Performance · Production

Norman Whitfield

real name Norman Jesse Whitfield

Harlem, United States · 1940-05-12 – 2008-09-16

Norman Whitfield is credited on 10,287 releases across 2,227 albums tracked on Gatefold, active 1961–2026 — the collector-built map of who actually made the music.

View as artist →

Start your shelf →Open in app
Photo of Norman Whitfield

10,287

Credits

2,227

Albums

7

Decades active

1,709

In collections

Biography

source

Showing the Discogs bio

American songwriter and producer (born May 12, 1940, in Harlem, New York - died September 16, 2008, in Los Angeles) best known for his work with Berry Gordy's Motown label during the 1960s. He is credited as being one of the creators of the "Motown Sound," and instrumental in the development of psychedelic soul.
In 1973, Whitfield left Motown and created Whitfield Records, garnering chart success with Rose Royce, who started out in Edwin Starr's backing group. He won a Grammy Award in 1976 for his work on the "Car Wash" film soundtrack. He retired from music in the late 1980s.
His final months were spent at Los Angeles' Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, undergoing treatment for diabetes and other ailments.

Bio from Discogs

Credited work

10,287 releases · 2,227 albums · active 1961–2026

  • Performance · 13,316
  • Production · 5,512
  • Mastering · 491
  • Other credits · 212
  • Engineering · 175

Studios: Motown/Hitsville U.S.A. Recording Studios · Musicland Studios · Fort Knox Recording Studio · Sound Factory West

Discography

Records they worked on — most-collected first.

Frequent collaborators

Around the web

See who really made the music.

Gatefold maps every producer, engineer, and player across your shelf — the credits no one else surfaces.

Start your shelf →

Free forever. Works with 10 records or 10,000.