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The Vandellas
Martha and the Vandellas (known from 1967 to 1973 as Martha Reeves & the Vandellas) were an American girl group formed in Detroit, Michigan in 1957. The group achieved fame in the 1960s as a major act for Motown Records. Formed by friends Annette Beard, Rosalind Ashford and Gloria Williams, Martha Reeves eventually joined the group, and she became its lead vocalist after Williams' departure in 1962. The group signed with Gordy Records, a subsidiary of Motown. The group's hits included "Heat Wave" (1963), "Quicksand" (1963), "Dancing in the Street" (1964), " Nowhere to Run" (1965), "I'm Ready for Love" (1966), "Jimmy Mack" (1967) and " Honey Chile" (1967). Six of the group's songs reached the top ten on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart and thirteen of their songs reached the top twenty on the US ''Billboard'' R&B singles chart, including two number ones. Selected members of the group were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995 and the National Rhythm & Blues Hal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rosalind Ashford
Rosalind "Roz" Ashford-Holmes (born September 2, 1943) is an American soprano R&B and Soul music, soul singer, known for her work as an original member of the Motown singing group Martha and the Vandellas. Early years Born Rosalind Ashford on September 2, 1943, to John and Mary Ashford in Detroit, Michigan, Ashford sang in church choirs and learned to dance in local centers. Developing a passion for music, she joined the glee club and mixed choruses while attending Murray-Wright High School, Wilbur Wright High School. According to Ashford, in 1957 her mother and sister helped land her an audition at a local Detroit YMCA club, where a man named Edward "Pops" Larkins recruited her, Annette Beard and Gloria Williams to form a sister group to a male vocal group. Martha Reeves, contrary to belief, was not an original member of The Del-Phis, as she was a member of another group. Reeves would not join until 1960. Naming themselves The Del-Phis, the group performed in local benefit pa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Quicksand (Martha And The Vandellas Song)
"Quicksand" is a song recorded by the Motown girl group Martha and the Vandellas. It was written by the songwriting team of Holland-Dozier-Holland and released as a single in November 1963. Background "Quicksand" was built around a similar gospel-inspired delivery of the Martha and the Vandellas' breakout hit " Heat Wave", but with a slightly slower tempo and a harder edge. Like "Heat Wave", it features an analogy to a natural phenomenon, with the narrator comparing falling in love to sinking in quicksand. ''Cash Box'' said that "it continues the hard-hitting excitement of Heat Wave']." "Quicksand" was Martha and the Vandellas' third single to be written by Holland–Dozier–Holland, who would later write songs for other Motown artists such as The Supremes and the Four Tops. Personnel *Lead vocals by Martha Reeves *Background vocals by Rosalind Ashford and Annette Beard *Produced by Brian Holland and Lamont Dozier *Written by Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier and Edward Holland ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Checker Records
Checker Records is a defunct record label that was started in 1952 as a subsidiary of Chess Records in Chicago, Illinois. The label was founded by the Chess brothers, Leonard and Phil, who ran the label until they sold it to General Recorded Tape (GRT) in 1969, shortly before Leonard's death. The label released recordings by mostly African American artists and groups. Checker's releases cover a wide range of genres including blues ( Little Walter, Sonny Boy Williamson II), rhythm and blues (Sax Mallard, Jimmy McCracklin), doo-wop ( The Flamingos, The Moonglows, The Students), gospel (Aretha Franklin, Five Blind Boys of Mississippi), rock and roll (Bo Diddley, Dale Hawkins), and soul ( Gene Chandler). The label was discontinued in 1971 following GRT's consolidation of the Chess catalogs. As with Cadet and Chess, the label's catalog is now owned by Universal Music Group and releases from the Checker catalog are released by Geffen Records and Chess. History Due to the rec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alabama
Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 30th largest by area, and the List of U.S. states and territories by population, 24th-most populous of the List of states and territories of the United States, 50 U.S. states. Alabama is nicknamed the ''Northern flicker, Yellowhammer State'', after the List of U.S. state birds, state bird. Alabama is also known as the "Heart of Dixie" and the "Cotton State". The state has diverse geography, with the north dominated by the mountainous Tennessee Valley and the south by Mobile Bay, a historically significant port. Alabama's capital is Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery, and its largest city by population and area is Huntsville, Ala ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maxine Powell
Maxine Powell (May 30, 1915 – October 14, 2013) was an American etiquette instructor and talent agent. She taught grooming, poise, and social graces to many recording artists at Motown in the 1960s. Biography Born Maxine Blair in Texarkana, Texas, she was raised by her aunt in Chicago, Illinois. She graduated from Hyde Park High School in 1933, attended Madam C.J. Walker's School of Beauty Culture, and worked as a manicurist to finance her acting studies; she also studied elocution and dance. In the early 1940s she worked as a model and as a personal maid, and she developed a one-woman show, ''An Evening with Maxine Powell'', which she performed with a group at the Chicago Theatre. She moved to Detroit, Michigan, in 1945 and taught self-improvement and modeling classes before opening the Maxine Powell Finishing and Modeling School in 1951. She bought a large house in 1953, which became the largest banquet facility in Detroit for African Americans, and worked as a talent a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
National Rhythm & Blues Hall Of Fame
