The Vandellas Martha and the Vandellas One of Motown Records' earliest and most exciting vocal groups, Martha and The Vandellas achieved two Top Ten hits before the ascendancy of The Supremes. Driven by Martha Reeves' soulful, brassy lead vocals, the Vandellas became Motown's earthier, more aggressive "girl group" alternative to the Supremes. Martha Reeves, one of eleven children, was born in Eufaula Alabama on July 18, 1941. She moved with her parents Ruby and Elijah to Detroit, Michigan before her first birthday. Reeves spent most of her childhood singing and working in her grandfather's church. She attended Russell Elementary on Detroit's eastside and was taught vocals by Emily Wagstaff. Northeastern High School was where she studied voice under the direction of Abraham Silver, who also coached Florence Ballard and Mary Wilson of the Supremes, Bobby Rogers of the Miracles. First Martha and the Vandellas group photo (From L-R Martha Reeves, Annette Beard and Rosalind Ashford) After graduating from high school in 1959, Reeves joined the girl group called the Fascinations.

They recorded their first record about 1960, backing Mike Hanks on "The Hawk" on Mah's Records. They also backed Leon Peterson on "I Know You Know" on the Bobbin label in 1962. Their first big break was working with local singer J.J. Barnes on "Won't You Let Me Know." The 1962 single on Rich Records credited both Barnes and the Del-Phis and led to the answer record "Ill Let You Know" on Check-Mate. In the late summer of 1960 Reeves met Rosalind Ashford and they were invited to join Annette Sterling and Gloria Williamson in the Del-Phis. After doing some local talent shows and jobs they recorded a single on Chess-Mate Records, a subsidiary of Chess Records in 1961. The Del-Phi"s recording that didn't make the charts was "My Baby Won't Come Back". Reeves as a solo entered and won a talent contest. The prize was a three day engagement at the Twenty Grand, a local nightclub where she sang as Martha LaVaille.

On her last night, William "Mickey" Stevenson, an A&R and Berry Gordy's right-hand man at Motown Records, approached Reeves, after hearing her sing, and gave her his card. In 1961 Reeves was hired as his secretary. One day Motown head Berry Gordy needed background singers in short order for a session; Reeves and her friends, Ashford and Beard, were called in. They sang behind Marvin Gaye on "Stubborn Kind of Fellow," his first hit in 1962 and "Hitch Hike." A couple months later, Reeves again found her self in the right place at the right time. Stevenson had called over to the studio, where a union rep was checking to make sure the label was following the rule that a singer had to be on a mic when tracks were recorded. In Mary Well's absence, Reeves sang "I'll Have To Let Him Go, impressing Stevenson enough ask the Del-Phis to record "You'll Never Cherish A Love So True ('Til You Lose It)." The session was a success, but Gloria decided she didn't want to leave her job and left the group.

The single was issued anyway on Mel-O-Dy as by the Vells. The rest of the group convinced Gordy that they were staying as a trio. Gordy then asked the girls to come up with a new name. They then called themselves Martha and the Vandellas, taking their name from Detroit street Van Dyke and Reeve's favorite singer Della Reese before recording "I'll Have to Let Him Go." Come Get These Memories Signed to the newly formed Gordy label in September 1962 as Martha and The Vandellas, the group's first hit was their second release, a beat ballad "Come Get These Memories" (#29 pop, #3 R&B 1963) and was Holland-Dozier-Holland's first collaboration as a songwriting team. "Memories" was followed by two explosive Holland-Dozier-Holland dance records: "Heat Wave" (#4 pop, #1 R&B, 1963) and "Quicksand" (#8 1963).

After being turned down by Kim Weston, a Mickey Stevenson and Marvin Gaye composition,"Dancing in the Street" was given to Martha and the Vandellas; who turned it into their biggest hit (#2, 1964). Their other big hits included "Nowhere to Run" (#8, pop, #5 R&B, 1965) and "I'm Ready for Love" (#9 pop, #2 R&B, 1966), "Jimmy Mack" (#10 pop, #1 R&B, 1967) and "Honey Chile"(#11 pop,, #5 R&B, 1967) were the last Holland-Dozier-Holland compositions they recorded, and were their last big hits. Rosalyn Ashford, Betty Kelly, and Martha Reeves The Vandellas 1963-1968 By 1967, the group was billed as Martha Reeves and the Vandellas, as she was featured solely as lead for the group. Beard retired in 1963 and was replaced by former Velvelette Betty Kelly; when Kelly left four years later she was replaced by Reeve's younger sister Lois.

