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The Marvelettes was an American Singing Girl Group on the Motown label. The group's first successful female vocal group, the Marvelettes are most notable for recording the label's first US #1 pop hit, " Please Mr. Postman ", and for setting the precedent for later Motown girl groups such as The Supremes and Martha & The Vandellas . HISTORY The beginnings The group that became the first Motown success story had humble beginnings. Lacking confidence in their singing abilities, Gladys Horton and Georgia Dobbins formed the Casinyets (or "can't sing yets") in their hometown, Inkster, Michigan , with backing vocalists Georgeanna Tillman, Juanita Cowart, and Katherine Anderson. In 1961 the quintet entered the Inkster High School talent show, now called '''The Marvels''', where they finished fourth. Though only the first three winners could win the prize of a trip to audition for the new Motown label, they were allowed to audition as well. In April of 1961 the group auditioned for Motown executives Brian Holland and Robert Bateman. Holland scheduled a second audition, requesting the group sing an original tune. Flummoxed, Dobbins asked William Garnett, to write a song for her. That song turned out to be their first single and greatest hit, " Please Mr. Postman ." They returned to Motown with the song and a new member, Wanda Young, who replaced Dobbins (who was caring for an ill mother). They auditioned for Berry Gordy himself and Smokey Robinson , and received a recording contract. Early success Motown gave the Marvels the star treatment. Gordy renamed the group The Marvelettes and had "Please Mr. Postman" re-written for the group. Vocal coaches, etiquette teachers, fashion advisors, and others also worked on the groups image, and in the summer of 1961 their first single, "Please Mr. Postman," was released on the Tamla imprint. The song proved to be a slow burner, not even entering the Billboard Pop Chart (now known as the Billboard Hot 100 ) until September 4th of that year. The song took fourteen weeks to hit number on the pop chart, a record for its time. The song also hit #1 on the Billboard R&B Chart. In a short-sighted move, Motown execs released the vain "Twistin' Postman" to capitalize on both the success of the group's first single and the Twist dance craze. Released in December of 1961, as the fad was dying down, the song only reached #34 on the pop chart and #13 at R&B. Despite this, The Marvelettes were becoming a popular touring group, going on various Motown ensamble tours and even a few solo outings. The next few years were a blur of publicity, concerts, and recording. As the first massively popular Motown act, they carried a lot of responsibility during their first few years as recording artists. Their sophomore album featured many accomplished songwriters, such as Brian Holland, Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson, and Lamont Dozier. The hit album featured the hit singles "Playboy" (#4 R&B / #7 Pop), a catchy pop song, "Beechwood 4-5789" (#7 R&B / #17 Pop), which became the most popular telephone number in America before " 867-5309 ", and the stricty rhythmic ballad "Someday, Someway" (#8 R&B). Stumbling blocks Not wanting to rest on their laurels, the group forged ahead, recording 'The Marvelous Marvelettes,' their third album. Despite their early successes, 1963 and their third album brought some measure of disappointment. Of the four singles released from the album, the album's second single, "Locking Up My Heart," fared the best, peaking at #25 at R&B and #44 at Pop. Its first single, "Strange, I Know," broke the top ten at R&B, but only peaked at #49 at Pop. "Forever" and "My Daddy Knows Best" were relative flops. The group was also beginning to lose its footing at R&B radio, "My Daddy Knows Best" failing to chart at that format. By 1964, The Marvelettes faced major competition, not only from Motown upstarts like The Supremes and Martha And The Vandellas , but from bands from the British Invasion and surf-pop movements. They made their biggest mistake that year by turning down a song entitled " Where Did Our Love Go " ,written by the Holland-Dozier-Holland songwriting team. The Marvellettes chose to record Norman Whitfield and Eddie Holland 's "Too Many Fish in the Sea" instead, which resulted in a minor hit. Meanwhile, Holland-Dozier-Holland took "Where Did Our Love Go" to The Supremes, who made the song a #1 pop and R&B hit. For the next two years after 'The Marvelous Marvelettes,' the group depended on a series of mediocre singles and greatest hits compilations to stay afloat. While 'The Marvelettes Greatest Hits' and 'The