Martha and the Vandellas | |
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| Background information | |
| Also known as |
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| Origin | Detroit, Michigan, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 1957–1973 |
| Labels | Gordy |
| Past members | |
Martha and the Vandellas (known from 1967 to 1973 asMartha Reeves & the Vandellas) were an Americangirl group formed inDetroit, Michigan, in 1957. The group achieved fame in the 1960s as a major act forMotown Records. Formed by friendsAnnette Beard,Rosalind Ashford andGloria Williams,Martha Reeves eventually joined the group, and she became its lead vocalist after Williams's departure in 1962. The group signed withGordy Records, a subsidiary of Motown.
The group's hits included "Heat Wave" (1963), "Quicksand" (1963), "Dancing in the Street" (1964), "Nowhere to Run" (1965), "I'm Ready for Love" (1966), "Jimmy Mack" (1967) and "Honey Chile" (1967). Six of the group's songs reached the top ten on the USBillboard Hot 100 chart and thirteen of their songs reached the top twenty on the USBillboardR&B singles chart, including two number ones. Selected members of the group were inducted into theRock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995 and theNational Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame in 2013.
TeenagersRosalind Ashford andAnnette Beard first became acquainted after a local music manager hired them to be members of a girl group he named the Del-Phis. Ashford, Beard, and lead vocalistGloria Williams, performed at local clubs, private events, church benefits, YMCA events and school functions.[1][2][3] They were also being coached byMaxine Powell at Detroit's Ferris Center. One of the group's first professional engagements was singing background for singer Mike Hanks.[4]
The group originally had up to six members, subsequently reduced to four. When one of the four left the group, she was replaced byAlabama-born vocalistMartha Reeves, a former member of two groups, the Fascinations and the Sabre-Ettes. In 1960, the group signed their first recording contract withChecker Records, releasing the Reeves-led "I'll Let You Know". The Del-Phis then went to Checkmate Records, a subsidiary ofChess Records, recording the song "There He Is (At My Door)" featuring Williams on lead vocals.[citation needed] The songs failed to make much of an impact.
Reeves reverted to a solo artist under the name Martha LaVaille. AfterMotown Records stafferMickey Stevenson saw Reeves singing at a Detroit club, he offered her an audition.[5] Reeves showed up at Motown's Hitsville USA studios on a Tuesday rather than a Thursday, Motown's usual audition day. Stevenson assigned her as his secretary eventually responsible for handling Motown's auditions.[6] By 1961, the group, now known as The Vels, were recording background vocals for Motown acts. Prior to her success as lead singer ofthe Elgins, Saundra Edwards (then going by her surname Mallett) recorded the song "Camel Walk", in 1962, which featured the Vels in background vocals. That year, the quartet began applying background vocals for emerging Motown starMarvin Gaye, singing on Gaye's first hit single, "Stubborn Kind of Fellow"[7] AfterMary Wells failed to make a scheduled recording session due to a short illness, the Vels recorded what was initially a demo recording of "I'll Have to Let Him Go". Motown was so impressed by the group's abilities, and Martha's lead vocals, that the label CEOBerry Gordy offered the group a recording contract. Figuring that being in show business was too rigorous, Williams left the group. With Williams out, the remaining trio of Ashford, Beard and Reeves were told by Gordy that they would need a new name. After failing to come up with a name on their own, Gordy gave the group the name The Vandellas. As stated in an interview with The History Makers, Ashford emphatically states that contrary to popular belief, the Vandellas were not named after Della Reese and Van Dyke Avenue.[8]
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During this period, the Vandellas were hired to sing background forMarvin Gaye after the label's premier backing vocalists,the Andantes, were unable to make the session. The Vandellas contributed background on Gaye's first hit records, "Stubborn Kind of Fellow", "Hitch Hike" and "Pride and Joy" and would on many occasions back Gaye onstage for a couple of years. In 1963, their second single under the name Martha and the Vandellas, "Come and Get These Memories", the first song composed and produced by the team ofHolland-Dozier-Holland, became the group's first hit rising to number six on theHot Rhythm & Blues Sellers chart and crossing over to number 29 on theBillboard Hot 100. Their follow-up, "Heat Wave" (originally titled "(Love Is Like A) Heat Wave"), became their first top ten pop hit, peaking at number four, and staying at number one on the R&B chart for five weeks, resulting in their onlyGrammy Award nomination forBest R&B Performance.[9] Their next hit, "Quicksand", also reached the top ten, peaking at number eight on theBillboard Hot 100 just over a week afterthe assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Two successive follow-ups, "Live Wire" and "In My Lonely Room", however, failed to reach theBillboard top 40 and the group began experiencing problems, with Gordy and Motown focusing their efforts on the group's rivals,the Supremes, whose single "When the Lovelight Starts Shining Through His Eyes", became their first top 40 hit. Just as this was happening, Annette Beard left the group in 1964. Reeves would later claim in her memoirs that Beard left on her own accord due to being pregnant, though Beard would claim Reeves forced her out of the group.[10] Beard was quickly replaced byBetty Kelly, formerly ofthe Velvelettes.
