Martha & the Vandellas

Martha & the Vandellas
Martha & the Vandellas 2011 performing at Berns Salonger in Stockholm
General information
Genre (s)	Soul , girl group
founding	1960 as The Del-Phis
resolution	1972
Founding members
singing	Martha Reeves
singing	Annette Sterling Beard
singing	Gloria Williams
singing	Rosalyn Ashford
Last occupation
singing	Martha Reeves
singing	Lois Reeves
singing	Sandra Tilley
former members
singing	Betty Kelly

Martha (Reeves) & the Vandellas was an American rhythm - & - blues - singing group of the label Motown , which had success mainly in the 1960s.

Beginning as The Del-Phis

In 1957, a girl group was formed in Detroit at the instigation of Edward Larkins , the founding members of which were Annette Beard and Rosalyn Ashford. The group was called "The Del-Phis" and initially consisted of five singers. As a result, there were some changes in the line-up. When Martha Reeves joined the group in 1960, the final line-up for the Del-Phis had been found: Gloria Williams usually sang the lead, Martha Reeves and founding members Annette Beard and Rosalyn Ashford background voices. With this line-up, the Del-Phis appeared on many smaller occasions and - sometimes successfully - in talent competitions in and near Detroit. In 1961 they recorded the single (A-side: I'll Let You Know , B-side: It Takes Two ) on the record label Checkmate , which, however, had no commercial success. After that, the group appeared less and less and finally apparently stopped their activities.

Start at Motown

Martha Reeves then tried to gain a foothold as a solo singer. During one of her appearances in October 1961, William Stevenson of the Motown record label became aware of the singer. Reeves was employed by Motown, but initially mainly as a secretary. Sometimes she was also used as a background singer on recordings. When the recording for Marvin Gaye's second album should begin in June 1962 , Reeves found that the intended background vocal group The Andantes were staying in Chicago. She then persuaded the other members of the Del-Phis to jump in at the reception. The group can be heard on the first page of Gaye's album That Stubborn Kinda 'Fellow as a background choir, as well as on Gaye's hits Stubborn Kind of Fellow , Hitch Hike and Pride and Joy . Some time later, Mary Wells missed a recording date and Martha Reeves had to step in as a singer at short notice. The Motown executives were impressed by the performance of the Del-Phis and set up a separate recording session for the group. In this Gloria Williams sang the main voice. The resulting recordings I'll Have to Let Him Go and My Baby Won't Come Back were later released as a single under the group name The Vels. After this session, all members of the Del-Phis were offered a permanent contract. Gloria Williams, however, renounced a professional career as a singer, since she had now found a secure job with the city council and was a mother. Martha Reeves, Annette Beard and Rosalyn Ashford, on the other hand, signed with Motown. The Del-Phis changed their name to Martha & The Vandellas. The name is made up of Van Dyke Street, a Detroit street, and the first name of Reeves' idol Della Reese .

Although the first single I'll Have to Let Him Go , the piece that was originally intended for Mary Wells, was not a commercial success, the next single, Come and Get These Memories , was recorded in 1962 and released in February 1963. the group reached number 9 on the R&B charts and a top 30 position on the US pop charts. The title is also the first published song by the songwriting team Holland – Dozier – Holland . With this song in their repertoire, the group was allowed to take part in a 90-day USA tour. There were also the Marvelettes , the Supremes , Mary Wells , Marvin Gaye and the young Stevie Wonder . After their own performance, Martha & the Vandellas took on the backing vocals for Marvin Gaye.

Time of great success: 1963–66

The group's first album of the same name followed the single Come and Get These Memories . Shortly thereafter, the final breakthrough came with (Love Is Like A) Heat Wave , which became the group's first top 5 hit on the US pop charts and topped the R&B charts. Following this success, the group's second album was released in 1963, entitled Heat Wave . The group cemented their success with another top 10 success, Quicksand . Beard left the group shortly afterwards and was replaced by Betty Kelly of the Velvelettes . In 1964 Martha & the Vandellas had their greatest success with Dancing in the Street , which reached number 2 on the pop charts. In 1965, Nowhere to Run and in 1966, I'm Ready for Love, two more top 10 hits in the US pop charts. Another highlight was an appearance of the group on a television program by Dusty Springfield during a tour of England in 1965. Martha Reeves was allowed to sing a duet with Springfield, with whom she had been good friends for some time.

