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The Marvelettes
The Marvelettes
Probably the most pop-oriented of Motown's major female acts, the Marvelettes didn't project as strong an identity as the Supremes, Mary Wells, or Martha Reeves, but recorded quite a few hits, including Motown's first number one single, "Please Mr. Postman" (1961). "Postman," as well as other chirpy early-'60s hits like "Playboy," "Twistin' Postman," and "Beechwood 4-5789," were the label's purest girl group efforts. Featuring two strong lead singers, Gladys Horton and Wanda Young, the Marvelettes went through five different lineups, but maintained a high standard on their recordings. After a few years, they moved from girl group sounds to up-tempo and mid-tempo numbers that were more characteristic of Motown's production line. They received no small help from Smokey Robinson, who produced and wrote many of their singles; Holland-Dozier-Holland, Berry Gordy, Mickey Stevenson, Marvin Gaye, and Ashford-Simpson also got involved with the songwriting and production at various points. After the mid-'60s Wanda Young assumed most of the lead vocal duties; Gladys Horton departed from the group in the late '60s. While the Marvelettes didn't cut as many monster smashes as most of their Motown peers after the early '60s, they did periodically surface with classic hits like "Too Many Fish in the Sea," "Don't Mess With Bill," and "The Hunter Gets Captured by the Game." There were also plenty of fine minor hits and misses, like 1965's "I'll Keep Holding On," which is just as memorable as the well-known Motown chart-toppers of the era. The group quietly disbanded in the early '70s after several years without a major hit. ~ Richie Unterberger, All Music GuideMore

Official Profile

The Marvelettes
The Marvelettes’ road to fame was paved with firsts. The teenaged girl group from the Detroit ...
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Aug 12th, 11:46am
Happy Birthday and God Bless You All !!!
Nov 10th, 10:58am
I am Happy For Me To accept In Its Group of Friends…. Thanks a lot, I hug and Success!
Oct 4th, 9:28pm Last edited Oct 4th, 9:39pm.
THE SHIRELLS , MIRACLES , GENE CHANDLER ETC. ARE SO EXCELLENT .. I DONT REMEMBER A WEEKEND I DONT PLAY THE RECORDS OF THESE TALENTED , SOULFUL ARTISTS.. THANKS FOR HELPING ME RAISE MY DAUGHTERS.... I ONLY MET SMOKEY TWICE ONCE AT THE BROOKLYN APOLLO OR WAS IT THE BREEVORT LOL!! HE WENT TO GET A SODA IN THE MACHINE (PAPER CUP) ,,MY GIRLFRIENDS AND I WERE OUT WAITING FOR AN AUTOGRAPH ,, HE WAS POLITE PROFESSIONAL AND CONCERNED ABOUT US BEING OUT SO LATE ,, HE SAID TO US " ITS VERY LATE YOU SHOULD HURRY ON HOME"" WE WILL NEVER FORGET IT , THAT ALWAYS STAYED IN MY HEART AND EVEN THOUGH HES A FAMOUS STAR I FELL HE TREATED US LADIES LIKE DAUGHTER,S,,, GOOD BLESS HIM AND HIS FAMILY,,,, THE SECOND TIME I SAW HIM WAS WITH MY DAUGHTER IN THE "tRUMP pLAZA " IN ATLANTIC CITY IT WAS MY DAUGHTERS BIRTHDAY,,,,, I WAS SITTING UP FRONT,,,DARING ANYONE TO GET THE FRONT TABLE ,,, LOL! AFTER THE SHOW I ASKED IF WE COULD GET AN AUTOGRAPH IN HIS BOOK FOR MY DAUGHTER THEN HE SAIS ,, HOW DO YOU SPELL IT LOL! EVERYBODY IN THE SUITE LAFFED,,HE SANG HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO HER , I SAID NANCY WITH A KAY,, HE HUGGED US AND HE SAID GOD BLESS YOU AND YOUR MOM,,,, I HAD TO HURRY THE LINE TO HIS HAND SHAKES WAS GETTING VERY LONG,,,, HE SMELLED SO GOOD AND HE IS REALLY TALL,,,, WELL THATS MY STORY !!! OH YEAH IN BROOKLYN HE SINGS AT THE "MARTIN LUTHER KING CONCERTS WITH THE BORO PRESIDENT, MARTY,," HE GAVE PERFUME SAMPLES TO THE WHOLE AUDIENCE ,,, EXCEPT ME ; ( HE MUST HAVE RAN OUT... BTW WE GOT THE AUTOGRAPHS AND WE GOT A YELLING AT FOR GETTING HOME LATE AFTER THE APOLLO SHOW ; ) MUAH TO ALL THE R&B SINGERS TINAS

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