Ashford quit in 1969 and was replaced by another ex-Velvelette Sandra Tilley. Tilley died during surgery for a brain tumor in 1981. The group disbanded in 1973 after giving a farewell concert on December 21, 1972, at Detroit's Cobo Hall. Lois Reeves went to work for Al Green. Martha Reeves launched a solo career, but her recordings for MCA, Arista, and Fantasy through 1980 failed to sell well. As recounted in her 1994 autobiography Dancing in the Street, Reeves believes that the groups succession was undermined by Motown and Berry Gordy JR's. obsession with the Supremes. An example being "Jimmy Mack which was held from release for two years because it sounded too much like the Supremes then current singles. A strong personality Reeves clashed with Gordy demanding answers to business questions that most other Motown artist didn't ask until years after they left the label. Struggling to maintain a hectic schedule of recording and performing, Reeves became addicted to prescription drugs, exacerbating emotional problems that led to nervous breakdowns and a period of institutionalization.

Reeves has been drug free since 1977. In 1989 she, Ashford and Beard sued Motown for back royalties. In 1974 Reeves signed with MCA Records, Her debut solo album, Martha Reeves produced by Richard Perry, had a minor hit "Power of Love". Other solo albums were We Meet Again, and Got To Keep Movin on Fantasy Records, and The Rest of My Life for Arista Records. Though her solo records have been critically acclaimed, Reeves has never achieved the success that she had enjoyed with the Vandellas. Reeves currently resides in Downtown Detroit after living twelve years in Los Angeles. She continues to tour and record; sometimes the Vandellas consists of her sisters Lois and Delphine. On special occasions, she performs with Beard and Ashford. Rosalind Ashford has just retired from Ameritech and Annette Sterling has worked at St. John's Hospital as a phlebotomist for the last forty years.

The Vandellas were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995 Martha Reeves (Singer) - Pics, Videos, Dating, & News Martha Reeves Female Born Jul 18, 1941 Martha Rose Reeves is an American R&B and Pop singer and former politician, and was the lead singer of the Motown girl group Martha and the Vandellas. During her tenure with The Vandellas, they scored over a dozen hit singles, including "Jimmy Mack", "Dancing in the Street" and "Nowhere to Run". From 2005 until 2009, Reeves served as an elected councilwoman for the city of Detroit, Michigan.… Read More related links News + Updates Browse recent news and stories about Martha Reeves.

Daily Mail (UK) - May 04, 2015 '\n MotownÂ legend MarthaÂ Reeves, 73,Â answers ourÂ health quiz.\n ' Reeves Still Belting Out 'dancing In The Street' NPR - Jul 18, 2014 'Today\'s Morning Edition music is from <mark>Martha Reeves</mark> and the Vandellas with \"Dancing in the Street.\" It was chosen today in honor of Reeves\' 73rd birthday.' Dog Ears Music: 'love Is Like Oxygen' Huffington Post - Feb 14, 2014 ' Clara SmithVaudevillian blues singer Clara Smith (\"Queen of the Moaners\") was born in South Carolina in 1894. By 1923, Smith relocated to New York, where she cut wax for Columbia Records for almost a decade, racking up over 100 sides. During this time, she was backed by luminaries Louis Armstrong, Charlie Green, Joe Smith, Freddy Jenkins, and James P. Johnson. Collaborations included Bessie Smith and Lonnie Johnson. At the depths of the Great Depression in Detroit, Smith died ...

Berry Gordy And Smokey Robinson Saluted At First Grammy Museum Gala, Architects Of Sound: Motown Huffington Post - Nov 13, 2013 'Did you know all the joy you\'d be bringing? \nDid you know you\'d be the songs \nThe whole world is singing? \nDid you know when you dreamed your dream \nThat you would make so many other dreams come true? \nDid you know, way back when, first we met, \nYou and I would be as close as true friends can get? \nThough the road has been rough at times \nWe made it through, \nAnd I\'d live it all again \nJust to be with you; \nAnd I\'m hoping that right now you know \nMy friend, my wonderful frien... Learn about the memorable moments in the evolution of Martha Reeves. CHILDHOOD 1941 Birth Born on July 18, 1941.

TEENAGE 1957 15 Years Old 1957 was her first association with Rosalind Ashford, Gloria Williams and Annette Beard in a group then known The Del-Phis, formed after a man named Edward "Pops" Larkins was starting a sister singing group to complement a male vocal group of his. … Read More The Del-Phis were popular local performers. Read Less Show Less Reeves was reportedly an admirer of the group and was a friend of Gloria Williams, who hired Reeves to join the group in 1960. Through 1960 and 1961, Reeves made ends meet working several jobs by day and worked as a singer in nighttime hours singing jazz and blues standards at some of Detroit's respected nightclubs. … Read More Singing at the 20 Grand, Reeves was spotted by Motown A&R director Mickey Stevenson, who recognized her talent, gave her his business card and invited her to audition. Reeves, who used the stage name Martha Lavaille showed up at Motown's Hitsville USA studios the next morning, not knowing that she was to call to schedule an audition.

