The Velvelettes
| The Velvelettes | |
|---|---|
| General information | |
| Genre (s) | soul |
| founding | 1961 |
| resolution | 1969 |
| Last occupation | |
| Carolyn Gill | |
singing |
Milly Gill |
singing |
Bertha Barbee |
singing |
Norma Barbee |
singing |
Sandra Tilley (from 196?) |
| former members | |
singing |
Betty Kelly (until 1964) |
The Velvelettes were a vocal girl group that is attributed to soul. She was best known in the 1960s for a few minor hits that appeared on the Motown record label .
history
The band was founded in 1961 at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo by Carolyn and Milly Gill, Bertha and Norma Barbee, and Betty Kelly. They first began to play in clubs and at parties and then got a recording contract with IPG Records, where they recorded their first single There He Goes . It flopped, but it was through her that an employee of Motown became aware of the Velvelettes, who soon signed with the legendary Detroit label.
There they only sang backing vocals for other girl groups of the record company, including the Supremes , Martha & the Vandellas and the Marvelettes . It wasn't until 1963 that they began to make their own recordings, with Norman Whitfield as producer. Needle in the Haystack narrowly failed in the top 40 of the American pop charts in 1964 and the follow-up single He Was Really Sayin 'Somethin' was released only a little later, which made a # 64 in 1965.
Meanwhile, Betty Kelly had left the Velvelettes to join Martha & the Vandellas and the band had started recording an entire album. But there were disagreements between the singers in terms of repertoire and genre and as a result a series of line-up changes. Motown released two Velvelettes singles during this period; Lonely Lonely Girl Am I and A Bird in the Hand . Both flopped, whereupon the label refused to release the band's debut album.
1966 came with These Things Will Keep Me Loving You for the last time a single by the Velvelettes in the lower regions of the R&B charts. The band began again primarily to contribute the backing vocals when recording other artists until they separated in 1969. Sandra Tilley, later a member of the Velevelettes, followed Kelly's example and joined Martha & the Vandellas. 1971 came These Things Will Keep Me Loving You then in the UK at number 34 on the pop charts. In 1984 the band was reunited by Carolyn and Milly Gill, as well as Bertha and Norma Barbee, from which an entire album ( One Door Closes ) emerged.
Discography
Albums
- 1966: The Velvelettes
- 1984: One Door Closes
- 1996: Best of the Velvelettes
- 1999: The Very Best of the Velvelettes
- 2004: Motown Anthology
Singles
| year | title |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 UK
|
 US
|
R&B
|
|||
| 1964 | Needle in a hay stack | - |
US45 (8 weeks) US |
R&B31 (7 weeks) R&B |
|
| 1965 | He Was Really Sayin 'Somethin' | - |
US64 (6 weeks) US |
R&B21 (8 weeks) R&B |
|
| 1966 | These Things Will Keep Me Loving You |
UK34 (7 weeks) UK |
- |
R&B43 (3 weeks) R&B |
Chart entry in UK only in 1971
|
gray hatching : no chart data available for this year
More singles
- 1963: There He Goes
- 1965: Lonely Lonely Girl Am I
- 1965: A Bird in the Hand (Is Worth Two in the Bush)
Web links
- The Velvelettes
- Girl Group Chronicles: The Velvelettes ( Memento from February 29, 2004 in the Internet Archive )
- The Velvelettes Photo Gallery