Martha and the Vandellas were an American vocal girl group formed in Detroit in 1957. The group achieved fame in the 1960s with Motown.
Martha Rose Reeves is an American R&B and pop singer and former politician. She is the lead singer of the Motown girl group Martha and the Vandellas which 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". From 2005 until 2009, Reeves served as an elected council woman for the city of Detroit, Michigan.
Syreeta Wright, who recorded professionally under the single name Syreeta, was an American singer-songwriter, best known for her music during the early 1970s through the early 1980s. Wright's career heights were songs in collaboration with her ex-husband Stevie Wonder and musical artist Billy Preston.
The Andantes were an American female session group for the Motown record label during the 1960s. Composed of Jackie Hicks, Marlene Barrow, and Louvain Demps, the group sang background vocals on numerous Motown recordings, including songs by Martha Reeves & the Vandellas, the Temptations, Stevie Wonder, the Four Tops, Jimmy Ruffin, Edwin Starr, the Supremes, the Marvelettes, Marvin Gaye and the Isley Brothers, among others. It is estimated they appeared on 20,000 recordings.
Love Child is the fifteenth studio album released by Diana Ross & the Supremes for the Motown label in 1968. The LP was the group's first studio LP not to include any songs written or produced by any member of the Holland–Dozier–Holland production team, who had previously overseen most of the Supremes' releases.
Rosalind "Roz" Ashford-Holmes is an American soprano R&B and soul singer, known for her work as an original member of the Motown singing group Martha and the Vandellas.
"I Can't Dance to That Music You're Playin'" is a 1968 funk-soul single by Motown girl group Martha and the Vandellas.
"(We've Got) Honey Love" is a 1967 song by Motown girl group The Velvelettes that later became a 1969 single released by another Motown girl group Martha and the Vandellas from their album Ridin' High released in 1968. The song returned the Vandellas to the top forty of Billboard's R&B singles chart where it peaked at number twenty-seven while it hit the Billboard Hot 100 peaking at number fifty-seven. It was the group's sixth record where they were listed as Martha Reeves and the Vandellas following the successful "Honey Chile" single two years earlier. The song talked of how one woman's lover's charm was like "sugar and spice" adding names of candy and soda adding "a little bit of me, a little bit of you and we've got honey love." The Velvelettes, meanwhile, had recorded two versions of the song, both of which would go unreleased for almost 40 years. All three versions were written by Richard Morris and Sylvia Moy, and produced by Morris. Every version also used the same track with The Andantes as background vocals.
Heat Wave is the second studio album released by American Motown girl group Martha and the Vandellas. Released in 1963 on Motown's Gordy imprint, intended to capitalize on the success of the title track, which rose to number four on the pop singles chart and number one on the R&B singles chart. The album was produced by Holland–Dozier–Holland and William "Mickey" Stevenson. This was the last album to feature original Vandella Annette Beard.
Come and Get These Memories is the debut album by the American girl group Martha and the Vandellas, released in 1963. Put out by Gordy after the success of the trio's hit of the same name, the album also contains the group's debut single, "I'll Have to Let Him Go", which was originally intended for Mary Wells, and "A Love Like Yours ". Most of the album was produced by Holland–Dozier–Holland and William "Mickey" Stevenson.
Dance Party is a 1965 studio album released by American Motown and soul girl group Martha and the Vandellas on the Gordy (Motown) label. The album was the group's third and, much like The Miracles' Mickey's Monkey album, mainly consisted of dance tunes. The singles featured on the album were their 1964 landmark single, "Dancing in the Street", their follow-up smash, "Wild One", and the hit "Nowhere to Run" and its b-side, "Motoring". The album was mostly produced by William "Mickey" Stevenson with several nods from Holland–Dozier–Holland.