Stevenson asked her to answer phones while he took care of other business. Using the skills she had learned in commercial courses in high school, Reeves answered phones, took notes, administrated payroll for Motown's famed Funk Brothers, and made herself invaluable. Read Less 1961 19 Years Old Before long, Reeves was working several hours at Hitsville as Stevenson's right hand. (Reeves also did A&R work in addition to secretarial work for Motown.) By 1961, the Del-Phis had changed their name to The Vels and recorded singles for Checker and Checkmate Records. … Read More One day, when Mary Wells couldn't make a session, Reeves stepped up to the mic, and called in the Del-Phis. With "I'll Have to Let Him Go", Martha and the Vandellas was born. Then, when the Andantes couldn't make a session to back the Miracles' drummer on songs he was recording, Martha called her groupmates. The ladies (a trio after Williams' departure) provided backup vocals for Marvin Gaye's "Stubborn Kind of Fellow". The single became a hit.

Martha and the Vandellas backed Gaye on his first three singles, his first album, and on stageâeven after they had their own hits.<br /><br /> With her brassy and gospel-reared vocals, Martha Reeves helped Martha and the Vandellas ascend from background singers with early songs such as "Come and Get These Memories" and "(Love Is Like a) Heat Wave" distinguishing the group from contemporaries and labelmates the Marvelettes, who preceded them, and the Supremes, who followed them.. Read Less TWENTIES 1968 26 Years Old With major success came challenges. They faced standard girl group struggles, struggling to have personal lives while maintaining relentless recording and touring schedules. When original member Rosalind Ashford left in 1968, Martha recruited Sandra Tilley and the lineup of Martha and Lois Reeves and Tilley continued until 1972 when the group disbanded shortly after issuing the Black Magic album. THIRTIES 1972 30 Years Old In 1972, after Motown moved from Detroit to Los Angeles, Reeves negotiated out of her contract, ending her tenure with the label.

… Read More In 1989, Martha, Rosalind Ashford, and Annette Beard filed a lawsuit against Motown Records for royalties on the group's records not received since 1972. The company reached a settlement with the women in 1991. Berry Gordy, Jr. apologized to Reeves for the length of time in reaching the agreement and the terms of the settlement were not made public. Despite media reports to the contrary, Reeves and Gordy remain close to this day. While on Detroit's City Council, Reeves had the name West Grand Blvd (where Motown studios are located) changed to Berry Gordy Blvd. Read Less 1974 32 Years Old After leaving Motown and moving to Los Angeles herself, Martha was signed by MCA records. Her first project, released in January 1974, was the soundtrack for one of the last blaxploitation films, "Willie Dynamite," with legendary jazz trombonist J.J. Johnson. … Read More In the summer of the year, MCA released her self-titled album, produced by Richard Perry.

It was reportedly the most expensive album of that time, costing $250,000, and featuring other star musicians including Billy Preston, Joe Sample and James Taylor. Featuring the singles, "Power of Love" and "Wild Night", the album was a critically favored smash, and a hit on the then-new FM radio station market. It failed, though, to generate commercial success as did Reeves' subsequent follow-ups on other labels including Arista and Fantasy.<br /><br /> Having moved to Los Angeles, Reeves took acting classes at the Lee Strasberg Institute, and appeared in the movie Fairy Tales, and on the Quincy, ME television series, as well as game shows like Hollywood Squares. Read Less 1977 35 Years Old In 1977, with the help of In 1977, with the help of former Motown producer Frank Wilson, Reeves became a born-again Christian, joining the Mt. … Read More Zion Missionary Baptist Church, pastored by Rev. EV Hill.

She released one album on Arista, working with Clive Davis, the Chairmen of the Board's General Johnson and others, and two albums on the Fantasy label, working with other former Motown colleagues Hank Cosby and Holland, Dozier and Holland. Read Less FORTIES 1983 41 Years Old In 1983, she performed solo on the famed Motown 25 special. 1989 47 Years Old She then performed in a Broadway production of Ain't Misbehavin' and reunited with original members of the Vandellas in 1989 both on record (recording for the London-based Motorcity Records that year issuing the single "Step into My Shoes") and on tour. FIFTIES 1995 53 Years Old In 1995, Reeves and the Vandellas were inducted to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and were inducted to the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2003. 1998 56 Years Old Martha performed as part of the halftime show of Super Bowl XXXII in 1998, with her sisters, and current Vandellas, Lois and Delphine Reeves.

LATE ADULTHOOD 2004 62 Years Old In 2004, Reeves released her first album in 24 years, Home to You, with songs she wrote and produced herself except for a Billie Holiday cover and an updated version of her big hit, "Jimmy Mack". … Read More Between leaving the Vandellas and her solo career, Martha served as an early contributor to the music newspaper, Soul, for which she was honored for by the Black Women in Publishing organization. She was also honored for her best-selling 1995 autobiography, Dancing in the Street.<br /><br /> "Wild Night" was featured on the soundtrack to the movie Thelma & Louise; the song can be heard during one of the several crucial moments in the lead characters' lives. Martha sometimes opens her live performances with this number.

