Detroit girl group The Marvelettes formed around 1961, after auditioning at a high school talent show, they won the opportunity to audition at Motown Records. As a group of seventeen year old girls, their confidence as a girl group was yet to form thus them originally starting out as the 'Casinyets' which stood for can't sing yet. They managed to pass their first audition with passing colours and stunned Berry Gordy, although he was still unsure of their songwriting ability, they were clearly influenced by the earlier girl group sounds of the time meaning they auditioned with a few tracks by The Chantels & The Shirelles , Berry asked them to return home and come back with something original and unique to perform for him to secure themselves a place at Motown records. Having no previous songwriting experience meant the girls were starting from scratch, fortunately they met with a songwriter friend of theirs William Garnett who showed them a blues song called "Please Mr. Postman" which would of course later prove to be the most well known song they ever released.
After returning to Motown, Berry renamed the group The Marvelettes and "Please Mr Postman" Was released the same year on Tamla Motown. The track proved to be successful, staying in the R&B chart for over 14 weeks and eventually reaching number 1, which of course created a rivalry between The Marvelettes and the record label's other girl group The Supremes, whom had signed to the label 4 months previous.
The main thing for me which defines the main difference between The Marvelettes and The Supremes, is that The Supremes already had a head start in the industry by coming straight from the projects, and happening to all be absolutely stunning. Whereas The Marvelettes may not have been graced with the sale-able features of The Supremes, there is something very real and humble about them as a group. Their vocals are even more raspy and raw in my opinion, with far more versatility than The Supremes. You can just feel the teenage desperation, heartbreak and confusion. To this day I believe they are one of the most underrated girl groups on Motown and some of their lesser heard tracks have definitely been overlooked. I shall expand the mind's of those of you who may not have heard many of their other tracks, by introducing you to some of my favourite tracks.
Featuring Melvin Franklin of The Temptations. This is a wonderful slow tempo track, with a great beat.
This song means a lot to me on a multitude of levels, lyrically and vocally it's a really powerful track. Gladys sings every word of this song with such conviction it gives me chills everytime!
Classic Motown girl group sound right here, the usual teachings of a woman scorned when a track opens with "When you give more than you get... you're in danger..".
A regular at Northern Soul allnighters, this 1965 track is guaranteed to fill a dancefloor in seconds. That opening beat gets me everytime, you just can't sit down.
After returning to Motown, Berry renamed the group The Marvelettes and "Please Mr Postman" Was released the same year on Tamla Motown. The track proved to be successful, staying in the R&B chart for over 14 weeks and eventually reaching number 1, which of course created a rivalry between The Marvelettes and the record label's other girl group The Supremes, whom had signed to the label 4 months previous.
The main thing for me which defines the main difference between The Marvelettes and The Supremes, is that The Supremes already had a head start in the industry by coming straight from the projects, and happening to all be absolutely stunning. Whereas The Marvelettes may not have been graced with the sale-able features of The Supremes, there is something very real and humble about them as a group. Their vocals are even more raspy and raw in my opinion, with far more versatility than The Supremes. You can just feel the teenage desperation, heartbreak and confusion. To this day I believe they are one of the most underrated girl groups on Motown and some of their lesser heard tracks have definitely been overlooked. I shall expand the mind's of those of you who may not have heard many of their other tracks, by introducing you to some of my favourite tracks.
Featuring Melvin Franklin of The Temptations. This is a wonderful slow tempo track, with a great beat.
This song means a lot to me on a multitude of levels, lyrically and vocally it's a really powerful track. Gladys sings every word of this song with such conviction it gives me chills everytime!
Classic Motown girl group sound right here, the usual teachings of a woman scorned when a track opens with "When you give more than you get... you're in danger..".
A regular at Northern Soul allnighters, this 1965 track is guaranteed to fill a dancefloor in seconds. That opening beat gets me everytime, you just can't sit down.
I am crazy about this song, the bass line is killer and the lyrics are despairingly apt.
So, by far my favourite 60s Girl Group, I encourage those of you with a penchant for uptempo detroit sounds to go and purchase one of their 45s, It's a must for any box. Also ... Just look at their 'dos .... total hair envy.
Be Well
Samira
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