Gladys Horton, Marvelette, RIP

January 27, 2011 4:54 PM

Gladys Horton, a founding member of the pioneering (yet undervalued by Berry Gordy and Motown) girl group The Marvelettes, who sang lead on their 1961 classic Please Mr. Postman has passed on.

Horton also lent her appealingly full-bodied, husky lead vocal to:
Too Many Fish in the Sea
Beechwood 4-5789
and
Playboy.

From this Detroit Free Press obituary, silver-tongued Motown head honcho Berry Gordy: "Gladys was a very, very special lady, and I loved the way she sang with her raspy, soulful voice," Gordy said through a spokesperson. "We will all miss her, and she will always be a part of the Motown family." Yeah, sure, Berry. But I'm more inclined to believe this, from Gladys Horton: "They never really respected us. Berry Gordy lost the Marvelette name in a gambling game once, that's how much they cared about us. We were just nothing to them."

posted by flapjax at midnite (19 comments total)

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posted by cobra libre at 5:14 PM on January 27, 2011

Shit. The Marvelettes were favorites of mine.

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posted by languagehat at 5:31 PM on January 27, 2011 [1 favorite]

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posted by Faint of Butt at 5:37 PM on January 27, 2011

Good stuff in those days, good music. This is the music of staying up late on a summer night as a 14 year old, listening to music on CKLW on a crystal radio.

And, weren't we proud that this music was from "Motown"
posted by HuronBob at 6:17 PM on January 27, 2011 [2 favorites]

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posted by Smart Dalek at 6:21 PM on January 27, 2011 [1 favorite]

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posted by Wolof at 6:33 PM on January 27, 2011

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posted by yeloson at 6:52 PM on January 27, 2011

That is some good music. I ripped this and put it on my ipod. Not a clunker in the bunch.
posted by marxchivist at 7:09 PM on January 27, 2011

I remember her, I remember what good songs she and her group did.
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posted by Katjusa Roquette at 7:25 PM on January 27, 2011

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posted by Blue Jello Elf at 7:34 PM on January 27, 2011

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posted by millions at 9:16 PM on January 27, 2011

Aww, I've gone to sleep many a night wayyy back in the early 60's with her voice on the transistor radio tucked under my pillow. Her voice is probably part of my DNA by now.

Thanks you for your wonderful singing Gladys Horton, may you experience benevolent cosmic resonance.
posted by nickyskye at 9:29 PM on January 27, 2011

I kinda always preferred "Too Many Fish In the Sea".

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posted by Shotgun Shakespeare at 10:03 PM on January 27, 2011

Beechwood 4-5789 beats 867-5309 by a mile (but notice how they both have fives and nines).

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posted by fixedgear at 4:03 AM on January 28, 2011

Beechwood 4-5789 beats 867-5309 by a mile

But for me, 634-5789 beats 'em all.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 4:53 AM on January 28, 2011 [1 favorite]

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posted by ob at 6:38 AM on January 28, 2011

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posted by frodisaur at 10:56 AM on January 28, 2011

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posted by Obscure Reference at 11:40 AM on January 28, 2011

Modern musician 'Cragga' has updated 'Please Mr. Postman' in a touching tribute.

whether good touch or bad touch has yet to be decided
posted by FatherDagon at 12:41 PM on January 28, 2011