MUSIC LEGEND
“MARTHA REEVES”
Photo credit: david cameron paisley photographer … Thank you
HOLLYWOOD WALK OF FAME STAR - CLASS of 2022
MARTHA REEVES AND THE VANDELLAS -
WATCH HERE LIVE
“MARTHA SAYS…..”
“ I AM STILL DANCING IN THE STREET (AUDIO)
“DANCING IN THE STREET”
When music fans say they love Motown, most people will immediately think of its trademark sound and “classic” pop hits. Millions will go further and name Martha and the Vandellas as their favourite legendary classic Motown artist.
The sound of Martha and the Vandellas was the go to group; known as the throw down, the grittier and soulful girl group.
Martha and the Vandellas, did it right and did it better than anybody else at Hitsville, U.S.A.
(AUDIO) MARTHA REEVES - TALK ABOUT HER LIFE AT HITSVILLE USA - SOME OF THE BEST DAYS IN MUSIC HISTORY
Martha’s career in Motown started in the office of Hitsville USA,…… she was lucky or clever enough to bypass the audition line.
Heading straight to the front she asked to speak to William Stevenson, whose name on the card she had been given a few days earlier after a performance at the “world famous Twenty Grand showroom.” When she entered the office, Stevenson turned out to be an important guy : William”Mickey” Stevenson- “A&R Director of a new black owned recording company, Motown Records, better known as Hitsville U.S.A.”
Although shocked by her for not following protocol, he was also busy—completing a song he was writing for Marvin Gaye. The phone rang and Mickey said: . “While you’re here, answer it, and I’ll be right back.”
Martha was left to answer the phone for the next three hours.
Answering phones lead to a secretarial position and moved on to steady work recording demos—”In fact, I think I recorded more songs on Hitsville than anybody because of that secretary position” says Martha
Her lucky break— then lead to the breakthrough of her career.
NEW BIO PIC: “MY LIFE, MY STORY”
“COMING IN - 2022”
“HER -STORY”: MARTHA REEVES ………. 63 YEARS ON STAGE AND COUNTING…..
HOT HIT: “DANCING IN THE STREET” …… Motown's signature song.
"Dancing in the Street" is a song written by Marvin Gaye, William "Mickey" Stevenson and Ivy Jo Hunter. It became a major HIT on the charts in 1964. Recorded by Martha and the Vandellas whose version reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and peaked at No. 4 in the UK Singles Chart. Today it is one of Motown's signature songs and is the group's premier signature song.
A 1966 cover by the Mamas & the Papas was a minor hit on the Hot 100 reaching No. 73. In 1982, the rock group Van Halen took their cover of "Dancing in the Street" to No. 38 on the Hot 100 chart and No. 15 in Canada on the RPM chart. A 1985 duet cover by David Bowie and Mick Jagger charted at No. 1 in the UK and reached No. 7 in the US. The song has been covered by many other artists, including The Kinks, Tages, Grateful Dead and Myra.
“MY LIFE, MY MUSIC, MY DREAM, MY STORY”
MARTHA REEVES
“When you grow up in the South in the early days with less than,
you have to have faith in progress and opportunity.. . . . .
My parents said, never tire of doing good, never tire!!!,,......”Martha Reeves
HOLLYWOOD WALK OF FAME CLASS 2022 -
STAR - MARTHA REEVES (VIDEO)