Born in New York City in 1943, Norman Whitfield paid his dues as a staff producer at the tiny Detroit label Thelma Records before moving on to Motown in 1963.
At 19, Whitfield began hanging around at Motown's Hitsville U.S.A. offices, trying to get a chance to work for the growing label. He started out working in the studio with Mickey Stevenson, cleaning the studio after each session.