In the summer of 1964, the group released "Dancing in the Street", co-written by Gaye,Mickey Stevenson andIvy Jo Hunter. Thedance song became theirsignature single, peaking at number 2 on theBillboard Hot 100, where they were unable to unseatManfred Mann's "Doo Wah Diddy" off the top spot. The song became their first hit in the UK, initially peaking at number 21 on theUK Singles Chart. Five years later, a re-issue of the song helped to send it to number four. The song became a million-selling hit and has since become one of the most played singles in music history.[11] Their follow up, "Wild One", only managed to peak at number 34, however the next single afterwards, HDH's "Nowhere to Run" gave the group their fourth top ten single on theBillboard Hot 100, reaching number eight on the chart and number 26 in the UK and becoming as well known for the group as "Heat Wave" and "Dancing in the Street". Due to Reeves'soulful vocals and the Vandellas' brassy harmonies, they were often considered the "soulful" alternative to the morepop-orientedSupremes. After successive singles such as the group's first ballad single, "Love (Makes Me Do Foolish Things)" and "You've Been in Love Too Long" only performed modestly on the charts, they reached the US top 30 with another ballad, "My Baby Loves Me" in 1966. The group returned to the US top ten that same year with the song "I'm Ready for Love", which reached number nine on theBillboard Hot 100, becoming their fifth top ten US hit, while peaking at number 2 on the R&B chart and number 29 in the UK. By this period, the Andantes began to sing on these tracks with Reeves, with Ashford and Kelly sometimes not being featured on the songs. In early 1967, more than two years after it was recorded, theHDH pop ballad, "Jimmy Mack", was released and reached number ten on theBillboard Hot 100 and reached number one on the R&B chart, their first number one single there in four years. "Jimmy Mack" served as the last top ten single on the pop chart for the group.
Appearances on television shows such asThe Ed Sullivan Show,The Mike Douglas Show,American Bandstand andShindig! helped to keep the group high-profile during this period as other Motown groups such as the Supremes,the Temptations and theFour Tops were enjoying bigger crossover success. On June 28, 1965, the Reeves/Ashford/Kelly lineup of the Vandellas performed "Nowhere to Run" on theCBS specialMurray The K - It's What's Happening, Baby while skipping through aFord Motor Company auto plant in Detroit and sat on aFord Mustang as it was being assembled.