"Nowhere to Run" is the first record played by Robin Williams as manic DJ Adrian Cronauer in the movie "Good Morning, Vietnam".<br /><br /> Her solo television appearances The Midnight Special, Soul Train, Don Kirschner's Rock Concert, The Dennis Miller Show (singing "Georgia On My Mind" with James Brown, VH-1's Divas Celebrate Soul, singing her 1965 hit "Nowhere To Run" backed by singers Marsha Ambrosius and Sharon Jones of the Dap-Kings; on Jimmy Kimmel Live! with the Crystal Method and a stellar group of rockers including Brain from Nine Inch Nails, Rob Fortus from Guns N' Roses and Darryl Jones from the Rolling Stones, and on Dancing With the Stars with the Temptations and Smokey Robinson. That same week she was back on the music charts with a recording entitled "I'm Not Leaving" with the Crystal Method. Read Less 2005 64 Years Old … Martha Rose Reeves (born July 18, 1941) is an American R&B and pop singer and former politician, and is the lead singer of the Motown girl group Martha Reeves and the Vandellas.

They scored over a dozen hit singles, including "Come and Get These Memories", "Nowhere to Run", "Heat Wave", "Jimmy Mack", and their signature "Dancing In The Street". Read Less From 2005 until 2009, Reeves served as an elected council woman for the city of Detroit, Michigan. … Read More Martha Rose Reeves was born in Eufaula, Alabama, the first daughter of Elijah Joshua Reeves and Ruby Lee Gilmore Reeves, and the third of the couple's 11 children. She was a baby when the family moved from Eufaula to Detroit, Michigan, where her grandfather, Reverend Elijah Reeves, was a minister at Detroit's Metropolitan Church. The family was very active in the church and its choir. Elijah played guitar and Ruby liked to sing; the children acquired their love of music from their parents. At Detroit's Northeastern High School, her vocal coach was Abraham Silver, who also worked with Florence Ballard and Mary Wilson (of the Supremes) and Bobby Rogers (of the Miracles). Raised on gospel, and inspired by singers like Lena Horne and Della Reese, Reeves became a fan of R&B and doo-wop music.

She joined the Fascinations. in 1959, but left the group before they became a recording act. Read Less 2012 71 Years Old Reeves received an honorary PhD in Humanities on November 25, 2012, in Detroit. Martha Reeves and the Vandellas - Motown Sound Featured Artist - Motown Museum Home of Hitsville U.S.A. Martha Reeves and the Vandellas Martha Reeves and the Vandellas Martha Reeves and the Vandellas were not always Motown stars. In fact, Martha, who was working as a solo act, took a secretarial job with producer Mickey Stevenson just to get her dainty foot in the door. This unpaid gig led to back-up singing assignments from Stevenson for Martha and her former singing mates, Rosalind Ashford and Annette Beard, most notably on Marvin Gaye’s earliest hits. Recognizing their potential, the group was signed to a Motown contract in 1962. Always a trio, the Vandellas experienced personnel changes over the years and have included Betty Kelly, Lois Reeves and Sandra Tilley, in addition to Ashford and Beard.

Shortly after signing with the company, the group recorded Holland-Dozier-Holland’s “Come and Get These Memories” in 1963. The single reached #29 on the Top 40 pop and #6 on the R&B charts. This recording is especially notable because it was also the first song produced by Motown’s titanic trio. The collaboration with Holland-Dozier-Holland continued with the release of “Quicksand,” which reached the Top Ten. In 1964, the partnership of Ivy Hunter, William “Mickey” Stevenson and Marvin Gaye produced Martha and the Vandellas’ anthem, “Dancing in the Street.” Over the next three years, the group charted with multiple releases that include “Wild One,” “Nowhere to Run,” “My Baby Loves Me,” “I’m Ready for Love” and “Jimmy Mack.” Martha Reeves and the Vandellas’ beat-driven, heart-pounding songs were Motown’s counterpoint to the Supremes’ lighter, pop-flavored vocals and gained favor with fans in the United States and across the globe.

For their many contributions to R&B, Martha Reeves and the Vandellas were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995, only the second female group to receive that honor. The group, listed at #96, joined numerous fellow Motown artists on Rolling Stone’s 2004 listing of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. Motown Note “Vandellas” resulted from the combination of a portion of a Detroit street name (Van Dyke) with the first name of Detroit-born singer, Della Reese. Martha and the Vandellas | New Music And Songs | Martha and the Vandellas About Martha and the Vandellas Along with the Supremes, Martha & the Vandellas defined the distaff side of the Motown sound in the '60s. Their biggest hits, including "Heat Wave," "Dancing in the Street," and "Nowhere to Run," remain among the most potent and enduring dance records of the era. The vocal group was led by Martha Reeves who, along with fellow Detroit natives Annette Sterling Beard, Gloria Williams, and Rosalind Ashford, founded the Del-Phis in 1960.

