Before The Supremes, there was Martha Reeves and The Vandellas. I was just a teenager back in 1964 when I first heard “Dancing in the Street” (written by Marvin Gaye, William “Mickey” Stevenson, and Ivy Jo Hunter). It made me want to go dancing in the street, too! Martha Reeves and The Vandellas also had me singing in the shower with “(Love Is Like A) Heat Wave.” What an infectious melody! And I am always moved when I hear Martha Reeves and The Vandellas sing “Quicksand.” These are songs that made up part of the soundtrack of my Life back in the Sixties. What’s your favorite song by Martha Reeves and The Vandellas? GRADE: A
SET LIST:
1. Dancing In The Street 2:40
2. Nowhere To Run (Mono) 2:49
3. Jimmy Mack 2:52
4. My Baby Loves Me (Mono) 3:05
5. In My Lonely Room (Mono) 2:27
6. I’m Ready For Love 2:57
7. (Love Is Like A) Heat Wave 2:45
8. Come And Get These Memories (Mono) 2:22
9. Love (Makes Me Do Foolish Things) (Mono) 2:54
10. Quicksand (Mono) 2:37
11. Honey Chile (Mono) 257
Heat Wave! I can play the chords, too!
Bob, I wore out a 45 of HEAT WAVE back in the day!
I hate to think the Vandellas were forgotten by anyone but Berry Gordy…certainly the Hoover FBI famously bothered Martha Reeves…
Todd, the Oldie Station here rarely plays MARTHA REEVES AND THE VANDELLAS. “Oldies” stops at the 1980s for them. I do listen to the SOUL TOWN station on Sirius/XM radio.
“Heat Wave”-sung-with such conviction, I can still feel a tug in the throat. My favorite of the hits. “Nowhere to Run” is fine, too. And, of course, J. Edgar figured you were being incited to riot by Comrade Martha.
Todd, I’m sure Hoover saw DANCING IN THE STREET as an incitement to riot!
Hoover was a vindictive dope!
I like “Jimmy Mack”–partly because my brother James was always “Jimmy” in his youth and as a youngster he thought the song was about him. I love the part where they sing, “Hurry, Hurry, Hurry…”
Deb, “Jimmy Mack” has an infectious beat! Love it!
I have that exact CD! I was a fan of Martha & the Vandellas from “Come and Get These Memories” (which could be Bill Crider’s theme song) on.
Heat Wave
Jimmy Mack
Come & Get These Memories
Dancing in the Street
Jeff, you have great taste in music! I love those songs, too!
I can’t pick just one!! Too many great songs.
Joe, I play THE BEST OF MARTHA REEVES AND THE VANDELLAS on a regular basis. I never get tired of these songs!
In the summer, they have free concerts at lunchtime (as far as I know, they are still going on) in Downtown Brooklyn at MetroTech. Twenty years ago (can it really be that long?) we went downtown specially to see Martha & The Vandellas. They were great.
Jeff, I’ve never seen MARTHA REEVES AND THE VANDELLAS live, but I’ve seen play of TV coverage of their concerts. What a thrill it must have been to see them at MetroTech!
Jackie says to say that “Come and Get These Memories” is her favorite.
Jeff, “Come and Get These Memories” is a great song!
I have it too, and lots of good songs. I loved Heat Wave then and now.
Rick, “Heat Wave” was a huge hit back in the Sixties. The Oldies radio station in Buffalo used to play it during the Summers when we hit 90 degrees (or more!). But now, music of the 50s, 60s, and 70s seldom gets played around here.
“Dancing in the Street” is one of my absolute favourites – it was played often on AFN, the US forces radio. It has such a positive vibe …
Heat wave too of course.
Though I was one of a few Germans who listened to this “Negro music” as some people would say – yes, rock, blues and pop were really foreign for many people!
On the other hand the German pop music that the German radio stations played and my elders / parents generation listened to was horrible for me!
As I’ve written before I copied all that music to my tape recorder and later to a cassette recorder so I could hear it at home all the time and later in my car too that I bought in 1963 – a little Fiat 500, 15 PS and a max speed of 100 km/h …
The whole roof was textile and could be opened – look here: http://www.autobelle.it/annunci/public0003/img-1311707856.jpg
The car was just 3m long- I wonder what Americans would have said when they saw it …
But it felt so wonderful to have your own car!
Wolf, a car equals freedom! I loved the Chevy Impala that I learned to drive on.
Heat Wave is the first song that came to my mind, and my favorite, but I also liked dancing in the streets and Nowhere to run.
I usually always prefer fast songs.
Maggie, I’m a big fan of “Nowhere to Run,” too!
Wolf, the new little Fiats don’t look much different. I do like the open top.
I drove a little Mini around Britain two or three summers. They were small, but at least I wasn’t sharing the road with the giant SUVs of today.
Jeff, my father tended to prefer big cars (of course, having five kids had something to do with that preference!). I like the Nissan Rogue SUV I drive because I like a lot of metal around me for protection. Driving Fiats and Mini-Coopers would not appeal to me at all! If you get hit by a pickup truck, you’re toast!
Absolutely. The Subaru Forester has the top safety ratings. Besides, Jackie would never get in a little car like that again, even if she could scrunch down enough to get in! It’s a lot easier to climb into an SUV like the Rogue!
Jeff, my brother-in-law once bought a Corvette Sting-ray and brought it over to my house to give me a ride. I had to do the Limbo it get into it! The Corvette was so low to the ground!
When she was rerunning for city council in Detroit she had them list her as Martha Reeves and the Vandellas on the ballot. She lost.
Steve. good to know!
I also like Linda Ronstadt’s version of Heat Wave!
Bob, I like Ronstadt’s version of “Heat Wave,” too. And I really like her version of “Tracks of My Tears.”