Did you know that Martha Reeves is currently a Detroit City councilwoman? In fact she is. Martha Reeves and the Vandellas help show the great versatility of Motown music. Whereas the Supremes were heavily Doo-Wop influenced, Reeves was a gospel singer early on. Working with the Funk Brothers you can clearly hear the more soulful, gospel influenced sounds the group recorded. Reeves supplied the alto vocals while Vandellas Rosalind Ashford's soprano and Annette Beard's contralto rounded out the sweet sweet harmonies.
It was the Vandellas who were the original break out successes of the Motown girl groups with hits like 'Jimmy Mack', Dancing in the Streets' and 'Quicksand'. As fate would have it, Berry Gordy had his thing for The Supremes and they were then the more heavily promoted group ultimately becoming the face of Motown.
Here's Martha and the Vandellas (their original name) with 'Nowhere to Run' from 1965
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