Marvelettes Greatest Hits' were relatively successful, many of the new songs from the compilations weren't memorable. The first three singles from the compilations, "As Long As I Know He's Mine," "He's a Good Guy (Yes He Is)," and "You're My Remedy" were flops, the most successful peaking at #47 at Pop, and none charting at R&B. The "comeback" The groups first notable hit in nearly two years came at the end of 1964 with the Holland-Whitfield composition, "Too Many Fish in the Sea," which became a Motown classic, reaching #15 at R&B and #25 at Pop. On the heels of newfound success, three more songs were released from their compilations, both penned by songwriters Mickey Stevenson and Ivy Jo Hunter . "I'll Keep Holding On" and "Danger! Heartbreak Dead Ahead" returned them to the hearts and the rhythm and blues audience, both peaking at #11 at R&B. The final single from the Marvelettes' compilations was a Smokey Robinson composition and marked the beginning of a long partnership with the songwriter and lead of The Miracles . "Don't Mess With Bill," a spirited anthem about cheating, brought the group major success, and peaked at #3 at R&B and #7 at Pop. By this time, founding member Juanita Cowart was suffering the ravages of depression. After a goof on American Bandstand in 1965, Cowart finally broke and left the band. Motown press releases called it an "nervous breakdown." Later that year, Georgeanna Tillman was battling leukemia and lupus. Weakened by her health problems, her doctor advised her to stop touring and she left the band for good. The Marvelettes continued on as a trio. Singles released from the album included "You're the One" (#20 R&B / #48 Pop), "My Baby Must Be a Magician" (#8 R&B / #17 Pop), "Destination: Anywhere" (#28 R&B / #63 Pop), and "Here I Am Baby" (#14 R&B / #44 Pop). The continued their partnership with Robinson on their fifth album, 'The Marvelettes,' released in 1967, and spawned the massively popular "The Hunter Gets Captured By the Game," which just missed the top of the R&B charts, peaking at #2, and hit #13 at Pop. They followed with "When You're Young and in Love," written by Van McCoy, peaking at #9 at R&B and #23 at Pop. Danger: Dead End Ahead Unfortunately, Motown had long since shifted support to more popular groups, including The Supremes , The Temptations , The Miracles , and The Four Tops , as well as new bands like The Jackson 5 and solo hitmakers like Marvin Gaye . In 1967, after a "comeback" of sorts, lead singer Gladys Horton left the band for personal reasons, replaced by Anne Bogan. By 1969's 'In Full Bloom' album, Motown had provided mediocre publicity and a smaller budget for the groups project. The album's only proper single, "That's How Heartaches Are Made," peaked at #97 at Pop, and failed at R&B radio. When Motown moved its base of operation from Detroit to Los Angeles, Wanda Young decided to call it quits. The group disbanded shortly thereafter in 1970, after an album entitled ''Return of The Marvelettes'' featuring Wanda Young and The Andantes (Motown's in-house backing group) failed to chart or receive any airplay. Motown issued three more singles from this final album. None of them charted, and the last, "A Breathtaking Guy," was released in 1971. After leaving the band, Georgeanna Tillman married Billy Gordon (of The Contours ), but remained gravely ill until her death in 1980 due to complications of Sickle Cell Anemia . Gladys Horton tried to rally the surviving members and reform the group in 1986, but no one was interested. Horton continued anyway, with backing studio vocalists Echo Johnson and Jean McClain. Though an album was released, commercial success eluded the new band, and many lineup changes caused the group to break up a second time. Despite early success, The Marvelettes never achieved the great heights of their contemporaries at Motown. Some, like Horton, blame the record company itself for this. Others blame poor decisions (turning down "Where Did Our Love Go?" in 1964). However, the band is notable for being one of the first hitmakers on the Motown label, and paving the way for the successful groups that followed. In their time, they were one of the greats. DISCOGRAPHY Albums
Singles From ''Please Mr. Postman'':
From ''The Marvelettes Sing'':
From ''Playboy'':
From ''The Marvelous Marvelettes'':
From ''The Marvelettes Greatest Hits'':
From ''The Marvelettes Anthology'':
From ''Sophisticated Soul'':
From ''The Marvelettes'':
From ''In Full Bloom'':
Not From an Album:
^ - "Tie a String Around My Finger" was A side backed with "My Daddy Knows Best." The B-side was the charting single, however. |
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