in elevating Black musicians at a time when segregation was still a pervasive and virulent part of American society. Within a few short years, it became such a powerful and distinctive voice within the industry that it became its own genre.

By blending soul music with mainstream pop, Motown became one of the most influential and beloved labels in the world. In its first decade, it produced no fewer than 79 songs that rocketed to a top-10 position in the charts, with artists like the Supremes, the Jackson 5, Stevie Wonder, and Marvin Gaye leading the charge.

Despite this overwhelming success, however, it took a full 14 years for the Grammys to nominate a single Motown artist for the lead categories of record, album or song of the year. In the end, it was Stevie Wonder, who had signed with the label at the tender age of 11, who achieved that distinction. 

In 1973, he earned a nomination in all three of the main categories for ‘You Are the Sunshine of My Life’ and Innervisions, which ended up winning ‘Album of the Year.’ Since then, there have been numerous accolades for artists affiliated with the label, including seven ‘Lifetime Achievement awards.

Even though the ‘Motown Sound’ was exploding throughout popular culture since the ’60s, the Academy Awards waited until the ’80s to recognise a single one of the label’s artists. Lionel Richie was the first Motown artist to be nominated with his hit “Endless Love” from the Franco Zeffirelli film of the same name, earning a nod for ‘Best Original Song’ in 1982. 

But which Motown artist picked up an Academy Award?

It was Wonder again who became the first to win, walking away with the award for ‘Best Original Song’ for ‘I Just Called to Say I Love You’ from the Gene Wilder comedy The Woman in Red in 1985.

It’s fair to assume that most people who have hummed along to that particular song (or attempted to try a karaoke version) are unaware that it was written for a farcical rom-com starring Wilder as a family man who becomes intent on committing adultery. Real-life fashion model Kelly LeBrock played the titular red-clad woman of his dreams.

The film was a mild success at the box office and was met with acceptance by critics, but Wonder’s song took the world by storm, becoming the biggest hit of his career and landing number one in the charts of a whopping 28 countries. It was also the only song for which he earned an Oscar nomination.

The Academy made it up to Richie a year later. He would go on to win the second Oscar for a Motown artist and achieved the as-yet unparalleled distinction of being the only Black artist to earn multiple ‘Best Original Song’ nominations in the same year. He even managed to do it for two separate movies. Though nominated for “Miss Celie’s Blues (Sister)” from The Color Purple, he won the award for ‘Say You, Say Me’ from White Nights.

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