The Marvelettes
The Marvelettes sono state un gruppo musicale femminile R&B e doo-wop statunitense, in attività negli anni sessanta.Furono il primo gruppo femminile di successo della Motown Records, prima dell'esplosione del fenomeno The Supremes. Le Marvelettes sono particolarmente celebri per il loro primo singolo Please Mr. Postman (di cui si ricorda la cover dei Beatles del 1963) che arrivò alla vetta sia della Billboard Hot 100 che della R&B Chart. Nel corso della loro carriera, durata in tutto nove anni dal 1960 al 1969, ebbero ben 19 singoli nella top 40.
Formazione
- Gladys Horton
- Katherine Anderson
- Wanda Rogers
- Anne Bogan
- Georgeanna Tillman
- Wyanetta (Juanita) Cowart
- Georgia Dobbins
Discografia
- Please Mr. Postman (1961)
- The Marvelettes Sing aka Hits of '62 (1962)
- Playboy (1962)
- The Marvelous Marvelettes (1963)
- The Marvelettes Recorded Live on Stage (1963)
- The Marvelettes Greatest Hits (1966) (#84 US pop; #4 US R&B)
- The Marvelettes (Pink Album) (1967) (#129 US pop; #13 US R&B)
- Sophisticated Soul (1968) (#41 US R&B)
- In Full Bloom (1969)
- The Return of the Marvelettes (1970) (#50 US R&B)
- The Marvelettes Anthology (1975)
- Best of The Marvelettes (1975)
Photo of The Marvelettes. 1963
The Marvelettes was an American girl group that achieved popularity in the early- to mid-1960s. They consisted of schoolmates Gladys Horton, Katherine Anderson (now Schaffner), Georgeanna Tillman (later Gordon), Juanita Cowart (now Cowart Motley), and Georgia Dobbins, who was replaced by Wanda Young (now Rogers) prior to the group signing their first deal. They were the first major successful act of Motown Records after the Miracles and its first significantly successful girl group after the release of the 1961 number-one single, "Please Mr. Postman", one of the first number-one singles recorded by an all-female vocal group and the first by a Motown recording act.
Founded in 1960 while the group's founding members performed together at their glee club at Inkster High School in Inkster, Michigan, they signed to Motown's Tamla label in 1961. Some of the group's early hits were written by band members and some of Motown's rising singer-songwriters such as Smokey Robinson and Marvin Gaye, who played drums on a majority of their early recordings. Despite their early successes, the group was eclipsed in popularity by groups like The Supremes, with whom they shared an intense rivalry.
Nevertheless, they managed a major comeback in 1966 with "Don't Mess with Bill", along with several other hits. They struggled with problems of poor promotion from Motown, health issues and substance abuse with Cowart the first to leave in 1963, followed by Georgeanna Tillman in 1965, and Gladys Horton in 1967. The group ceased performing together in 1969 and, following the release of The Return of the Marvelettes in 1970, featuring only Wanda Rogers, disbanded for good, with both Rogers and Katherine Anderson leaving the music business.
The group has received several honors including induction into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame, as well as receiving the Pioneer Award from the Rhythm and Blues Foundation. In 2005, two of the group's most successful recordings, "Please Mr. Postman" and "Don't Mess with Bill" earned million-selling Gold singles from the RIAA. On August 17, 2013, in Cleveland, Ohio, at Cleveland State University, the Marvelettes were inducted into the 1st class of the Official Rhythm & Blues Music Hall of Fame.
In 1961, the quintet, now called the Marvels, entered a talent show contest on the behest of their teacher and ended up finishing in fourth place. Though only the first three winners were offered a trip to audition for the fledgling Motown label, two of the girls' schoolteachers advised that they be allowed to audition too. Upon auditioning for Motown executives including Brian Holland and Robert Bateman, they had a second audition with bigger staff including Smokey Robinson and the label president and founder, Berry Gordy, who while impressed with their vocal styles advised them to come back with their own composition. Returning to Inkster, Georgia Dobbins contacted a local musician named William Garrett, who had an unfinished blues composition titled "Please Mr. Postman"; Garrett allowed Dobbins to use it as long as he received songwriting credit if the song became a hit. Despite having no previous songwriting experience, Dobbins took the song home and reshaped it overnight to reflect the teenage sound of doo-wop.
Prior to returning to Motown, Dobbins left the group due to her growing family and her father, who advised her not to continue her career in show business. Dobbins' departure left Horton in full charge of the group. To replace her, Horton asked another Inkster graduate, Wanda Young, to replace Dobbins. When the group returned and performed their composition, Gordy agreed to work with the group but under the advice that they change their name. Gordy renamed them The Marvelettes and signed the act to Motown's Tamla division in July 1961. The following month, the group recorded "Please Mr. Postman", which was polished by Brian Holland, Robert Bateman and Freddie Gorman, another songwriting partner of Holland (before Holland became part of the Holland–Dozier–Holland team), who moonlighted as a mailman, as well as the song "So Long Baby", sung by Wanda. Tamla issued "Please Mr. Postman" on August 21, 1961. The song then climbed to the top of the singles chart, reaching #1 that December. making them the first Motown act to have a #1 hit on the Hot 100.
