Post by Emerald City on Nov 13, 2004 17:44:18 GMT -5
By Susan Whitall / The Detroit News
11/13/04
If you imagine a Motown star's home, you probably count on a gold record or two hanging up in a place of honor.
Certainly members of the Marvelettes should have a few framed discs, with hitmaking that began with "Please, Mr. Postman," which rose to No. 1 in 1961, and continued with "Beechwood 4-5789," "Playboy," "Don't Mess With Bill," "The Hunter Gets Captured By the Game" and "Too Many Fish in the Sea."
But until now, the Marvelettes had zero gold records because Motown founder Berry Gordy didn't report his sales to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), which accredits and issues gold records.
Today, 43 years later, Motown will present the Marvelettes with gold records for "Please, Mr. Postman" at a 5 p.m. ceremony at the Marvelettes' alma mater, Inkster High School.
Of the original group, Katherine Anderson Schaffner, Wanda Young Rogers (who sang lead on the later hits) and Juanita Cowart will attend, along with Georgia Dobbins, a Marvelette who co-wrote "Postman" but left before they signed to Motown.
Of the rest of the group, Gladys Horton, who sang lead on "Postman," is unable to fly in from Los Angeles, and the late Georgeanna Tillman will be represented by her son, Darren Gordon.
"Juanita asked me today if I was still on cloud nine," jokes Schaffner. "I said no, I'm on cloud 50!"
The Marvelettes are an integral part of rock history because they were Motown's first girl group, with their matching '60s sheaths and stiletto heels. Still high school students, they sang of teenage love and loss with both innocence and youthful brass.
Inkster councilwoman De- Atriss Coleman-Richardson, who attended Inkster High just a few years behind the singers and lived in the same neighborhood, decided her home girls needed their gold records. "Growing up, we were all proud that they came from Inkster," says Coleman-Richardson. "I never knew they didn't have a gold record, until I saw Katherine in January.
Sometimes, the Lord just lays something on your heart to do, you see people and something in your spirit says, 'Help that person.' I didn't even know how to start."
During the Marvelettes' heyday with Motown Records, the company would spray spare records gold, put them on a plaque and present them to its stars when a sales milestone was passed. But the Marvelettes never got one of those either.
To get RIAA-accredited gold records for today's ceremony, Motown staffers had to manually count the Marvelettes' sales on "Postman," so they could submit the paperwork to the RIAA. Auditors were paid to check the figures, and then finally, three days ago, the gold records arrived.
"On Nov. 10 they came," marvels Coleman-Richardson. "Is that tight?"
11/13/04
If you imagine a Motown star's home, you probably count on a gold record or two hanging up in a place of honor.
Certainly members of the Marvelettes should have a few framed discs, with hitmaking that began with "Please, Mr. Postman," which rose to No. 1 in 1961, and continued with "Beechwood 4-5789," "Playboy," "Don't Mess With Bill," "The Hunter Gets Captured By the Game" and "Too Many Fish in the Sea."
But until now, the Marvelettes had zero gold records because Motown founder Berry Gordy didn't report his sales to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), which accredits and issues gold records.
Today, 43 years later, Motown will present the Marvelettes with gold records for "Please, Mr. Postman" at a 5 p.m. ceremony at the Marvelettes' alma mater, Inkster High School.
Of the original group, Katherine Anderson Schaffner, Wanda Young Rogers (who sang lead on the later hits) and Juanita Cowart will attend, along with Georgia Dobbins, a Marvelette who co-wrote "Postman" but left before they signed to Motown.
Of the rest of the group, Gladys Horton, who sang lead on "Postman," is unable to fly in from Los Angeles, and the late Georgeanna Tillman will be represented by her son, Darren Gordon.
"Juanita asked me today if I was still on cloud nine," jokes Schaffner. "I said no, I'm on cloud 50!"
The Marvelettes are an integral part of rock history because they were Motown's first girl group, with their matching '60s sheaths and stiletto heels. Still high school students, they sang of teenage love and loss with both innocence and youthful brass.
Inkster councilwoman De- Atriss Coleman-Richardson, who attended Inkster High just a few years behind the singers and lived in the same neighborhood, decided her home girls needed their gold records. "Growing up, we were all proud that they came from Inkster," says Coleman-Richardson. "I never knew they didn't have a gold record, until I saw Katherine in January.
Sometimes, the Lord just lays something on your heart to do, you see people and something in your spirit says, 'Help that person.' I didn't even know how to start."
During the Marvelettes' heyday with Motown Records, the company would spray spare records gold, put them on a plaque and present them to its stars when a sales milestone was passed. But the Marvelettes never got one of those either.
To get RIAA-accredited gold records for today's ceremony, Motown staffers had to manually count the Marvelettes' sales on "Postman," so they could submit the paperwork to the RIAA. Auditors were paid to check the figures, and then finally, three days ago, the gold records arrived.
"On Nov. 10 they came," marvels Coleman-Richardson. "Is that tight?"
Congratulations To Motown's Marvelous Marvelettes! 