After Reeves landed a secretarial position at the offices of Motown Records, the Del-Phis were tapped to record a one-off single for the label's Melody imprint, which they cut under the name the Vels. The single fizzled, and Williams exited, reducing the group to a trio. After backing Marvin Gaye on the superb 1962 record "Stubborn Kind of Fellow," they were renamed Martha & the Vandellas, taking inspiration from Detroit's Van Dyke Street and Reeves' heroine, Della Reese. When singer Mary Wells failed to show up for a recording date, musicians' union rules demanded that a vocalist be found to fulfill contractual obligations.

As a result, Reeves was yanked from the secretarial pool and laid down what would become Martha & the Vandellas' first record, 1963's "I'll Have to Let Him Go." The Top 30 success of the ballad "Come and Get These Memories" brought the group the attention of Motown's hit-making production team Holland-Dozier-Holland, who crafted their next smash, the galvanizing Top Five classic "Heat Wave," which perfected the mix of impassioned call-and-response vocals, pulsing rhythms, and full-bodied horns that became the trio's trademark. Following another Top Ten hit, "Quicksand," Beard retired, and was replaced by former Velvelette Betty Kelly. After singer Kim Weston turned down the Marvin Gaye/Ivy Jo Hunter/Mickey Stevenson composition "Dancing in the Street," the song was shuttled to Martha & the Vandellas; refashioned by Holland-Dozier-Holland to fit the group's formula, the anthem became their biggest hit and definitive statement, reaching number two in the summer of 1964.

A year later, they returned with another smash, the savage "Nowhere to Run," followed by "I'm Ready for Love." In 1967, Kelly exited, and was replaced by Reeves' younger sister Lois; on subsequent releases, the group was billed as Martha Reeves & the Vandellas. 1967's "Jimmy Mack" and "Honey Chile" were the last records overseen by the Holland-Dozier-Holland team before their defection from Motown, and were also the final significant Vandellas hits. In 1968, Martha Reeves fell seriously ill, and in 1969 Ashford departed, with another former Velvelette, Sandra Tilley, assuming her position. The trio continued unsuccessfully for a few more years before breaking up in the wake of a December 1972 farewell performance at Detroit's Cobo Hall. After Motown relocated its corporate offices to Los Angeles (a move Reeves denied she was privy to), the singer, who had begun a solo career, sued to have her contract with the label annulled.

In her 1994 autobiography, Dancing in the Street, she charged that the Vandellas' career, though highly successful in its own right, could have been even greater had Motown founder Berry Gordy, Jr. given their music the same obsessive attention he afforded to Diana Ross & the Supremes. Reeves recorded her debut solo effort, Martha Reeves, for MCA in 1974. Though a few more LPs followed, including 1976's The Rest of My Life and 1978's We Meet Again, she received little notice on her own, and eventually suffered a pair of nervous breakdowns that led to a brief period of institutionalization. Lois Reeves, meanwhile, went on to work with Al Green, while Sandra Tilley retired from music; she died in 1982 following surgery on a brain tumor. In 1989, Martha Reeves, Annette Beard, and Rosalind Ashford successfully sued Motown for back royalties, and occasionally reunited for performances in the '90s. Reeves also continued as a solo artist, and in addition performed with a Vandellas unit consisting of Lois and a third sister, Delphine.

She released another solo album, the independent Home to You, in 2004. From 2005 through 2009, she served on Detroit's city council. Afterward, she aligned with a non-profit organization to help musicians receive royalties, and she continued to be an active performer with the Vandellas. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi Hear more of Martha Reeves & The Vandellas | uDiscover uDiscoverMusic Martha Reeves & The Vandellas At the age of 20, Martha Reeves proved her capabilities at Motown Records, and made an unforgettable career out of music. At the age of 64, when she entered politics, it was no wonder that her campaign slogan was “I did it, and so can you.” Martha & the Vandellas were one of the Detroit company’s A-list attractions for much of the 1960s, even though their lead singer felt (and sometimes said) that they were overshadowed by another Motown trio: the Supremes. “We strived to come up with different sounds, to make the record sound different. ‘Nowhere To Run’ was a primary example.

