with the vandella's
b. 18th July 1941, Alabama, U.S.A.
Texts By Scott Taylor (Thank you very much for your help, Scott)
'Calling out around the world are you ready for a brand new beat?'
Martha Reeves serenades her audience with much pride and assurance, she is the queen of Motown soul.
Born in Alabama during World War II, the soulful Reeves and her (very musical) family made way for Detroit, Michigan, in the late forties in search of a brighter future.
Martha's humble beginning is the American dream.
Her Career at Motown Records began with secretarial duties.
When the late Mary Wells couldn't make a recording session, someone suggested Martha.
She then called two of her friends to help her out and history was made.
Martha and the Vandellas were officially born.
She was a young girl with southern roots working odd jobs to help out at home.
She had to grow up fast.
This is the grit that created stars like James Brown, Tina Turner and Etta James, unafraid of hard work and a challenge.
This grit can be heard on most of Reeves and the Vandellas'most famous hits.
Martha and the Vandellas got their first taste of success with the Holland-Dozier-Holland composition, 'Come and Get These Memories'.
However things really got heated up for the trio when 'Heatwave' was released.
'Heatwave' is considered the true beginning of the Motown sound and giving the writing team, H-D-H their first top ten hit.
After 'Heat Wave', everything changed at Motown, including Martha Reeves.
Now permanently released from her secretarial duties, the young star was performing almost nightly in cities all over the U.S.A, charming inner city crowds in venues such as the Apollo in Harlem, and The Howard theatre in Washington, DC.
When Martha and the Vandellas hit the stage, the crowds were already on their feet dancing wildly to the infectious beat of tunes like "Quicksand", "Livewire" and, of course, "Heatwave".
Martha and the Vandellas hit pay dirt with the hit "Dancing in the Street" That song had people literally jumping out of cars and actually dancing in the street when it hit the airwaves.
It became the sound of urban America, summer maddess or as some will say, the Motown anthem.
The recording went gold depite the controversy. Many Disc Jockey's refused to play the record in beliefs that the song was a call to riot as H. Rap Brown would use the songs tittle in many of his militant speeches.
Many other urban sounding hits quickly followed. Hits like "Wild one" and the hard driving "Nowwhere To Run", a runaway hit that sounds like it were recorded in a Detroit motor factory.
It's message is almost political since a lot of black people in 1965 felt like they had nowhere to run or hide.
Subsequently, some assumed Martha and the Vandellas were radicals. Martha Reeves was a soul queen before Aretha's "Respect" and before Gladys Knight recorded"Grapevine".
She'd sing from her gut, street style. She'd come out on stage glamorized in her Motown uniform: wig/gown/and make-up. However, not too long into her show one could see her sweat the same way her audience did. As the latter part of the 60's approached, Martha Reeves and the Vandellas, once the no.l female group in the world, discovered their only competition was their label mates, the Supremes.
Although many critics felt Martha Reeves went much deeper artistically than her counterpart Diana Ross, the label chose to better promote the Supremes. Perhaps Motown felt Martha and the Vandellas were too "black" for mainstream America.
This lack of attention proved devastating for the band and lead Martha Reeves into a whirlwind of confusion. The once savvy, sassy Detroit youngster with southern flair soon found herself suffering from low self-esteem, drug abuse and a series of
nervous breakdowns.Although the group was now receiving lukewarm record sells in the states, the U.K. and abroad still celebrated the magic of Martha Reeves and the Vandellas.
With the motivational help of people like Eddie Kendricks of the Temptations, Martha rose from her depression, reformed the Vandellas this time with a sexier line up that included her sister Lois Reeves.
Together they toured the U.K. because their release "Forget Me Not" was in the top ten over there.
Although the hit records have stopped, the artist fights back by giving her audience an electrifying show proving that a "true" recording artist can still prevail without a new hit record.
Martha Reeves still entertains audiences and works nearly 42 weeks out of the year. She is an inductee into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Rhythm and Blues Hall of Fame and is a player in the critically acclaimed film "Standing in the Shadows of Motown". She is still a proud, proud soul sister and can make anybody dance.
Albums:
Martha Reeves (MCA 1974)
The Rest Of My Life (Arista 1977)
We Meet Again (Milestone 1978)
Gotta Keep Moving (Fantasy 1980)
