Patricia Cosby

Music executive Patricia Cosby was born on February 9, 1944 to Willie Thompson and Meomi Seay Thompson. She graduated from Northwestern High School in Detroit, Michigan in 1961 and attended Detroit Business Institute.

In 1962, Cosby began working at Motown Records in Detroit, Michigan. She began working as a switchboard receptionist and was promoted to tape librarian under the supervision of Frances Heard Maclin, the first assistant in the tape library. Cosby later became an album coordinator. At Motown, Cosby met her husband, Hank Cosby. Her husband produced hits such as “The Tears of a Clown” and “My Cherie Amour.” In 1972, Cosby and her husband, moved to Los Angeles, California when the company relocated. In 1974, Cosby earned songwriting credits for two songs on the Blood, Sweat, & Tears album, Mirror Image. The songs are titled “Tell Me That I’m Wrong” and “Love Looks Good On You (You’re Candy Sweet),” with the album reaching 149 on the Billboard Pop Album chart. Cosby left Motown Records and in 1985, she secured a position with Embassy Pictures as a procurement coordinator, working under television producer Norman Lear. After two years at Embassy Pictures, she moved back to Detroit in 1987 and later worked for the health insurance company, Cigna in 1990. Cosby served as a contracting manager and retired from her position at Cigna in 2005.

In 2002, her husband, Hank Cosby, passed away, with over 300 mourners at his funeral, Stevie Wonder, Rance Allen and Jennifer Fouche sang at his funeral. In 2006, Hank Cosby was posthumously inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Cosby was also a member of the Motown Historical Museum and the Heroes and Legends Scholarship Foundation.

Patricia Cosby had two children with and her husband, Henry Cosby: Henry Cosby, Jr., and William Cosby. Her husband Henry Cosby, also had another son, Kevin Cosby, from a previous marriage.

Patricia Cosby was interviewed by The HistoryMakers on October 17, 2017.