To follow up on this success, Motown had the group record "Twistin' Postman" to take advantage of the twist dance craze and the re-release of Chubby Checker's "The Twist". The song eventually peaked at #34 on the pop chart in early 1962. Before the end of 1961, Tamla issued the first Marvelettes album, also named Please Mr. Postman, but it failed to chart. The group's next single, "Playboy", marked the second time one of their singles was written by a band member, this time by Gladys Horton. Like "Postman", the song was retooled by other writers and upon its release in early 1962, reached #7. A fourth hit, "Beechwood 4-5789", co-written by Marvin Gaye, reached #17. During 1962, two more albums would be issued by the band including The Marvelettes Sing and Playboy. Following the success of "Beechwood", R&B radio stations also frequently played the single's flip side, "Someday, Someway", which paid off sending the song to #8 on the R&B chart---their first double-sided hit.
Due to their success, the group had to leave school in order to perform and despite the promise of tutors to help with their schooling, they were never granted any. Due to their young ages and Horton being an orphaned ward of the courts, they eventually were taken in by Esther Gordy Edwards, who bused them to Motortown Revue shows. After several successful Top 40 recordings, the group released the modest success, "Strange I Know", which peaked at #49. In early 1963, the group was shortened to a quartet when Juanita Cowart opted to leave the band citing a mental breakdown---caused by stress from performing on the road and a mistake she made in describing the group's background during an appearance on American Bandstand. Carrying on as a quartet, the group issued one of Holland–Dozier–Holland's early compositions, "Locking Up My Heart", which peaked at #44. It was one of the first singles to feature Horton and Young in co-leads. The success of "Locking" was probably tested due to strong airplay by the song's B-side, the Young-led ballad "Forever", which also received a pop charting, peaking at #78. Then Berry Gordy composed and produced the single, "My Daddy Knows Best", but it was their lowest charting at the time, #67.
That year, the Marvelettes reached the top forty with the Norman Whitfield production, "Too Many Fish in the Sea", reaching #25 with the recording. By now, Motown had begun its charm school hiring choreographer Cholly Atkins and Maxine Powell to refine the label's acts. Atkins began polishing the Marvelettes' dance moves while Powell taught the group to be more graceful. telling them and every other Motown act that they would "perform in front of kings and queens". Meanwhile, two of the Marvelettes got married: Georgeanna Tillman married longtime boyfriend Billy Gordon of the Contours and Wanda Young married her longtime boyfriend Bobby Rogers of the Miracles changing her name to Wanda Rogers. By the end of 1964, Georgeanna Tillman, a longtime sufferer of sickle cell anemia was diagnosed with lupus. By early 1965, struggling to keep up with their stringent recording sessions and touring schedules and her illnesses, a doctor of Tillman's advised her to leave performing for good. The rest of the Marvelettes carried on as a trio from then on.
In mid-1965, Wanda Rogers took over as lead vocalist, as Motown producers felt Rogers' voice was more suitable for this role than Horton's. With Rogers as lead, the group had a hit with "I'll Keep Holding On", which reached #34 while "Danger! Heartbreak Dead Ahead" settled for a #61 showing but was #11 on the R&B chart. Later in 1965, the group released the Smokey Robinson composition, "Don't Mess with Bill", which brought the group back to the top ten reaching #7 and becoming their second single to sell over a million copies. From then on, with Robinson mainly in charge, most of the Marvelettes singles would feature Rogers on lead. In 1966, they had a modest success with "You're the One" and by the end of that year, they reached the top 20 with "The Hunter Gets Captured by the Game", which Smokey had to fight to get released. In 1967, the group recorded the Van McCoy composition, "When You're Young and in Love", which had been originally recorded by Ruby & the Romantics. The song reached #23 in the U.S. and peaked at #13 in the UK, becoming their only British hit.
Wanda Rogers, who had suffered from a number of personal problems for some time, became unreliable and difficult to work with. Concert scheduling was difficult as she sometimes failed to turn up for performances. In 1970, Rogers recorded songs for a solo album, produced by Smokey Robinson and including covers of earlier Motown recordings, which Motown decided to market as The Return of The Marvelettes. As this album featured no other Marvelettes, original member Katherine Anderson refused to participate in appearing on the cover of the album due to what she felt was Motown's disrespect towards her and the group. The album was only a modest hit, reaching #50 on the R&B album charts and featured no charted hit singles. Following this, the group disbanded with Katherine Anderson settling briefly as a staff writer for Motown. After Motown moved to Los Angeles in 1972, Anderson and Rogers left the business altogether returning to Michigan with Anderson settling in her hometown of Inkster while Rogers moved to Southfield, Michigan. Meanwhile, Gladys Horton had moved to Los Angeles where she raised her three sons.
By 2006, thanks to the efforts of former Supremes singer Mary Wilson, legislation had been launched in 33 states via The Truth In Music Act to prevent performers from using the name of a group that didn't have at least one original member, causing the groups who Marshak had hired as Marvelettes to bill themselves as "Tribute to the Marvelettes". Both Horton and Katherine Anderson began fighting to get back ownership of the name and were in their final stages of having the name returned to them when Horton died from a stroke at a California nursing home in January 2011. Following their exits from the Marvelettes, both Georgia Dobbins and Juanita Cowart remained in Inkster and settled into life outside the entertainment industry, with Cowart being active in her Inkster church choir. Wanda Rogers now lives with her daughter in Westland, Michigan while Katherine Anderson resides in Inkster and mentors several Detroit-area vocal groups. Ann Bogan, the latter-day member of the group, now lives in Cleveland, Ohio and became a part of the New Birth and their subgroup, Love, Peace & Happiness, before retiring to raise her children. All the surviving members of the group were recently interviewed for an episode of their lives on the TV-One show, Unsung.
