The Vandellas joined Motown in 1962 and sang backing vocals on two singles that year, with two different lead female vocalists credited. Strangely the two A-sides are identical. The first was a Berry Gordy song entitled “Camel Walk”, backed by “The Chaperone”, credited to LaBrenda Ben & the Beljeans. The single was put out on Motown but was quickly withdrawn and switched to Gordy. The second was the same A-side, “Camel Walk”, with a different B-side, “It’s Gonna Be Hard Times”. This Tamla Records’ release was credited to Saundra Mallett & the Vandellas.
In September 1962, the girls finally released a single credited to Martha & the Vandellas on the Gordy label. The song “I’ll Have To Let Him Go”, written and produced by Mickey Stevenson, demonstrates the bouncy, sing-along style that was to become their trademark.
The group originally consisted of four singers who came together in Detroit in 1957, calling themselves the Del-Phis. Three friends set the project up, Annette Beard, Rosalind Ashford and Gloria Williams, with Martha Reeves soon added to the group. They signed their first contract at Chess Records in Chicago in 1960, recording two singles, the first for Checker and the second for Checkmate. Neither sold well.
Martha Reeves soon decided to go solo, in an attempt to find success, and was invited to an audition at Motown after Mickey Stevenson heard her singing in one of Detroit’s clubs. When Reeves got the date wrong and turned up two days early, she was offered a job instead of a contract. She became Stevenson’s secretary and went on to organize auditions at the company. Thanks to that lucky break, the Vandellas (called the Vels at this point) were also called upon to provide backing vocals in Studio A. They feature on Marvin Gaye’s first hit “Stubborn Kind of Fellow”.
That first single credited to them in 1962 also involved a lucky break. “I’ll Have to Let Him Go” was scheduled to be recorded by Mary Wells with the Vels providing backing vocals. However, Wells failed to show up, enabling Martha Reeves to step up for the demo recording, leading the Vels to a contract offer from Mr Gordy. When Gloria Williams decided not to continue, Gordy renamed the group Martha & the Vandellas.
Martha & the Vandellas consolidated their early success with a song written by Holland, Dozier, Holland called “Come and Get These Memories”. It did well in the charts, peaking at number six on the Billboard R&B Singles chart and number twenty-nine on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart, but their next release struck gold!
“Heat Wave” went to number four on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart and stayed at the top of the Billboard R&B Singles chart for five weeks, later earning a gold disc and a Best R&B Grammy nomination in the process. It was also a big-seller across Europe and in other markets. The follow-up single “Quicksand” also made the top ten.
“Heat Wave” was described by Cash Box magazine as a “danceable rock-a-twister”. The insistent backbeat drives the song with the baritone sax punching the rhythm. The vocals have a Gospel tinge. Six of the session men played on the recording: Richard “Pistol” Allen (drums), James Jamerson (double bass), Joe Hunter (piano), Andrew “Mike” Terry (baritone saxophone), plus Robert White and Eddie Willis (guitars). The sound is distinctively Motown. (How can Mike Terry not be included in the “official” list of Funk Brothers?) The ”Heat Wave” single was an international music sensation, that brought the group widespread recognition and opportunities to perform in the UK and other countries.
The first two singles also gave their names to follow-up albums. This was becoming more normal in 1963, as Berry Gordy sought to maximise his artists’ record sales to a market that was increasingly attracted to long-playing records (LPs). As a result of these three Holland, Dozier, Holland-inspired singles, the group became the top girl group of 1963, driving Motown’s development into one of the top R&B record companies in the world.
Header Image: Photo: James Kriegsmann (Wikimedia Commons) (cropped)
