THE MARVELETTES

The Marvelettes were a teenaged girl group who went from an Inkster High School talent show to scoring Motown’s first pop No. 1, “Please Mr. Postman,” their first time out, in 1961. Gladys Horton, Wanda Young, Katherine Anderson, Georgeanna Tillman, and Juanita Cowart were unstoppable in the early 1960s, hitting big with “Playboy,” “Beechwood 4-5789,” its flip side “Someday, Someway,” and many more. With Smokey Robinson at the helm later in the decade, the Marvs hit big with “Don’t Mess with Bill” featuring Wanda Young in the lead. Motown’s first success story, the Marvelettes became the prototype for the company’s girl groups to follow, from the Martha and The Vandellas to The Supremes.