In 1995, they were honored with the "Pioneer Award" at the Rhythm & Blues Foundation. In 2004, the group was inducted to the Vocal Group Hall of Fame. In 2006, Marc Taylor issued the biography, The Original Marvelettes: Motown's Mystery Girl Group. The group's story had been documented several years before in Goldmine magazine from a 1984 article.
In 2007, the Marvelettes were voted into the Michigan Rock and Roll Legends Hall of Fame.
In 2009, as part of Motown's 50th Anniversary celebrations, a new limited-edition triple-CD set on the group entitled The Marvelettes: Forever – The Complete Motown Albums Vol. 1 was released. This featured the group's first six albums, some of which had never been released on CD. The Marvelettes: Forever More – The Complete Motown Albums Vol. 2, which included their later albums and bonus material, was released in 2011.Their much-covered 1961 million-selling # 1 hit tune "Please Mr Postman" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2011.
The Marvelettes were nominated for 2013 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. They became eligible for induction in 1987. Although they did not garner enough votes for induction, they made the ballot a second time for induction in the year 2015.
On August 17, 2013 the Marvelettes were inducted into the Official R&B Music Hall of Fame in Cleveland and again in June 2017 in Detroit, Michigan
(*There was no Billboard R&B Singles Chart from November 1963 to
January 1965. The R&B chart numbers from that period come from Cash
Box magazine, a Billboard competitor at the time.)
Founded in 1960 while the group's founding members performed together at their glee club at Inkster High School in Inkster, Michigan, they signed to Motown's Tamla label in 1961. Some of the group's early hits were written by band members and some of Motown's rising singer-songwriters such as Smokey Robinson and Marvin Gaye, who played drums on a majority of their early recordings. Despite their early successes, the group was eclipsed in popularity by groups like The Supremes, with whom they shared an intense rivalry.
Nevertheless, they managed a major comeback in 1966 with "Don't Mess with Bill", along with several other hits. They struggled with problems of poor promotion from Motown, health issues and substance abuse with Cowart the first to leave in 1963, followed by Georgeanna Tillman in 1965, and Gladys Horton in 1967. The group ceased performing together in 1969 and, following the release of The Return of the Marvelettes in 1970, featuring only Wanda Rogers, disbanded for good, with both Rogers and Katherine Anderson leaving the music business.
The group has received several honors including induction into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame, as well as receiving the Pioneer Award from the Rhythm and Blues Foundation. In 2005, two of the group's most successful recordings, "Please Mr. Postman" and "Don't Mess with Bill" earned million-selling Gold singles from the RIAA. On August 17, 2013, in Cleveland, Ohio, at Cleveland State University, the Marvelettes were inducted into the 1st class of the Official Rhythm & Blues Music Hall of Fame.
History
Origins and initial success
The group that would become the Marvelettes formed at Inkster High School in Inkster, Michigan, a suburb located west of Detroit, Michigan by fifteen-year-old glee club member Gladys Horton in the fall of 1960. Horton enlisted older glee club members Katherine Anderson, Georgeanna Tillman, Juanita Cowart, and Georgia Dobbins (already a high school graduate) to join her. The members struggled to come up with a name for their new act until one of the members jokingly took a stab at their own singing abilities, saying "we can't sing yet." Horton altered the saying to "The Casinyets".In 1961, the quintet, now called the Marvels, entered a talent show contest on the behest of their teacher and ended up finishing in fourth place. Though only the first three winners were offered a trip to audition for the fledgling Motown label, two of the girls' schoolteachers advised that they be allowed to audition too. Upon auditioning for Motown executives including Brian Holland and Robert Bateman, they had a second audition with bigger staff including Smokey Robinson and the label president and founder, Berry Gordy, who while impressed with their vocal styles advised them to come back with their own composition. Returning to Inkster, Georgia Dobbins contacted a local musician named William Garrett, who had an unfinished blues composition titled "Please Mr. Postman"; Garrett allowed Dobbins to use it as long as he received songwriting credit if the song became a hit. Despite having no previous songwriting experience, Dobbins took the song home and reshaped it overnight to reflect the teenage sound of doo-wop.
Prior to returning to Motown, Dobbins left the group due to her growing family and her father, who advised her not to continue her career in show business. Dobbins' departure left Horton in full charge of the group. To replace her, Horton asked another Inkster graduate, Wanda Young, to replace Dobbins. When the group returned and performed their composition, Gordy agreed to work with the group but under the advice that they change their name. Gordy renamed them The Marvelettes and signed the act to Motown's Tamla division in July 1961. The following month, the group recorded "Please Mr. Postman", which was polished by Brian Holland, Robert Bateman and Freddie Gorman, another songwriting partner of Holland (before Holland became part of the Holland–Dozier–Holland team), who moonlighted as a mailman, as well as the song "So Long Baby", sung by Wanda. Tamla issued "Please Mr. Postman" on August 21, 1961. The song then climbed to the top of the singles chart, reaching #1 that December. making them the first Motown act to have a #1 hit on the Hot 100.
