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Harvey Fuqua died on Tuesday at a hospital in Detroit from “coronary problems” linked to an unspecified illness. He was 80-years-old. Fuqua was a founding member of the doo-wop group the Moonglows and went on to become an important figure in the development of the Motown label.

The Moonglows began life as the Crazy Sounds in the early 1950s and were renamed the Moonglows when taken under the wing of disc jockey Alan Freed. After a brief stint on Freed’s Champagne label, the Moonglows began recording for Chess Records in 1954. Among their hits were “Sincerely” and “Ten Commandments of Love.” Fuqua shared lead vocal duties with Bobby Lester.

By 1957, the Moonglows had a different line up, because Fuqua had sacked the other members. A young Marvin Gaye was the new lead singer. At this point, the group became known as Harvey and the Moonglows, but it was a short-lived arrangement.

The Moonglows were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 1999 and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000.

While at Chess Records, Fuqua also found time to record duets with Etta James, including the R&B hits “If I Can’t Have You” and “Spoonful.” Here’s the former:

After leaving the Moonglows, Fuqua started his own record labels, Tri-Phi Records and Harvey Records, but soon tired of this and began working for Motown. Fuqua was an important figure at Motown, bringing in new talent, mentoring artists and producing hit records. Among the great hits he produced was Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell’s “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough.” He continued working with Motown until 1971 and then became a producer for RCA Records, working on records by New Birth, The Weather Girls and Sylvester, among others.

Fuqua’s association with Marvin Gaye continued in 1982, when he produced the “Midnight Love” album, featuring the smash hit “Sexual Healing.”

On hearing of Fuqua’s death, Motown found Berry Gordy said:

Rest in peace Harvey Fuqua.