''Please Mr. Postman'' is the 1961 studio debut

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

from Motown girl group The Marvelettes and the sixth album ever released by the company. The focal track is the number-one hit single, "

Please Mr. Postman "Please Mr. Postman" is a song written by Georgia Dobbins, William Garrett, Freddie Gorman, Brian Holland and Robert Bateman. It is the debut single by the Marvelettes for the Tamla (Motown) label, notable as the first Motown song to reach the ...

". The album notably features cover versions of label mates The Miracles' " Way Over There" and " I Want a Guy", which was the debut single for fellow Motown girl group

The Supremes The Supremes were an American girl group and a premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s. Founded as the Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, the Supremes were the most commercially successful of Motown's acts and the most successf ...

the same year, and their cover had served as the b-side to "

Twistin' Postman "Twistin' Postman" is a song recorded by Motown singing group The Marvelettes, who released it in 1961, and was the follow-up to their smash debut single, " Please Mr. Postman". Background Like their previous single, the vocals are led by origin ...

" the less successful follow-up to "Please Mr. Postman." Although the original version by The Supremes flopped, The Marvelettes' cover became a regional hit. Other songs on the album include "Oh I Apologize", produced by

Smokey Robinson William "Smokey" Robinson Jr. (born February 19, 1940) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and former record executive director. He was the founder and front man of the Motown vocal group the Miracles, for which he was also chi ...

, who would produce much of the group's later material, and "Angel," an early lead for Wanda Young who would later take Gladys Horton's place as the group's main lead singer. The album art for "Please Mr. Postman" did not contain any images of The Marvelettes, because including

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

artists on album covers did not become customary until around 1963. ''Please Mr. Postman'' received mainly negative reviews as it was believed to have been "too rushed" so that the focal track's success could be capitalized. All of the tracks from the album can be found on the Hip-O Select deluxe compilation CD ''Forever: The Complete Motown Albums''.

Track listing

''Superscript identifies lead singer: (a) Gladys Horton, or (b) Wanda Young''

Side 1

#"Angel" ( Sonny Sanders, Robert Bateman) ^b #" I Want a Guy" ( Brian Holland, Freddie Gorman, Berry Gordy) ^b #"

" ( Georgia Dobbins, William Garrett, Freddie Gorman, Brian Holland, Robert Bateman) ^a #"So Long Baby" (James Young, Brian Holland, Robert Bateman) ^b #"I Know How It Feels" ( Janie Bradford, Robert Bateman, Richard Wylie) ^b

Side 2

#" Way Over There" (Berry Gordy, William Robinson) ^a #"Happy Days" (Berry Gordy) ^a #"You Don't Want Me No More" (Berry Gordy) ^a #"All the Love I Got" (Berry Gordy, Janie Bradford) ^a #"Whisper" (Berry Gordy, Marv Johnson) ^b #"Oh I Apologize" (Berry Gordy, William Robinson) ^a

Personnel

;The Marvelettes * Gladys Horton – lead and background vocals * Wanda Young – lead and background vocals *

Georgeanna Tillman The Marvelettes were an American girl group that achieved popularity in the early to mid-1960s. They consisted of schoolmates Gladys Horton, Katherine Anderson, Georgeanna Tillman, Juanita Cowart (now Cowart Motley), and Georgia Dobbins, who ...

– background vocals * Katherine Anderson – background vocals *

Juanita Cowart The Marvelettes were an American girl group that achieved popularity in the early to mid-1960s. They consisted of schoolmates Gladys Horton, Katherine Anderson, Georgeanna Tillman, Juanita Cowart (now Cowart Motley), and Georgia Dobbins, who wa ...

– background vocals with: * Berry Gordy – producer *

– producer * Brian Holland and Robert Bateman – producers * Raynoma Liles Gordy –

Musitron The clavioline is an electronic keyboard instrument, a forerunner to the analog synthesizer. It was invented by French engineer Constant Martin in 1947 in Versailles. The instrument consists of a keyboard and a separate amplifier and speaker ...

and Ondioline on "I Want a Guy" * The Funk Brothers – other instrumentation:The Complete Motown Singles Vol. 1: 1959-1961

iner notes Iner or INER may refer to: * Institute of Nuclear Energy Research, or INER * Iner Souster FemBots are a Canadian indie rock band from Toronto formed in 1998. FemBots are known for their unique sound of combining instrumental everyday items, junk ...

New York: Hip-O Select/Motown/Universal Records ** Richard "Popcorn" Wylie – piano on "Please Mr. Postman", organ on "I Want a Guy" **

James Jamerson James Lee Jamerson (January 29, 1936 – August 2, 1983) was an American bass player. He was the uncredited bassist on most of the Motown Records hits in the 1960s and early 1970s (Motown did not list session musician credits on their releases ...

– bass on "Please Mr. Postman" and "I Want a Guy" ** Marvin Gaye – drums on "Please Mr. Postman", piano on "I Want a Guy" ** Benny Benjamin – drums on "I Want a Guy" ** Eddie Willis – guitar on "Please Mr. Postman" and "I Want a Guy" ** Hank Cosby – tenor saxophone on "I Want a Guy" ** Andrew "Mike" Terry – baritone saxophone on "I Want a Guy"

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Please Mr. Postman (Album) 1961 debut albums The Marvelettes albums Albums produced by Berry Gordy Albums produced by Smokey Robinson Albums produced by Brian Holland Tamla Records albums Albums recorded at Hitsville U.S.A.