To follow up on this success, Motown had the group record "Twistin' Postman" to take advantage of the twist dance craze and the re-release of Chubby Checker's "The Twist". The song eventually peaked at #34 on the pop chart in early 1962. Before the end of 1961, Tamla issued the first Marvelettes album, also named Please Mr. Postman, but it failed to chart. The group's next single, "Playboy", marked the second time one of their singles was written by a band member, this time by Gladys Horton. Like "Postman", the song was retooled by other writers and upon its release in early 1962, reached #7. A fourth hit, "Beechwood 4-5789", co-written by Marvin Gaye, reached #17. During 1962, two more albums would be issued by the band including The Marvelettes Sing and Playboy. Following the success of "Beechwood", R&B radio stations also frequently played the single's flip side, "Someday, Someway", which paid off sending the song to #8 on the R&B chart---their first double-sided hit.
Due to their success, the group had to leave school in order to perform and despite the promise of tutors to help with their schooling, they were never granted any. Due to their young ages and Horton being an orphaned ward of the courts, they eventually were taken in by Esther Gordy Edwards, who bused them to Motortown Revue shows. After several successful Top 40 recordings, the group released the modest success, "Strange I Know", which peaked at #49. In early 1963, the group was shortened to a quartet when Juanita Cowart opted to leave the band citing a mental breakdown---caused by stress from performing on the road and a mistake she made in describing the group's background during an appearance on American Bandstand. Carrying on as a quartet, the group issued one of Holland–Dozier–Holland's early compositions, "Locking Up My Heart", which peaked at #44. It was one of the first singles to feature Horton and Young in co-leads. The success of "Locking" was probably tested due to strong airplay by the song's B-side, the Young-led ballad "Forever", which also received a pop charting, peaking at #78. Then Berry Gordy composed and produced the single, "My Daddy Knows Best", but it was their lowest charting at the time, #67.
The departure of Georgeanna Tillman and renewed success
By 1964, the majority of American vocal groups especially all female bands such as the Shirelles and the Ronettes started struggling with finding a hit after the arrival of British pop and rock acts. In the meantime, other Motown girl groups such as Martha and the Vandellas and the Supremes were starting to get promoted by Motown staff with the Vandellas becoming the top girl group of 1963. The following year, the Supremes took their place as the label's top primary female group after a succession of hit recordings that year, culminating in the release of their second album, Where Did Our Love Go, which Motown was able to promote successfully. Regarding the aforementioned 'Where Did Our Love Go', page 97 of the book The Original Marvelettes: Motown's Mystery Girl Group by Marc Taylor makes it clear that the Marvelettes did turn it down. Gladys recalls "When they played 'Where Did Our Love Go' they played 'Too Many Fish In The Sea'. We picked 'Too Many Fish In The Sea' because it had all the music and all the bongos. We were all together and said at the same time we didn't want 'Where Did Our Love Go'."That year, the Marvelettes reached the top forty with the Norman Whitfield production, "Too Many Fish in the Sea", reaching #25 with the recording. By now, Motown had begun its charm school hiring choreographer Cholly Atkins and Maxine Powell to refine the label's acts. Atkins began polishing the Marvelettes' dance moves while Powell taught the group to be more graceful. telling them and every other Motown act that they would "perform in front of kings and queens". Meanwhile, two of the Marvelettes got married: Georgeanna Tillman married longtime boyfriend Billy Gordon of the Contours and Wanda Young married her longtime boyfriend Bobby Rogers of the Miracles changing her name to Wanda Rogers. By the end of 1964, Georgeanna Tillman, a longtime sufferer of sickle cell anemia was diagnosed with lupus. By early 1965, struggling to keep up with their stringent recording sessions and touring schedules and her illnesses, a doctor of Tillman's advised her to leave performing for good. The rest of the Marvelettes carried on as a trio from then on.
In mid-1965, Wanda Rogers took over as lead vocalist, as Motown producers felt Rogers' voice was more suitable for this role than Horton's. With Rogers as lead, the group had a hit with "I'll Keep Holding On", which reached #34 while "Danger! Heartbreak Dead Ahead" settled for a #61 showing but was #11 on the R&B chart. Later in 1965, the group released the Smokey Robinson composition, "Don't Mess with Bill", which brought the group back to the top ten reaching #7 and becoming their second single to sell over a million copies. From then on, with Robinson mainly in charge, most of the Marvelettes singles would feature Rogers on lead. In 1966, they had a modest success with "You're the One" and by the end of that year, they reached the top 20 with "The Hunter Gets Captured by the Game", which Smokey had to fight to get released. In 1967, the group recorded the Van McCoy composition, "When You're Young and in Love", which had been originally recorded by Ruby & the Romantics. The song reached #23 in the U.S. and peaked at #13 in the UK, becoming their only British hit.