Crisis years 1967–1969

As a result, there were more and more arguments within the group. In 1967 Kelly was excluded from the band and replaced by Martha's younger sister Lois Reeves. On the following releases the band called itself Martha Reeves & the Vandellas. Similarly, other Motown bands had been renamed in the same year: the Miracles were now called Smokey Robinson & The Miracles , the Supremes Diana Ross & The Supremes . The single Jimmy Mack , released earlier this year, was the group's last published recording written by Holland – Dozier – Holland. It was also her last top 10 hit in the US pop charts. While commercial success in the US waned, Dancing in the Street surprisingly became a hit again in the UK in early 1969 and climbed to number 4 on the UK charts.

The constant touring stress, quarrels within the group and with Motown executives, as well as the increasing consumption of tablets left their mark on Martha Reeves: She broke off the recording of I Can't Dance to that Music You're Playing , the missing parts of the main voice became supplemented by Syreeta Wright . In early 1969, Reeves suffered a severe nervous breakdown and had to be admitted to a clinic. A planned tour of the group in England had to be canceled. When Ashford left the Vandellas at this point, the group seemed to be on the brink of end.

The last few years and the dissolution

Martha Reeves recovered, however, and in place of Ashford, Sandra Tilley, who had gained experience as a singer with the Velvelettes, among others, was accepted. The group existed for three more years, bringing out two more albums, but could no longer build on earlier successes commercially. Sandra Tilley was already featured on the cover of the 1969 album Sugar 'n' Spice , but the tracks were recorded in their entirety while Ashford was still playing. The single I Should Be Proud , released in February 1970, was the first protest song against the Vietnam War that Motown released. With Bless You , Martha Reeves & The Vandellas were able to place themselves in the UK charts again in 1971 and land a top 30 R&B hit in the USA. After Motown moved its headquarters to Los Angeles, the group broke up. On December 13, 1972, Martha & The Vandellas finally gave their official farewell concert in Detroit.

Since the late 1980s there have been various reunion concerts by the Vandellas. Sometimes the group even appeared in the original line-up of Reeves, Beard and Ashford.

Awards

Martha & the Vandellas were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995. In 2003 she was inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame . Your title Dancing in the Street ranks in the list of the 500 greatest songs of all time of Rolling Stone ranked 40th

Discography

→ Main article : Martha & the Vandellas / Discography

Studio albums

year	Title music label	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, music label , placements, weeks, awards, notes)				Remarks
		DE	UK	US	R&B
1963	Heat Wave Gordy 907	-	-	US125 (5 weeks) US	-	First published: September 30, 1963 Producers: Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier
1965	Dance Party Gordy 915	-	-	US139 (3 weeks) US	-	First published: April 12, 1965 Producers: Ivy Jo Hunter, William Stevenson
1967	Watchout! Gordy 920	-	-	US116 (8 weeks) US	R&B14 (10 weeks) R&B	First published: November 16, 1966
1968	Ridin 'High Gordy 926	-	-	US167 (8 weeks) US	R&B13 (11 weeks) R&B	First published: April 29, 1968 Producer: Richard Morris
1972	Black Magic Gordy 958	-	-	US146 (7 weeks) US	R&B30 (7 weeks) R&B	First published: March 3, 1972

gray hatching : no chart data available for this year

More studio albums

• 1963: Come and Get These Memories (Gordy 902; release: June 28)
• 1969: Sugar n 'Spice (Gordy 944; release: September 16)
• 1970: Natural Resources (Gordy 952; release: September 8th)

literature

• Martha Reeves / Mark Bego: Dancing in the Street. Confessions of a Motown Diva . Hyperion, New York 1994 (X, 286 pp.) ISBN 0-7868-6024-3 .

Web links

• Page of the founding members Annette Beard-Helton and Rosalind Ashford-Holmes
• Martha & The Vandellas on Doo Wop Heaven

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Jet XXXV No. 23, March 13, 1969, p. 60 in the Google book search
2. ^ Billboard April 12, 1969, p. 34 in Google Book Search
3. ↑ Martha & the Vandellas in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
4. ↑ Martha & the Vandellas ( Memento of the original from February 1, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. in the Vocal Group Hall of Fame 
5. ↑ List of the 500 best songs in Rolling Stone magazine
6. ↑ Chart sources: DE UK Billboard Hot 100 Billboard 200