Sylvia Rose Moy
September 15, 1938 – April 15, 2017

Sylvia Rose Moy was an American songwriter and record producer, best known for her work with Motown Records. As the first woman at the Detroit-based label to write and produce for its artists, she played a key role in shaping the careers of many Motown stars, particularly Stevie Wonder.

Raised on Detroit’s northeast side, Moy grew up in a large family of eight siblings, often making music together using household items. She explored jazz and classical music during her school years but ultimately found her calling behind the scenes at Motown.

Moy attended Northern High School, where she honed her musical talents before being discovered performing in a club in 1963 by Marvin Gaye and Mickey Stevenson. Recognizing her potential, Motown offered her both recording and songwriting contracts, encouraging her to focus on songwriting to help meet the label’s demand for new material.

According to Berry Gordy’s autobiography To Be Loved, Moy was instrumental in keeping Stevie Wonder at Motown. When Wonder’s voice changed due to puberty, the label considered dropping him. Moy persuaded Gordy to give her a chance to write a hit for him, leading to the creation of Uptight (Everything’s Alright). She co-wrote the song with Henry “Hank” Cosby, crafting lyrics that she fed into Wonder’s headphones line by line as he recorded.

During her time at Motown, Moy co-wrote and produced numerous hits, including My Cherie Amour, I Was Made to Love Her, and Never Had a Dream Come True for Stevie Wonder. She also contributed to Honey Chile and Love Bug Leave My Heart Alone by Martha and the Vandellas, This Old Heart of Mine (Is Weak for You) for the Isley Brothers (with Holland-Dozier-Holland), and It Takes Two for Marvin Gaye and Kim Weston (with William “Mickey” Stevenson).

Beyond Motown, Moy wrote theme songs for television shows and worked on film scores. In 2006, she was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame alongside fellow Motown collaborator Hank Cosby. She also founded the Center for Creative Communications, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting underprivileged children in Detroit through the arts.

Moy passed away on April 15, 2017, in Dearborn, Michigan, due to complications from pneumonia. She was 78 years old.