Decline
By 1967, Gladys Horton had reconsidered her involvement with the Marvelettes. After her first child, Sammie, was born with cerebral palsy, Horton decided to leave the group entirely, doing so before the release of the hit "My Baby Must Be a Magician". The song peaked at #17 and was noted for featuring the Temptations' Melvin Franklin providing the opening line. With Horton out, Harvey Fuqua introduced the group to Ann Bogan who became Horton's replacement. However, by the time Bogan joined the group in 1968, most of the musicians of Motown's early years had left, mainly due to financial disputes with the label. The group struggled with recordings after the release of "Magician", with Motown offering little to no promotion. The 1968 singles "Here I Am Baby" and "Destination: Anywhere" were only modestly successful, peaking at #44 and #63 respectively. The release of their 1969 album, In Full Bloom, failed as did its only single, the remake of Justine Washington's "That's How Heartaches Are Made".Wanda Rogers, who had suffered from a number of personal problems for some time, became unreliable and difficult to work with. Concert scheduling was difficult as she sometimes failed to turn up for performances. In 1970, Rogers recorded songs for a solo album, produced by Smokey Robinson and including covers of earlier Motown recordings, which Motown decided to market as The Return of The Marvelettes. As this album featured no other Marvelettes, original member Katherine Anderson refused to participate in appearing on the cover of the album due to what she felt was Motown's disrespect towards her and the group. The album was only a modest hit, reaching #50 on the R&B album charts and featured no charted hit singles. Following this, the group disbanded with Katherine Anderson settling briefly as a staff writer for Motown. After Motown moved to Los Angeles in 1972, Anderson and Rogers left the business altogether returning to Michigan with Anderson settling in her hometown of Inkster while Rogers moved to Southfield, Michigan. Meanwhile, Gladys Horton had moved to Los Angeles where she raised her three sons.
Later years
In January 1980, former Marvelette and original member Georgeanna Tillman died from complications of lupus, in her mother's house in Inkster, at the age of 36. Shortly afterwards, several of the former members filed suit against Motown, complaining of not receiving any royalties from their work. In 1989, Gladys Horton tried to reunite the original Marvelettes after being offered a contract with Motorcity Records. Wanda Young was the only other Marvelette to agree to sing on the recording. Following this, Horton continued to perform, sometimes as "Gladys Horton of the Marvelettes". Due to a legal disagreement with Larry Marshak, who bought the Marvelettes' name from Motown after the label lost rights to the name, Horton would fight for years to retain ownership of the name. Marshak had several groups billing themselves as "The Marvelettes", but the women who portrayed themselves as the Marvelettes were much younger than the original lineup, and had not recorded on any of the Marvelettes' original Motown hits.By 2006, thanks to the efforts of former Supremes singer Mary Wilson, legislation had been launched in 33 states via The Truth In Music Act to prevent performers from using the name of a group that didn't have at least one original member, causing the groups who Marshak had hired as Marvelettes to bill themselves as "Tribute to the Marvelettes". Both Horton and Katherine Anderson began fighting to get back ownership of the name and were in their final stages of having the name returned to them when Horton died from a stroke at a California nursing home in January 2011. Following their exits from the Marvelettes, both Georgia Dobbins and Juanita Cowart remained in Inkster and settled into life outside the entertainment industry, with Cowart being active in her Inkster church choir. Wanda Rogers now lives with her daughter in Westland, Michigan while Katherine Anderson resides in Inkster and mentors several Detroit-area vocal groups. Ann Bogan, the latter-day member of the group, now lives in Cleveland, Ohio and became a part of the New Birth and their subgroup, Love, Peace & Happiness, before retiring to raise her children. All the surviving members of the group were recently interviewed for an episode of their lives on the TV-One show, Unsung.
Legacy
In 2005, the group was awarded with two gold plaques for their biggest hits, "Please Mr. Postman" and "Don't Mess with Bill" after the RIAA had certified the singles as million-sellers. The following year, Horton appeared on the PBS concert special, My Music: Salute to Early Motown, along with other Motown stars from the label's early years. Some of the group's recordings were later sampled for songs by rap musicians, most notably Jay-Z's song, "Poppin' Tags", sampled the group's 1970 cover of Smokey Robinson's composition, "After All", from his 2002 album, The Blueprint 2: The Gift & The Curse.In 1995, they were honored with the "Pioneer Award" at the Rhythm & Blues Foundation. In 2004, the group was inducted to the Vocal Group Hall of Fame. In 2006, Marc Taylor issued the biography, The Original Marvelettes: Motown's Mystery Girl Group. The group's story had been documented several years before in Goldmine magazine from a 1984 article.
In 2007, the Marvelettes were voted into the Michigan Rock and Roll Legends Hall of Fame.
In 2009, as part of Motown's 50th Anniversary celebrations, a new limited-edition triple-CD set on the group entitled The Marvelettes: Forever – The Complete Motown Albums Vol. 1 was released. This featured the group's first six albums, some of which had never been released on CD. The Marvelettes: Forever More – The Complete Motown Albums Vol. 2, which included their later albums and bonus material, was released in 2011.Their much-covered 1961 million-selling # 1 hit tune "Please Mr Postman" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2011.
The Marvelettes were nominated for 2013 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. They became eligible for induction in 1987. Although they did not garner enough votes for induction, they made the ballot a second time for induction in the year 2015.
