Norman Jesse Whitfield was born on the 12th May 1940, in Harlem, New York City, USA, and was a songwriter, music producer and arranger, and is best known for his collaboration with Berry Gordy’s record label – Motown – for which he wrote numerous hit singles such as “I Heard it Through the Grapevine”, “War”, “Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)” and “Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone” among plenty of others. He was also widely recognized for his work with The Temptations, producing eight of their studio albums, as well as for his own record label Whitfield Records. Norman passed away in 2008.
Have you ever wondered how much wealth he accumulated for life? How rich would Norman Whitefield be today? According to sources, it is estimated that the total amount of Norman Whitfield’s net worth, as of early 2017, would exceed the sum of $10 million, acquired by his prosperous career in the music industry which spanned almost 50 years.
Norman Whitfield Net Worth $10 million
Norman was raised in Harlem where he spent the majority of his spare time in pool halls. After moving to Detroit, Michigan, with his family in his late teens, he matriculated from Northwestern High School. His first professional engagement came at his age of 19, when he began serving in Motown headquarters Hitsville U.S.A. in its quality control department. This engagement provided the basis for Norman Whitfield’s net worth and also helped him to set his foot in the world of songwriting.
His songwriting career began in the early 1960s when he was included in co-writing The Marvelettes’ hit single “Too Many Fish in the Sea”, Marvin Gaye’s “Pride & Joy” and later “Needle in a Haystack” written for The Velvelettes. However, his real breakthrough came in 1966 when Whitfield became the main producer for The Temptations music group. During the next 12 years ‘til 1974, he produced all the group’s material, including eight studio albums, and also wrote a dozen of their hit singles. After 1968, Whitfield turned towards darker and harder sound, blending funk and psychedelic rock. He also changed the main subjects of his lyrics, from love to social issues such as politics, war and poverty. Later that year his “Cloud Nine”, performed by The Temptations was honored with a prestigious Grammy Award which was followed by another Grammy for “Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone” which was released in 1973. All these accomplishments provided a significant boost to Norman Whitfield’s wealth.
In 1975 he split with Motown and founded his own record label – Whitfield Records. Some of his first projects included releasing The Undisputed Truth’s hit single “You + Me = Love”. In 1976, Whitfield wrote and produced Rose Royce’s hit single “Car Wash” which in 1977 served as the main theme for Michael Schultz’s eponymous comedy movie “Car Wash”, and earned him another Grammy Award. Doubtlessly, all these ventures made positive impact on Whitfield’s net worth.
In 1983, Whitfield teamed up with Motown again, and produced The Temptations’ hit single “Sailing Away” while in 1985 he produced the original soundtrack of another Schultz movie, the martial arts cult classic – “The Last Dragon”. In 2004, Norman was inducted into the Songwriter’s Hall of Fame. It is certain that these achievements helped Whitfield to further increase his wealth.
When it comes to his personal life, Norman Whitfield managed to keep it private – he had five children but details of their mother(s) is lacking. In 2005 he faced tax evasion charges – apparently between 1995 and 1999 he earned around $500,000 per year but failed to report a total income of over $2 million. He pleaded guilty and was ordered to pay $25,000 fine and spend the next six months in house confinement.
After several years fighting diabetes, Norman Whitfield passed away at the age of 68, on the 16th September 2008 in Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California. He was survived by his daughter and four sons from who he had eight grandchildren.