We went out in the back, got some chains, brought them in, and used chains for a backbeat sound.” – Brian Holland Yet for many, ‘Dancing In The Street’ towers above any Supremes track: a thunderous ’64 anthem forever associated with Motown Records and the motor city, and with the evolution of civil rights in America. As it happens, both groups enjoyed their first substantial US hits a year earlier, Martha & the Vandellas with ‘Heat Wave’ and the Supremes with ‘When The Lovelight Starts Shining Through His Eyes.’ These gut-busting ’63 sides were early evidence of the talents of another young threesome, who were to become the most celebrated acronym in pop music history: HDH. Eddie Holland, Lamont Dozier and Brian Holland went on to write, produce and bulls-eye many of Martha & the Vandellas’ signature hits, including ‘Nowhere To Run,’ ‘I’m Ready For Love’ and ‘Jimmy Mack.’ As for ‘Dancing In The Street,’ it was the creation of two leading men in Ms. Reeves’ life story, William “Mickey” Stevenson and Marvin Gaye (Ivy Jo Hunter was its third writer).

Adding to Martha’s mythology is the fact that the song was a UK Top 10 success for her group more than four years after its first release. It was also a transatlantic smash in 1985 when repurposed by two leading men of rock ‘n’ roll, Mick Jagger and David Bowie. And in 2011, ‘Dancing in The Street’ topped a poll of songs which Britons said they would choose for street parties to celebrate the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton. But let’s be clear: beyond this anthem, Martha & the Vandellas boast an enviable inventory across the years and the group’s various line-ups. ‘Third Finger, Left Hand,’ for instance, was the 1967 flipside of ‘Jimmy Mack,’ but it’s since been played at more weddings than any performing-right society could account for. ‘I Should Be Proud,’ from the group’s 1970 album, Natural Resources, is a provocative reminder of emotions felt by every partner, parent or offspring of a soldier fighting in a contentious conflict.

“It was,” Martha explained in her 1994 autobiography, “a song with a strong anti-Vietnam War message, a narrative…about a soldier coming home in a pine box while the girl singing the song questions the sense of it all.” She contends that she was the first Motown artist to record such a protest. And on 1972’s Black Magic, the last studio album by Martha & the Vandellas, there is ‘No One There,’ vividly and timelessly capturing the paranoia and loneliness of lost love. When she was given demos for Black Magic, Martha said that most of the tape cases had Diana Ross’s name on them. “She evidently didn’t like the songs, but I did.” “HDH had worked up some new tunes, including ‘Where Did Our Love Go,’ ‘Come See About Me’ and ‘Baby Love,’ but we were quite upset when we heard them…we wanted to do something soulful, something with spirit, like the songs Martha Reeves was doing.” – Mary Wilson, The Supremes Martha Reeves was born in 1941 in Eufala, Alabama; her parents later moved to Detroit.

As a teenage would-be singer, she joined a group, the Del-Phis, performing in and around the metropolis. Success in a talent contest drew her to the attention of Mickey Stevenson, head of A&R at Motown. His business card in her pocket, she dropped by its HQ on West Grand Boulevard—on the wrong day for an audition. Preoccupied, Stevenson asked Martha to cover the office while he stepped away. Proving her value that day by handling phone calls and grumpy musicians looking to be paid, she was offered a fulltime job as A&R secretary. Another day, while responsible for booking recording sessions, Martha called her fellow Del-Phis (Rosalind Ashford, Annette Beard, Gloria Jean Williamson) to do back-up vocals on a Marvin Gaye track produced by Stevenson: ‘Stubborn Kinda Fellow.’ This led to the offer of a Motown contract for the group, although Williamson left. Martha, Annette and Rosalind signed up, stitching together the name Vandellas from Reeves’ admiration of Della Reese and the name of her parents’ street, Van Dyke.

Come And Get These Memories was the group’s debut LP for Gordy Records in 1963, with soulful covers of non-Motown hits and several new HDH copyrights. One of them, ‘A Love Like Yours (Don’t Come Knocking Every Day,’ was memorable enough that it was sound-walled by ace producer Phil Spector several years later for Ike & Tina Turner. But it was ‘Heat Wave’ which really burned Martha & the Vandellas into America’s hearts and charts, pacing the trio alongside the Marvelettes and the Supremes as Motown’s distaff cheerleaders. “It was a beehive of talented people making wonderful music,” Martha told the Financial Times in 2009, when she was a Detroit city councilwoman. ‘Heat Wave’ and its accompanying album was followed a year later by ‘Dancing In The Street.’ Barriers were broken down by the song, Martha has said, and when race riots hit America, it took on an extra resonance. “I’m sure our intention with ‘Dancing In The Street’ was to calm people and have them stop rioting and looting stores. It’s all about people coming together.

