Johnnie Mae Matthews

In 1958, Matthews formed her own record label, dubbed the "Northern Recording Company". Headquartered in an office at 2608 Blaine in Detroit, just a few blocks from her home, she used $85 (US$753 in 2019 dollars[6]), borrowed from her husband's paycheck, to become the first African-American woman to own and operate her own label. With sessions typically recorded at either nearby "Special Studio" or at radio station WCHB, Northern Recording Company was largely used as a vehicle to launch her own solo recording career. Her first release, "Dreamer", in 1959, was credited to Johnnie Mae Matthews & the Daps. Her follow-up single, "Mr. Fine", featured on its B-side, a song named "Someday", which was a solo tune by local singer Chet Oliver.

Motown Records founder, Berry Gordy has often credited Matthews with teaching him the ropes of the recording industry. He acknowledged her assistance in helping land a distribution deal with Chess Records for The Miracles' 1959 hit "Bad Girl". Matthews also fostered the early careers of such future Motown stars as David and Jimmy Ruffin. Some say that she is the uncredited author of Mary Wells’ breakthrough hit, "Bye Bye Baby." It is impossible to know how differently Matthews' own recording career might have turned out had she accepted any of invitations of Berry Gordy to record for Motown, particularly during the mid-1960s, when she was delivering some of her finest material, most notably "Lonely You'll Be" and "Cut Me Loose," in 1967, the latter of which was subsequently licensed for national distribution on the Atco label.[7]

In her 1960 tune, "So Lonely," Matthews dropped the Dapps altogether. She then, quickly followed up with her second solo, "Ooh Wee Baby." On both of these recordings she was backed by a band called the "Groovers", a group that was led by Joe Hunter, and also included bassist James Jamerson, guitarist Eddie Willis, saxophonist Eli Fontaine, and drummer Uriel Jones, all of whom would become staples of Motown's greatest sessions as members of the, now famous, Funk Brothers Band. Northern also nurtured the early career of Richard Wylie whose backup group, the Mohawks, included Norman Whitfield who later became one of Motown's most visionary songwriters and producers.

Also in 1960 the label issued "Come On," the debut single by The Distants who were later renamed The Temptations. In time, Northern spun off a series of sister labels, most notably "Reel", which was the label of several of Matthews’ singles, such as "Oh, Baby", "No One Can Love Me the Way You Do", "The Headshrinker", and "Come Home", all of which were released in 1961. In 1963 Reel issued "I Don't Want Your Love", a duet that paired Matthews and Timmy Shaw, her longtime songwriting collaborator who is best known for his 1964 solo effort "Gonna Send You Back to Walking", a song which was later recorded by The Animals and a few other artists. However, Matthews' biggest hit, "My Little Angel", in 1962, appeared, not on her own labels, but rather on the New York-based Sue label.

In 1963 she hired manager Ollie McLaughlin, who had previously launched the career of Barbara Lewis. McLaughlin brought Matthews to the attention of Mercury Records’ new Blue Rock subsidiary, where he eventually produced both of her singles for that label, "Baby, What's Wrong", and "My Man (The Sweetest Man in the World)". He also produced her lone Spokane label effort, "Worried About You". During the late 1960s Matthews also cut a series of singles for her Big Hit label, including "I Have No Choice", "My Momma Didn't Lie", and "Don't Be Discouraged".[8]

However, as the decade of the sixties came to a close, so did Northern Recording Company and all of her subsidiaries, and as the 1970s were being ushered in, Matthews turned her attention to Black Nasty, an up-and-coming funk group that featured two of her children, Artwell Jr. and Audrey. In 1973, Matthews produced the band's only album, Talking to the People, which was released on the Stax record label.

Black Nasty was later renamed the ADC Band, and the group resurfaced in 1978 with the R&B smash "Long Stroke" written by Michael Moneystone Judkins who greatly influenced the success of the ADC Band with help in writing from Audrey Matthews. Encouraged by their success, Matthews revived Northern Recording Company around this time, with the ADC Band supplying the musical backing on the disco-inspired tune "It's Good", which was later re-issued on the Cotillion label for national distribution. After one final Northern effort, 1980's "I Can Feel It," she closed the label for good, effectively ending her recording career.[9]