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JANICE'S BLUES ALLEY PRESENTS



THE MARVELETTES



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The Marvelettes

biography albums video

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Video link
 
Please Mr. Postman
Don't Mess With Bill
The Hunter Gets Captured By The Game


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biography
Probably the most pop-oriented of Motown's major female acts, the Marvelettes didn't project as strong an identity as the Supremes, Mary Wells, or Martha Reeves, but recorded quite a few hits, including Motown's first number one single, "Please Mr. Postman" (1961). "Postman," as well as other chirpy early-'60s hits like "Playboy," "Twistin' Postman," and "Beechwood 4-5789," were the label's purest girl group efforts. Featuring two strong lead singers, Gladys Horton and Wanda Young, the Marvelettes went through five different lineups, but maintained a high standard on their recordings. After a few years, they moved from girl group sounds to up-tempo and mid-tempo numbers that were more characteristic of Motown's production line. They received no small help from Smokey Robinson, who produced and wrote many of their singles; Holland-Dozier-Holland, Berry Gordy, Mickey Stevenson, Marvin Gaye, and Ashford-Simpson also got involved with the songwriting and production at various points. After the mid-'60s Wanda Young assumed most of the lead vocal duties; Gladys Horton departed from the group in the late '60s. While the Marvelettes didn't cut as many monster smashes as most of their Motown peers after the early '60s, they did periodically surface with classic hits like "Too Many Fish in the Sea," "Don't Mess With Bill," and "The Hunter Gets Captured by the Game." There were also plenty of fine minor hits and misses, like 1965's "I'll Keep Holding On," which is just as memorable as the well-known Motown chart-toppers of the era. The group quietly disbanded in the early '70s after several years without a major hit.


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LINKSYEARTITLE
1961  Please Mr. Postman1961 Please Mr. Postman
1962  Playboy1962 Playboy
1963  The Marvelettes Recorded Live On Stage1963 The Marvelettes Recorded Live On Stage
1963  The Marvelous Marvelettes1963 The Marvelous Marvelettes
1967  The Marvelettes 1967 The Marvelettes


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Albums

1961 Please Mr. Postman

01. Angel
02. I Want A Guy
03. Please Mr. Postman
04. So Long Baby
05. I Know How It Feels
06. Way Over There
07. Happy Days
08. You Don't Want Me No More
09. All The Love I Got
10. Whisper
11. I Apologize

1962 Playboy

01. Playboy
02. Mix It Up 4
03. Beechwood 45789
04. I'm Hooked
05. I Think I Can Change You
06. Forever
07. Someday, Someway
08. Goddess Of Love
09. You Should Know
10. (I've Got To) Cry Over You

1963 The Marvelettes Recorded Live On Stage

01. Beechwood
02. Strange I Know
03. Someday, Someway
04. Locking Up My Heart
05. Twistin' Postman
06. Tossing And Turning
07. So Long Baby
08. Playboy


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1963 The Marvelous Marvelettes

01. Strange I Know
02. I Forgot About You
03. Locking Up My Heart
04. Which Way Did He Go
05. Silly Boy
06. It's Going To Take A Lot Of Doing
07. Smart Aleck
08. My Daddy Knows Best
09. Too Strong To Be Strung Along
10. Why Must You Go

1967 The Marvelettes

01. Barefootin'
02. Message To Michael'
03. The Hunter Gets Captured By The Game'
04. When You're Young And In Love'
05. I Know Better'
06. I Can't Turn Around'
07. He Was Really Sayin' Somthin''
08. The Day You Take One (You Have To Take The Other)'
09. When I Need You'
10. Keep Off, No Trespassing'
11. This Night Was Made For Love'
12. I Need Someone
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