The lyrics say just that.” Martha & the Vandellas consolidated their popularity by touring the US as part of the multi-artist Motown Revue, and gaining international recognition. When ‘Nowhere To Run’ was released, the group joined the one-and-only Tamla package tour of the UK; there, Martha became a devoted friend of Dusty Springfield. An early and influential Motown admirer, Dusty hosted a TV special built around the ’65 roadshow, and also featured versions of the company’s hits in concert and on her BBC-TV series. She wasn’t the only one validating the Vandellas’ work. Aside from the Jagger/Bowie fusion, there have been ‘Dancing In The Street’ remakes by artists ranging from the Everly Brothers and Neil Diamond to Petula Clark and the Grateful Dead. The Who and the Jam have each rendered ‘Heat Wave,’ while a laid-back California interpretation by Linda Ronstadt in 1975 was a Top 5 US success.

Laura Nyro, paying tribute to early R&B influences on her 1971 Gonna Take A Miracle album, sang ‘Nowhere To Run’ and ‘Jimmy Mack.’ More recently, Jennifer Hudson featured ‘Heat Wave’ on “American Idol.” Martha & the Vandellas’ original of ‘Jimmy Mack’ was recorded in 1964, a little earlier than ‘Dancing In The Street,’ but consigned to the shelf by Motown’s quality control head, Billie Jean Brown. “I don’t know whether [Brown] didn’t like the song,” Lamont Dozier later recalled, “or whether she just didn’t feel it was worth anything.” Two years later, ‘Jimmy Mack’ was dusted off for the group’s Watchout! LP, where it caught the ear of radio programmers in Boston and Cleveland. The result was an American No. 1 R&B smash and a Top 10 pop hit. Lamont said he was gratified because the song was “my inspiration and my original idea,” written after he met the mother of another successful writer, Ronnie Mack, who had died. There were other Vandellas alongside Martha during the glory years, including her sister Lois, Betty Kelly and the late Sandra Tilley.

Betty replaced Annette Beard (Sterling), Lois succeeded Betty, and Sandra replaced Rosalind, while Martha’s distinctive lead vocals remained the centrepiece of such albums as Dance Party (1965), Live! (1967), Ridin’ High (1968) and Sugar ’n’ Spice (1969). Recording a live album at Detroit’s Twenty Grand nightspot (some of it was also cut at the Roostertail club) would have been sweet for Martha. It was there that she first met her “knight in shining armour,” Mickey Stevenson, after performing a two-song set which was her talent contest prize in October 1961. She remembered “a nice response” from the audience. A larger crowd responded to Martha on November 8, 2005, when she received more than 89,000 votes in her drive to become a Detroit city councilwoman. During her four-year tenure, she worked hard on behalf of the city’s deprived young, especially in education. Typical was her intervention in a high school dispute where Arab-American and African-American children were fighting.

Conflict apparently continues, even as radio stations worldwide still play ‘Dancing In The Street.’ Martha continues to perform, too, regularly playing shows at home and abroad. “People have asked me when I’m going to retire and I just can’t imagine it,” she (at age 70) told a Yorkshire newspaper before appearing at a club there. “There’s no part of me that can imagine retiring. Music is what I love to do and I love honouring the Motown legend.” Now that you are a Motown expert, test your knowledge and earn your degree at the Classic Motown University ! Martha Reeves & The Vandellas - 50th Anniversary The Singles Collection 1962-1972 BUY: The History Home The History The Hits The Hype (Reviews) The Honors The Happenings (Dates) Photos: Down Through the Years Contact Booking The History When looking for the perfect presentation of the Motown sound and style, few fit the bill as well as Martha Reeves & the Vandellas.

It was 1963 when they moved from being Marvin Gaye's original backup singers ("Stubborn Kind of Fellow," "Pride & Joy," "Hitch Hike") to stars in their own right with the trifecta of "Come and Get These Memories," "Heat Wave," and "Quicksand." Over the next decade, Martha Reeves & the Vandellas would be a consistent presence on the music charts, as well as on television and top venues across the US and abroad. With the unmistakable voice that helped define "the sound of young America," Reeves reigns as one of music's most beloved and acclaimed female singers. As one reviewer recently exclaimed, "Martha Reeves is the ultimate Motown diva with soul flowing from the tips of her toes to the last hair on her head. They don't make ‘em like that anymore." Reeves and her Vandellas - her sisters, Lois (who joined the group in 1967) and Delphine (who came aboard in 1980) - remain in high demand, heating up clubs, casinos, concert stages, colleges and music festivals across the globe.

Their hits are a thing of legend: In addition to the aforementioned, they include the gospel-tinged "Nowhere to Run," the classic soul favorite "My Baby Loves Me," the pop anthem "Jimmy Mack," and the signature, "Dancing In The Street." While best known for up-tempo, hard driving tunes, Reeves' shows are often highlighted by jazzy renderings of Billie Holiday's "God Bless The Child," her driving original blues "Watch Your Back" (both included in her self-produced CD "Home to You"), and the perennial showstopper, "Love Makes Me Do Foolish Things." Martha's story is a familiar one to legions of fans. Soon after graduating from high school, she performed in clubs as "Martha Lavaille." One night, Motown A&R director Mickey Stevenson heard her and invited her to audition for the then-fledgling label. The highly-motivated Reeves arrived the next morning. Upon learning that auditions had to be scheduled, she made herself valuable by answering phones and taking messages. When people say she started at Motown as a secretary, Reeves corrects them, laughing, "I was never a secretary.