Following the success of "Jimmy Mack", Motown Records began experiencing a commercial drought as the label's former staff writers and producers Mickey Stevenson and Holland-Dozier-Holland all left in 1967, citing royalty issues with the label, leaving many of the label's original acts, including Martha and the Vandellas, in a rut. Motown hired songwritersSylvia Moy andRichard Morris to compose songs for Reeves, resulting in the recordings "Love Bug Leave My Heart Alone" and "Honey Chile". At the time, the music industry itself was going through rapid changes and thecrossover Motown pop sound was falling out of favor with audiences, mainly in the black community. Artists such asAretha Franklin,Otis Redding and recently signed Motown actGladys Knight & the Pips brought ingrittier soul music while the Temptations and Marvin Gaye were starting to recordpsychedelic soul, which forced many other Motown acts to adapt. Both "Love Bug Leave My Heart Alone" and "Honey Chile" were departures from the group's earlierpop-soul recordings that made them famous. Both songs reached the US top 40, with "Honey Chile" peaking at number eleven. "Honey Chile" also became the first to be released under the monikerMartha Reeves & the Vandellas, joining the recent moniker changes of the Supremes (Diana Ross and the Supremes) andthe Miracles (Smokey Robinson and the Miracles). During this period, Reeves and Kelly had a falling out and Kelly soon was fired from the group and promptly replaced by Reeves' sisterLois.[5][7] Around this time, the group began performing at engagements at theCopacabana, where a live recording was produced but was later shelved.
Despite the early promise of continued success after "Honey Chile", their next release, "I Promise to Wait My Love", a more direct response to the Southern soul sound of Franklin and Knight, only managed to reach number 62 on theBillboard Hot 100, their lowest position since "What Am I Going to Do Without Your Love" peaked at number 71 two years earlier. Their next single, "I Can't Dance to That Music You're Playing", barely missed the US top 40 in 1968. That year, Reeves reportedly suffered badly from anacid-laced drink while at a party and soon found herself in a mental ward for a couple of weeks. As a result, the group suffered and began fading away from the spotlight. In 1969, Ashford was let go from the group and was told that Reeves didn't want her in the group anymore. She was replaced bySandra Tilley, another former member ofThe Velvelettes. The group re-emerged later that year with the album,Sugar 'n' Spice. The leading single, "Taking My Love and Leaving Me", which featured the Andantes andSyreeta Wright on background vocals along with a hoarse Reeves, was their first single since "I'll Have to Let Him Go" to not make theBillboard Hot 100 though top 40 re-issues of their previous songs such as "Forget Me Not" in the UK kept the group going for the time being. The group seemed to be on the verge of a comeback two years later, however, when the dance song, "Bless You" (1971) was released, peaking at number 53 on theBillboard Hot 100, number 33 in the UK, number 16 in Canada and number 2 in Puerto Rico; the Vandellas notably promoted the song while performing onSoul Train around that time. It would become the group's 24th and last single to appear on theBillboard Hot 100. In response to the song's moderate success, Motown issued what would be the final album from the group,Black Magic, in 1972. The group's final singles, "In and Out of My Life" and "Tear It On Down", the latter originally recorded by their former collaboratorMarvin Gaye, were only modestly successful on the R&B charts.
After holding a concert at Detroit'sCobo Hall on December 21, 1972 with sister Lois Reeves and Tilley, it was reported in March 1973 that Reeves had made the decision to leave the Vandellas, promptly ending the group as a recording unit. After learning of Motown's permanent move to Los Angeles, Reeves decided to leave Motown as well, negotiating her way out of her contract with the label.[12] Reeves wrote in her memoirs,Dancing in the Street: Confessions of a Motown Diva, that she thought ofretirement until her longtime friend,Eddie Kendricks, formerly ofThe Temptations, convinced her to continue her career. Reeves decided to relocate to Los Angeles and signed toMCA Records, where her self-titled debut,Martha Reeves, produced byrock producerRichard Perry, was released.[5] The album was a critical success but failed to produce hits despite Reeves performing well-received renditions ofJoe Simon's "Power of Love" andVan Morrison's "Wild Night". Reeves would continue to record with various labels includingFantasy Records andArista Records with little success. During the mid-1970s, Reeves fell into an addiction tococaine and alcohol as well as prescription medication. However, after a visit to a Baptist church in 1977, Reeves became aborn-again Christian.[5][13]
After the Vandellas' disbandment, Lois Reeves sang with the group Quiet Elegance and sang background forAl Green, while Sandra Tilley retired from show business in 1972, dying of abrain aneurysm in 1983 at the age of thirty-seven. Original member Gloria Williams, who retired from show business when she left the group, died in 2000.
In 1978, Reeves and original Vandellas Ashford and Beard reunited at a Los Angeles benefit concert for actorWill Geer.