The National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame is an independent organization whose mission is to educate and to celebrate, preserve, promote, and present rhythm and blues music globally. History The National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame was founded in 2010. Its name was originally the Official Rhythm & Blues Music Hall of Fame. It was founded and developed by American professional basketball player LaMont "ShowBoat" Robinson, who is also an R&B activist and an entrepreneur. Robinson's love for R&B and soul music began at an early age. He would often attend music practice sessions with his musician uncle, a house band member at Leo's Casino, a night club in Cleveland, Ohio. It was one of the premier clubs in the Midwest during the 1960s for R&B, jazz, and African American comedians such as The Supremes, Marvin Gaye, Ray Charles, Redd Foxx, Flip Wilson, Richard Pryor and Otis Redding. Robinson's love for R&B inspired him to start collecting memorabilia and artifacts that reflecte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), also simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music and the artists, producers, engineers, and other notable figures and personnel who have influenced its development. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation was established on April 20, 1983, by Ahmet Ertegun, founder and chairman of Atlantic Records. After a long search for the right city, Cleveland was chosen in 1986 as the Hall of Fame's permanent home. Architect I. M. Pei designed the new museum, and it was dedicated on September 1, 1995. Foundation The RRHOF Foundation was established in 1983 by Ahmet Ertegun, who assembled a team that included publisher of ''Rolling Stone'' magazine publisher Jann S. Wenner, record executives Seymour Stein, Bob Krasnow, and Noreen Woods, and attorneys Allen Grubman and Suzan Evans. The Foundation began ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 positions but was shortened to 50 positions in October 2012. The chart is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African-American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, rock and roll, soul, and funk, it is today dominated by contemporary R&B and hip hop. Since its inception, the chart has changed its name many times in order to accurately reflect the industry at the time. History Beginning in 1942, ''Billboard'' published a chart of bestselling African-American music, first as the Harlem Hit Parade, then as Race Records. Then in 1949, ''Billboard'' began publishing a Rhythm and Blues chart, which entered "R&B" into mainstream lexicon. These three ch ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Billboard (magazine)
''Billboard'' (stylized in letter case, lowercase since 2013) is an American music and entertainment magazine published weekly by Penske Media Corporation. The magazine provides music charts, news, video, opinion, reviews, events and styles related to the music industry. Its Billboard charts, music charts include the Billboard Hot 100, Hot 100, the Billboard 200, 200, and the Billboard Global 200, Global 200, tracking the most popular albums and songs in various music genres. It also hosts events, owns a publishing firm and operates several television shows. ''Billboard'' was founded in 1894 by William Donaldson and James Hennegan as a trade publication for bill posters. Donaldson acquired Hennegan's interest in 1900 for $500. In the early years of the 20th century, it covered the entertainment industry, such as circuses, fairs and burlesque shows, and also created a mail service for travelling entertainers. ''Billboard'' began focusing more on the music industry as the jukebox ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Billboard Hot 100
The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), online streaming, and radio airplay in the U.S. A new chart is compiled and released online to the public by ''Billboard''s website on Tuesdays but post-dated to the following Saturday, when the printed magazine first reaches newsstands. The weekly tracking period for sales is currently Friday–Thursday, after being changed in July 2015. It was initially Monday–Sunday when Nielsen started tracking sales in 1991. This tracking period also applies to compiling online streaming data. Radio airplay is readily available on a real-time basis, unlike sales figures and streaming, but is also tracked on the same Friday–Thursday cycle, effective with the chart dated July 17, 2021. Previously, radio was tracked Monday–Sunday and, before Ju ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Honey Chile
"Honey Chile" is a 1967 single by Martha Reeves and the Vandellas on the Gordy label, a subsidiary of Motown Records. Written by Richard Morris and Sylvia Moy, and produced by Morris, this was the first single to bill the group's name as Martha Reeves and the Vandellas as opposed to Martha and the Vandellas. "Honey Chile" rose to number eleven on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart and number five on the US ''Billboard'' R&B singles chart. Background The song describes how the narrator (voiced by Martha Reeves) wanting to get rid of her boyfriend who's been courting and dating other girls behind her back though she is too weak to let him go stating "I'll walk a country mile to stay with you". This song, rare for a pop song, actually shows character development: at the end of the first verse she states that she is worthless without him, while in the second to last line she says she will find the strength to leave him. Filled with Southern connotations (inspired by Reeves' bir ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jimmy Mack
"Jimmy Mack" is a pop/soul song that in 1967 became a hit single by Martha and the Vandellas for Motown's Gordy imprint. Written and produced by Motown's main creative team, Holland–Dozier–Holland, "Jimmy Mack" was the final Top 10 pop hit for the Vandellas in the United States, peaking at No.10 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in 1967 and at No.1 on the ''Billboard'' R&B Singles chart. ''Billboard'' named the song No.82 on their list of 100 Greatest Girl Group Songs of All Time. History The song, with a lead vocal by the Vandellas' lead singer Martha Reeves in the 1967 version, is sung from the point of view of a woman who longs for the return of boyfriend "Jimmy Mack". The woman is being courted by another suitor, who she says "talks just as sweet as" her long-gone Jimmy, and she hopes for Jimmy to return before she falls for the other man. The inspiration for the song came from a 1964 music industry awards dinner, which Lamont Dozier attended. At the ceremony the mother o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