Watchout! is the fourth studio album and fifth album overall by Martha and the Vandellas, released on the Gordy (Motown) label in 1966. The album included the top 10 hit singles, "I'm Ready for Love" and "Jimmy Mack" and the ballad single, "What Am I Gonna Do Without Your Love?". This was one of the last albums by the group with songs by Holland–Dozier–Holland who, the following year, left Motown, and with William "Mickey" Stevenson, who helped put the group on the musical map. The title of the album was derived from a song on the B-side of their hit single "My Baby Loves Me" entitled "Never Leave Your Baby's Side". That song's chorus warned to "Watchout!" for "other girls" who could steal your man.
"Ridin' High" is a 1968 soul album released by Motown girl group Martha and the Vandellas on the Gordy (Motown) label. This album featured the last Top 40 pop hits scored by the group during their recording tenure, "Love Bug Leave My Heart Alone" and "Honey Chile". It was a series of firsts for the group: it was the first album without the help of since departed producers William "Mickey" Stevenson and Holland–Dozier–Holland, however, Motown included one HDH track on the album, "Leave It In The Hands Of Love." Also on Ridin' High is a cover version of Dionne Warwick's then recent hit "I Say a Little Prayer."
Natural Resources is a 1970 soul album released by Motown girl group Martha Reeves and the Vandellas on the Gordy (Motown) label. The album is significant for the Vietnam War ballad "I Should Be Proud" and the slow jam, "Love Guess Who". The album marked a return from lead singer Martha Reeves, recovering from a time in a mental institution after an addiction to painkillers nearly wrecked her. This was the next-to-last album for the Vandellas, whose success had peaked in the mid-1960s.
Black Magic is a 1972 soul album released by Martha Reeves and the Vandellas on the Gordy (Motown) label. It is the last studio album issued by the group after ten years with the label. The album is significant for featuring the group's biggest hit of the decade with the Jackson 5-esque "Bless You". The track returned the Vandellas to chart success briefly in the US reaching number fifty-three pop, number twenty-nine R&B and reaching number thirty-three on the UK pop singles chart. It was also a top twenty hit in Canada reaching number sixteen on the chart, and a top ten single in Puerto Rico, where it reached the number two position. Two other subsequent singles, "In and Out of My Life" and "Tear It on Down", were the trio's last Billboard charted hits reaching the top 40 on the R&B charts. "No One There" was released in the UK as a solo single for Reeves. The album has become a cult classic amongst the group's hard core fans.
Signed, Sealed & Delivered is the 12th studio album by American recording artist Stevie Wonder, released on August 7, 1970, by Tamla Records. The album featured four hits that hit the Billboard Hot 100: "Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours" (#3), "Heaven Help Us All" (#9), "Never Had a Dream Come True" (#26) and Wonder's cover of The Beatles' "We Can Work It Out" (#13). The album hit #25 on the Billboard Pop Albums chart as well as #7 on the R&B Albums chart.
Annette Beard, also known as Annette Helton or Annette Sterling, is an American R&B and soul singer. Beard is best known for her work with Motown and as an original member of the singing group Martha and the Vandellas during the 1960s. Beard is currently known as a member of the singing group The Original Vandellas.
Sandra Delores Reeves, better known as Lois Reeves, is an American singer, most notable for being the younger sister of Motown legend Martha Reeves, for having replaced popular Martha and the Vandellas member Betty Kelly as member of her sister's group in 1967, and for later singing background for records by Al Green in the 1970s as a member of the backing group Quiet Elegance. Lois' nickname was "Pee Wee" as she is only 5'1" tall.
Sophisticated Soul is the eighth album issued by Motown girl-group The Marvelettes. It is the first album to feature Ann Bogan who replaced Gladys Horton in 1967, and most of the lead vocals are by Wanda Young. Like many Motown albums produced in the late 1960s, Sophisticated Soul featured backing from The Andantes, Motown's premier backing group, on certain tracks, others feature Bogan and Katherine Anderson.
"There He Is " is a 1962 song and B-side single written and composed by all three line-ups of what would soon be Motown's main production team. Credited to the Vells the performers on both sides of the single were an early version of the group that would be better known as Martha and the Vandellas. The single is also notable as the last one the label subsidiary would release under an R&B/soul music format, changing that point onward to a country music subsidiary.