On August 17, 2013 the Marvelettes were inducted into the Official R&B Music Hall of Fame in Cleveland and again in June 2017 in Detroit, Michigan
Discography
Albums
| Year | Album | Peak chart positions | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Pop |
US R&B | ||||
| 1961 | Please Mr. Postman | — | — | ||
| 1962 | The Marvelettes Sing (aka Smash Hits of '62) | — | — | ||
| Playboy | — | — | |||
| 1963 | The Marvelous Marvelettes | — | — | ||
| The Marvelettes Recorded Live On Stage | — | — | |||
| 1966 | The Marvelettes Greatest Hits | 84 | 4 | ||
| 1967 | The Marvelettes (Pink Album) | 129 | 13 | ||
| 1968 | Sophisticated Soul | — | 41 | ||
| 1969 | In Full Bloom | — | — | ||
| 1970 | The Return of the Marvelettes | — | 50 | ||
| 1975 | The Marvelettes Anthology | — | — | ||
| Best of The Marvelettes | — | — | |||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||
Singles
| Year | Titles (A-side, B-side) Both sides from same album except where indicated |
Peak chart positions | Album | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Pop | US R&B | UK | |||
| 1961 | "Please Mr. Postman" (Tamla 54046) b/w "So Long Baby" |
1 | 1 | — | Please Mr. Postman |
| "Twistin' Postman" (54054) b/w "I Want a Guy" (from Please Mr. Postman) |
34 | 13 | — | The Marvelettes Smash Hits Of '62 | |
| 1962 | "Playboy" (54060) b/w "All the Love I've Got" (from Please Mr. Postman) |
7 | 4 | — | Playboy |
| "Beechwood 4-5789" (54065) / | 17 | 7 | — | ||
| "Someday, Someway" (54065) | — | 8 | — | ||
| "Strange I Know" (54072) b/w "Too Strong to be Strung Along" |
49 | 10 | — | The Marvelous Marvelettes | |
| 1963 | "Locking Up My Heart" (54077) / | 44 | 25 | — | |
| "Forever" (54077) | 78 | 24 | — | Playboy | |
| "My Daddy Knows Best" (54082) b/w "Tie a String Around Your Finger" (Non-album track) |
67 | — | — | The Marvelous Marvelettes | |
| "As Long as I Know He's Mine" (54088) b/w "Little Girl Blue" (Non-album track) |
47 | 3* | — | The Marvelettes' Greatest Hits | |
| "Too Hurt to Cry, Too Much in Love to Say Goodbye" (as The Darnells) (Gordy 7024) b/w "Come on Home" |
117 | — | — | Non-album tracks | |
| 1964 | "He's a Good Guy (Yes He Is)" (54091) b/w "Goddess of Love" (from Playboy) |
55 | 18* | — | Anthology |
| "You're My Remedy" (54097) b/w "A Little Bit of Sympathy, A Little Bit of Love" (Non-album track) |
48 | 16* | — | The Marvelettes' Greatest Hits | |
| "Too Many Fish in the Sea" (54105) b/w "A Need for Love" (Non-album track) |
25 | 5* | — | ||
| 1965 | "I'll Keep Holding On" (54116) b/w "No Time for Tears" (Non-album track) |
34 | 11 | — | Anthology |
| "Danger! Heartbreak Dead Ahead" (54120) b/w "Your Cheating Ways" (Non-album track) |
61 | 11 | — | The Marvelettes' Greatest Hits | |
| 1966 | "Don't Mess with Bill" (54126) b/w "Anything You Wanna Do" (Non-album track) |
7 | 3 | — | |
| "You're the One" (54131) b/w "Paper Boy" (Non-album track) |
48 | 20 | — | Sophisticated Soul | |
| 1967 | "The Hunter Gets Captured by the Game" (54143) b/w "I Think I Can Change You" (from Playboy) |
13 | 2 | — | The Marvelettes |
| "When You're Young and in Love" (only UK charting single) (54150) b/w "The Day You Take One, You Have to Take the Other" |
23 | 9 | 13 | ||
| 1968 | "My Baby Must Be a Magician" (Spoken intro by Melvin Franklin) (54158) b/w "I Need Someone" (from The Marvelettes) |
17 | 8 | — | Sophisticated Soul |
| "Here I am Baby" (54166) b/w "Keep Off, No Trespassing" (from The Marvelettes) |
44 | 14 | — | ||
| "Destination: Anywhere" (54171) / | 63 | 28 | — | ||
| "What's Easy for Two Is So Hard for One" (54171) | 114 | — | — | ||
| 1969 | "I'm Gonna Hold On as Long as I Can" (54177) b/w "Don't Make Hurting Me a Habit" |
76 | — | — | |
| "That's How Heartaches Are Made" (54186) b/w "Rainy Mourning" |
97 | — | — | In Full Bloom | |
| 1970 | "Marionette" (54198) b/w "After All" |
— | — | — | The Return Of The Marvelettes |
| 1972 | "A Breath-Taking Guy" (54213) b/w "You're the One for Me Bobby" (from Sophisticated Soul) |
— | — | — | |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||
Awards and recognition
- 1995: The Rhythm & Blues Pioneer Award (Rhythm & Blues Foundation).
- 2004: Inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame.
- 2005: RIAA-certified half million-selling Gold records for "Please Mr. Postman" and "Don't Mess with Bill".