In 1983, Reeves successfully sued forroyalties from her Motown hits and the label agreed to have the songs credited asMartha Reeves and the Vandellas from then on.[5] That year, Reeves performed solo atMotown 25,[14] which alongside some of their songs being placed on theBig Chill soundtrack, helped Reeves and the Vandellas gain a new audience.
In 1998, Reeves and her sister Vandellas performed during the Half Time Show atSuper Bowl XXXII.[15]
In 1989, original members Ashford and Beard also sued Motown for royalties. During this time, the original trio were inspired to reunite both as a recording act and in performances.[5] They were offered a recording contract with Ian Levine atMotorcity Records who issued the group's first single since the Vandellas disbanded seventeen years earlier called "Step into My Shoes".
Although they are no longer singing together full-time, Martha Reeves and the Vandellas have occasionally reunited for various concerts. Ashford, whose full name now isRosalind Ashford-Holmes, and Beard, whose full name now isAnnette Beard-Helton (Sterling), performed as "The Original Vandellas", with other singers, most notablyMary Wilson ofthe Supremes,[16] Pat Lewis,[17] and Roschelle Laughhunn. Reeves, with her sisters Lois and Delphine Reeves, tour as "Martha Reeves and the Vandellas".
In 2004, Reeves, with her sister Vandellas, appeared on the NBC special "Motown 45".[18]
In 2006, Holmes and Beard-Helton appeared as the "Bingo Mamas" in the musical comedy "Father Bingo" which premiered at the Detroit Music Hall Center.[19]
In 2023, Holmes and Beard-Helton (with Laughhunn) provided backup vocals for the single "Vandellas Dance" with lead by Mark Scott fromThe Miracles.[20]
In 2024, Reeves and her sister Vandellas appeared on the NBC special "A Motown Christmas".[21]
As of 2025, Beard-Helton (now known as Annette Sterling) appears with E. Young and Company.[22]
A remake of the song "Nowhere To Run", sung by Arnold McCuller, is heard in the film "The Warriors" during the scene in which the Gramercy Riffs call a hit on the Warriors.
In a Season One episode of the television showThe Golden Girls,Blanche described her car as the "noisiest thing to come out of Detroit since Martha & The Vandellas."[23]
Candice Bergen, who hosted theSaturday Night Live episode on which Martha Reeves appeared in its inaugural season, made sure that Martha Reeves and the Vandellas were a presence throughout her "Murphy Brown" series. The group's picture was displayed prominently in Murphy's office. WhenAretha Franklin guest starred and Murphy tried to sing with her, Franklin stopped her, saying, "I'm not Martha, and you ain't no Vandella."
The group is briefly portrayed in the 2017 filmDetroit, performing "Nowhere to Run" at theFox Theatre in Detroit.[24]
In 1993, Martha Reeves and the Vandellas were awarded the Pioneer Award by the Rhythm & Blues Foundation.
Except for pre-Vandellas member Gloria Williamson and Vandellas member Sandra Tilley, all members of the group were inducted to theRock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1995, becoming the second all-female group to be inducted. They were inducted by rock groupThe B-52's, whose frothy dance music was inspired by the Vandellas.[25][26]
Martha and the Vandellas' "Dancing in the Street" was inducted into theGrammy Hall of Fame in 1999 (they were nominated forBest R&B Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group for the song in 1964).
Two of their singles, "(Love Is Like a) Heat Wave" and "Dancing in the Street" were included in the list ofThe Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.
They were inducted into theVocal Group Hall of Fame in 2003.[27]
In 2004,Rolling Stone ranked the group No. 96 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.[28]
In 2005, Martha & the Vandellas were voted into the Michigan Rock and Roll Legends Hall of Fame.[29]
Martha Reeves and the Vandellas were nominated for UK Festival Awards in 2010 and 2011 as "Best Headliner".
Martha and the Vandellas were inducted in the inaugural class of theNational Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame on August 17, 2013.[30]
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For a detailed listing of albums and singles, seeMartha and the Vandellas discography
The following singles reached the top 10 on theBillboard Hot 100 song chart in the U.S.[31]
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