Sep 8, 2025
The Marvelettes, (l to r) Wanda Young, Katherine Anderson, Georgeanna Tillman and Gladys Horton, circa 1963
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The Marvelettes, (l to r) Wanda Young, Katherine Anderson, Georgeanna Tillman and Gladys Horton, circa 1963
The Marvelettes 1963
📷 James Kriegsmann/Motown/Tamla Records/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images via Rolling Stone Magazine
The Marvelettes debut album was released on 20 November 1961.
In the fall of 1960, 15-year-old Gladys Horton formed a singing group with 16-year-old Katherine Anderson, 16-year-old Georgeanna Tillman, and 18-year-old Georgia Dobbins. The group (then known as The Marvels) entered a talent contest where the top 3 acts won an audition at Motown. The Marvels finished 4th. Schoolteachers convinced Motown to give them an audition as well.
William Garrett gave Dobbins an unfinished song he’d written, “Please Mr. Postman,” asking for a songwriting credit if they got a contract. Dobbins re-worked the song and took it to the group. Dobbins left before the group entered the studio and was replaced by 17-year-old Wanda Young.
Berry Gordy renamed the group, “Please Mr. Postman” was rewritten by Robert Bateman, Freddie Gorman, and Brian Holland, and the single was released in August 1961. They were the first Motown act to have a #1 hit.
The album received mostly negative reviews (most critics thought it was too rushed to capitalize on the the single) and it did not chart.
(via The Marvelettes’ Wanda Young Dies at 78 | Pitchfork)
RIP Marvelettes singer and UTFO rapper
Sad news today about two criminally underrated musicians from two very different eras and genres:
Remembering Wanda Young 1943-2021
Young (center) with The Marvelettes
Wanda Young, singer for the Motown girl group The Marvelettes, has died at 78. The group had a string of hits in the 60s, but most notably was “Please Mr. Postman” in 1961. In 1963, The Beatles covered the song on their With The Beatles album. I always loved that cover. In 1994 for the movie Backbeat about the early days of The Beatles, the Backbeat Band (made up of Dave Grohl, Thurston Moore, Greg Dulli, Mike Mills and more) covered it for the soundtrack as well.
The link above is the obit from Rolling Stone.
Remembering Kangol Kid 1966-2021
Kangol Kid (center) with UTFO
One of the founding members of NYC rap group UTFO has died at 55. Formed in the early 80s, they are one of the pioneers of hip hop music.
The group’s biggest hit was 1984′s “Roxanne Roxanne”. When I was about 10 or 11, I got the compilation album Rap’s Greatest Hits on tape. It featured so many gold standards of the early rap era: Run DMC, Doug E. Fresh, The Fat Boys, Whodini and more. Among the tracks on that album was "Roxanne, Roxanne”. The group later collaborated with Anthrax too.
The link above is the obit from Rolling Stone.
The Marvelettes -- Katherine, Wanda, and Gladys
by Walter Yablonsky
The Marvelettes was 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 was replaced by Wanda Young prior to the group signing their first deal.
Years active: 1960–1970