Marvin Gaye’s backing singers + Berry Gordy’s secretary!
Martha and the Vandellas (later known as Martha Reeves and the Vandellas) were a huge success for the Motown label between 1963 and 1971.
Before these years, what was to become The Vandellas had been backup singers for other acts such as Marvin Gaye at the Motown hit factory, where Martha worked as a secretary.
One day, Mary Wells missed a scheduled session that The Vandellas were booked to provide backup singing for. Martha stepped in and impressed Berry Gordy so much that he signed them on the spot.
Backed by Motown’s hit writers Holland-Dozier-Holland, they released super hits like Heat Wave, Nowhere to Run, Jimmy Mack, and Dancing in the Street.
For Nowhere To Run, they recorded one of the world’s first music videos, and Dancing In The Street became Motown’s signature song.
In the aftermath of Motown’s heyday, Martha Reeves and The Vandellas have continued doing sporadic concerts around the world and have been inducted into the Grammy and Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame.
Rolling Stone ranked the group at #96 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.
Martha Reeves is still performing in 2019 at the age of 77.
Martha and The Vandellas Tunes | Related Pages
Dancing In The Street
You can learn how to play Dancing In The Street by Martha and the Vandellas using chords, lyrics, chord analysis, and the original recording.
| E7 | E7 (D/E) | E7 | E7 (D/E) |
Callin’ out around the world, are you ready for a brand new beat…
Heat Wave
You can learn how to play Heat Wave by Martha Reeves & the Vandellas using chords, lyrics, chord analysis, and the original recording.
| Eb N.C (Bb C Bb G) | Fm (Gbm) | Gm (Bm) | Cm (Bm) | Cm |
Whenever I’m with him, (oh, oh, oh, oh) something inside (inside)…
Jimmy Mack
You can learn how to play Jimmy Mack by Martha and The Vandellas using chords, lyrics, TAB, backing track, and Spytunes video guitar lessons.
| Ebm | Gbmaj7 | Dbmaj7 | Gb |
Jimmy Mack, Jimmy. Oh, Jimmy Mack, when are you comin’ back…
Nowhere To Run
You can learn how to play Nowhere To Run by Martha and The Vandellas using chords, lyrics, chord analysis, and the original recording.
| G7 | F C | G7 | F C |
Nowhere to run to, baby. Nowhere to hide…
Martha and The Vandellas on the web
Artists & Bands
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Find out more about these great Artists & Bands, and let their tunes guide you to success.
About me | Dan Lundholm
This was an article about Martha and The Vandellas tunes, by Dan Lundholm. Discover more about him and learn guitar with Spytunes.
Most importantly, find out why you should learn guitar through playing tunes, not practising scales, and studying theory in isolation.