- 2013: Nominated for induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
The Marvelettes - Please Mr. Postman (1961) - YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=425GpjTSlS4
Lyrics
Wait Mister Postman
Oh yeah
(Is there a letter in your bag for me) Please, Please Mister Postman
(Why's it been a very long time) Oh yeah
(Since I heard from this boyfriend of mine)
(Is there a letter in your bag for me) Please, Please Mister Postman
(Why's it been a very long time) Oh yeah
(Since I heard from this boyfriend of mine)
There must be some word today
From my boyfriend so far away
Please Mister Postman, look and see
Is there a letter, a letter for me
From my boyfriend so far away
Please Mister Postman, look and see
Is there a letter, a letter for me
I've been standin' here waitin' Mister Postman
So patiently, for just a card, or just a letter
Sayin' he's returnin' home to me
So patiently, for just a card, or just a letter
Sayin' he's returnin' home to me
Please Mister Postman (Mister Postman, look and see) Oh yeah
(Is there a letter in your bag for me?) Please Please Mister Postman
(Why's it been a very long time) Oh yeah
(Since I heard from this boyfriend of mine)
(Is there a letter in your bag for me?) Please Please Mister Postman
(Why's it been a very long time) Oh yeah
(Since I heard from this boyfriend of mine)
So many days you passed me by
You saw the tears standin' in my eye
You wouldn't stop to make me feel better
By leavin' me a card or a letter
You saw the tears standin' in my eye
You wouldn't stop to make me feel better
By leavin' me a card or a letter
Please Mister Postman look and see (Postman postman)
Is there a letter oh yeah in your bag for me? (Postman postman)
You know its been so long (Postman postman)
Yes since I heard from this boyfriend of mine (Postman postman)
Is there a letter oh yeah in your bag for me? (Postman postman)
You know its been so long (Postman postman)
Yes since I heard from this boyfriend of mine (Postman postman)
You better wait a minute, wait a minute
Oh you better wait a minute
Please please Mister Postman (Wait a minute Mister Postman)
Please check and see just one more time for me
You better wait, wait a minute
Wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute
Please Mister Postman
Deliver de letter the sooner de better
Wait a minute, wait a minute
Wait a minute, please Mister Postman
Wait a minute, wait a minute oh oh
Oh you better wait a minute
Please please Mister Postman (Wait a minute Mister Postman)
Please check and see just one more time for me
You better wait, wait a minute
Wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute
Please Mister Postman
Deliver de letter the sooner de better
Wait a minute, wait a minute
Wait a minute, please Mister Postman
Wait a minute, wait a minute oh oh
Songwriters: Brian Holland / Freddie Gorman / Georgia Dobbins / Robert Bateman / William Garrett
Please Mr Postman lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Artist: The Marvelettes
Album: Please Mr. Postman
Released: 1961
Genres: Classic Soul, R&B/Soul, Blues, Pop
The Marvelettes - Beechwood 4-5789 - YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Us18AUBM2RI
Lyrics
Hey-ah-ay-ay
(La, La. La, La, La, La, La)
Oh, baby
(La, La. La, La, La, La, La)
Hey-ah-ay-ay
(La, La. La, La, La, La, La)
(La, La. La, La, La, La, La)
Oh, baby
(La, La. La, La, La, La, La)
Hey-ah-ay-ay
(La, La. La, La, La, La, La)
You can have this dance with me
You can hold my hand and
Whisper in my ear sweet words that I love to hear
You can hold my hand and
Whisper in my ear sweet words that I love to hear
Oh, baby
Don't be shy (don't be shy)
Just take your time (just take your time)
I'd like to get to know you (like to get to know you)
I'd like to make you mine (like to make you mine)
Don't be shy (don't be shy)
Just take your time (just take your time)
I'd like to get to know you (like to get to know you)
I'd like to make you mine (like to make you mine)
I've been waiting, standing here so patiently
For you to come over and have this dance with me
For you to come over and have this dance with me
And my number is Beechwood 4-5789
You can call me up and have a date any old time
You can call me up and have a date any old time
Hey-ah-ay-ay
(La, La. La, La, La, La, La)
Oh, baby
(La, La. La, La, La, La, La)
Hey-ah-ay-ay
(La, La. La, La, La, La, La)
(La, La. La, La, La, La, La)
Oh, baby
(La, La. La, La, La, La, La)
Hey-ah-ay-ay
(La, La. La, La, La, La, La)
Don't be shy (don't be shy)
Just take your time (just take your time)
I'd like to get to know you (like to get to know you)
I'd like to make you mine (like to make you mine)
Just take your time (just take your time)
I'd like to get to know you (like to get to know you)
I'd like to make you mine (like to make you mine)
Beechwood 4-5789
You can call me up and have a date any old time
You can call me up and have a date any old time
And my number is Beechwood 4-5789
You can call me up and have a date any old time
You can call me up and have a date any old time
Beechwood 4-5789
You can call me up and have a date any old time
You can call me up and have a date any old time
Songwriters: George Gordy / Marvin Gaye / Marvin P Gaye / William Stevenson
Beechwood 4-5789 lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Artist: The Marvelettes
Album: Please Mr. Postman
Released: 1961
B-side: "Someday, Someway"
Recorded: May 19, 1962
THE MARVELETTES too many fish in the sea (1996) - YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNODN16-8vc
Lyrics
Look here, girls
Take this advice, and remember always in life:
Take this advice, and remember always in life:
Into each heart some tears must fall
Though you love and lose, you must stand tall
'Cause we all got to cry sometimes
I said, sigh sometimes
Pull yourself together
No use crying forever
Because there's too many fish in the sea
Too many fish in the sea
I said, there's short ones, tall ones, fine ones, kind ones
Too many fish in the sea
Though you love and lose, you must stand tall
'Cause we all got to cry sometimes
I said, sigh sometimes
Pull yourself together
No use crying forever
Because there's too many fish in the sea