I was a singer who could type." Reeves soon become an invaluable administrator, interacting with musicians and performers, scheduling sessions, and making sure that business was taken care of. And she waited her turn to sing. One day, when Mary Wells missed a session, Martha stepped up to the mic, got notice and a contract. She left the A/R department to become one of Motown's most enduring and beloved stars. As classics never fade, new and diverse audiences are constantly being introduced to the Martha Reeves songbook. She has counted talents as diverse as James Brown and Beverly Sills among her singing partners. Robin Williams spun "Nowhere to Run" in Good Morning, Vietnam. Her version of the Van Morrison rocker, "Wild Night" was featured on the Thelma and Louise movie soundtrack. The boys in The Boys In The Band and Whoopi Goldberg in Sister Act 2 partied to "Heat Wave." Everyone from Mick Jagger and David Bowie, the Mamas and the Papas, Dusty Springfield and the Grateful Dead have gone "Dancing In the Street." Singers such as Adele, Amy Winehouse, Florence Welch and Jennifer Hudson sing her praises.

The popular US cable show "Power" (produced by rapper Fifty Cent) uses a reworked "Nowhere to Run" as its theme song. Moving beyond the confines of the concert stage, Reeves starred in a US tour of the Tony-winning "Ain't Misbehavin'", and has performed in road shows of "The Jackie Wilson Story" and "Good Black Don't Crack." She co-starred for three seasons in the UK stage review "Dancing In The Street," alongside Motown peers like the late Edwin Starr, Mary Wilson, and Freda Payne. Following Starr's death in 2003, Reeves held the spotlight alone. That same year, she made her opera debut singing with the Motor City Lyric Opera. Reeves is the recipient of the Dinah Washington Award, a Rhythm n' Blues Foundation Pioneer Award, a Black Woman in Publishing Legends Award, and has been inducted in the Alabama, Soul, Rock and Roll, and Vocal Group halls of fame. "Dancing in the Street" has been entered into the Library of Congress Registry of Historical Recordings and into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

Martha Reeves and the Vandellas are listed among Rolling Stone magazine's "100 Immortal Artists." Martha Reeves Vandellas * MRV * "Songs of The Stonewall" (#7) by Williamson Henderson Sunday, December 30, 2012 @ 8 p.m. * Event>>>>> Martha Reeves: "Dancing With The Stars" Appropriately, Martha Reeves opened the two-hour exciting "Dancing With The Stars" show with her international #1 hit song "Dancing In The Street"! That song is the anthem of Motown Records and it was ideal for a show about dancing! Martha looked Motown royalty in a full-length gown. The opening also featured The Temptations performing "Get Ready" and Smokey Robinson singing "The Tracks Of My Tears". Tonight was "Motown Night" -- every dance was to a Motown song! Martha, later in the show, in a shimmering silver cocktail dress, performed a bouncy rendition of "Jimmy Mack" while a couple (Maria Menounos and Derek Hough) danced.

Tonight, other Motown legends performing -- while a competing couple danced to the song -- were Smokey Robinson ("Cruisin'", "Ooo, Baby, Baby" and "Being With You") and The Temptations ("My Girl", "I Can't Get Next To U", "The Way You Do The Things You Do" and "Ain't Too Proud To Beg"). There was a surprise intro of a special front-row guest: Motown founder Mr. Berry Gordy, Jr. "DWTS" is the popular dance competition show with celebrity dance contestants paired with professional dancers. Ironically, one contestant was also a Motown legend: Gladys Knight! DWTS's "Night of Motown" concluded with a competitive dance elimination "Motown Marathon" set to Martha's "Nowhere To Run"! The show aired 'live' on ABC-TV on Monday, April 23rd with rave revues and high ratings! Martha Reeves & The Crystal Method: On Television Martha Reeves performs her exciting new hit single "I'm Not Leaving" with The Crystal Method.

They are backed by an all-star band comprised of horns from soul legends Tower of Power and rockers Darryl Jones of the Rolling Stones, Brain of Nine Inch Nails and Richie Fortus of Guns n' Roses. The backup singers include Louis Price, formerly of The Temptations. Don't miss it when Motown royal and rock royalty meet! The 'live' performance is on the popular "Jimmy Kimmel Show" on Friday night, March 30th at midnight EST (9 p.m. PT) on ABC-TV.

Question: Which singer was backed by The Vandellas?
Answer: Martha Reeves