Too many fish in the sea
I said, there's short ones, tall ones, fine ones, kind ones
Too many fish in the sea
My mother once told me something
And every word is true
Don't waste your time on a fella
Who doesn't love you
He'll only mislead you
Only grieve you
Don't worry about him
Do without him
Because there's too many fish in the sea
Too many fish in the sea
I said, there's short ones, tall ones, fine ones, kind ones
Too many fish in the sea
And every word is true
Don't waste your time on a fella
Who doesn't love you
He'll only mislead you
Only grieve you
Don't worry about him
Do without him
Because there's too many fish in the sea
Too many fish in the sea
I said, there's short ones, tall ones, fine ones, kind ones
Too many fish in the sea
Well, if the fish isn't on your line
Bait your hook and keep on trying
Don't let him get you down
There's other boys around
Because there's too many fish in the sea
Too many fish in the sea
I said, there's short ones, tall ones, fine ones, kind ones
Too many fish in the sea
Bait your hook and keep on trying
Don't let him get you down
There's other boys around
Because there's too many fish in the sea
Too many fish in the sea
I said, there's short ones, tall ones, fine ones, kind ones
Too many fish in the sea
I don't want nobody that don't want me
'Cause there's too many fish in the sea
Ain't gonna love nobody that don't love me, now
'Cause there's too many fish in the sea
I don't need nobody that don't need me
'Cause there's too many fish in the sea
I don't want nobody that don't want me now
'Cause there's too many fish in the sea
I don't want nobody that don't love me
'Cause there's too many fish in the sea
'Cause there's too many fish in the sea
Ain't gonna love nobody that don't love me, now
'Cause there's too many fish in the sea
I don't need nobody that don't need me
'Cause there's too many fish in the sea
I don't want nobody that don't want me now
'Cause there's too many fish in the sea
I don't want nobody that don't love me
'Cause there's too many fish in the sea
Songwriters: Edward Holland / Norman Whitfield
Too Many Fish In the Sea lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Artist: The Marvelettes
Album: The Big Chill
Released: 1983
Recorded: September 22, 1964
Genres: R&B/Soul, Pop
The Marvelettes - The Hunter Gets Captured by the Game - YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBa746RVNHA
Lyrics
Everyday brings change, and the world puts on a new face
Sudden things rearrange, and this whole world seems like a new place
Oh yeah, secretly I been tailing you
Like a fox that prays on a rabbit
Had to get you and so I knew
I had to learn your ways and habits
Oh, you were the catch that I was after
But I looked up and I was in your arms and I knew that I was captured
Sudden things rearrange, and this whole world seems like a new place
Oh yeah, secretly I been tailing you
Like a fox that prays on a rabbit
Had to get you and so I knew
I had to learn your ways and habits
Oh, you were the catch that I was after
But I looked up and I was in your arms and I knew that I was captured
What's this whole world comin' to
Things just ain't the same
Any time the hunter gets captured by the game
Things just ain't the same
Any time the hunter gets captured by the game
I had to lay such a tender trap
Hoping you might fall into it
Love hit me like a sudden slap
One kiss and then I knew it
Oh, my plans didn't work out like I thought
'Cause I had laid my trap for you but it seems like I got caught
Hoping you might fall into it
Love hit me like a sudden slap
One kiss and then I knew it
Oh, my plans didn't work out like I thought
'Cause I had laid my trap for you but it seems like I got caught
What's this whole world comin' to
Things just ain't the same
Any time the hunter gets captured by the game
Things just ain't the same
Any time the hunter gets captured by the game
Songwriters: William Robinson Jr.
The Hunter Gets Captured by the Game lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Artist: The Marvelettes
Released: 1967
Genres: Classic Soul, R&B/Soul, Blues, Pop
THE MARVELETTES when you're young and in love (1996) - YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88Cdr5bQGLA
Lyrics
Spring in the air (filled with love)
There's magic ev'rywhere
When you're young and in love
Life seems to be (just a dream)
A world of fantasy
When you're young and in love
Each night seems just like the Fourth of July
When stars spangle the sky
The moon at night (shines so bright)
Seems to shine twice as bright
When you're young and in love
Ooh, dreams can come true (try a dream)
If you believe they do
When you're young and in love
Though many teardrops are bound to fall
True love can conquer all
When you're, when you're young and in love
(Trust and you'll find)
Ooh, ooh yeah
(There's no mountain you can't climb)
When you're young and in love
Though many teardrops are bound to fall
True love can conquer all
When you're, when you're young and in love
(Young and in love)
So in love
(Young and in love)
Oh, yeah
(Young and in love)
There's magic ev'rywhere
When you're young and in love
Life seems to be (just a dream)
A world of fantasy
When you're young and in love
Each night seems just like the Fourth of July
When stars spangle the sky
The moon at night (shines so bright)
Seems to shine twice as bright
When you're young and in love
Ooh, dreams can come true (try a dream)
If you believe they do
When you're young and in love
Though many teardrops are bound to fall
True love can conquer all
When you're, when you're young and in love
(Trust and you'll find)
Ooh, ooh yeah
(There's no mountain you can't climb)
When you're young and in love
Though many teardrops are bound to fall
True love can conquer all
When you're, when you're young and in love
(Young and in love)
So in love
(Young and in love)
Oh, yeah
(Young and in love)
Songwriters: Van Mccoy
When You're Young and in Love lyrics © Van Mccoy Music, Inc
Artist: The Marvelettes
Album: The Marvelettes The Hits
Released: 2006
Recorded: 1967
B-side: "The Day You Take One, You Have to Take the Other"
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