The Marvelettes

The Marvelettes
The Marvelettes in a 1963 promotional photo. Clockwise from top left: Gladys Horton, Katherine Anderson, Georgeanna Tillman, and Wanda Young
Background information
Also known as	The Casinyets, The Marvels, The Darnells
Origin	Inkster, Michigan, U.S.
Genres	R&B, rock and roll, doo-wop, pop, soul
Years active	1960–1970
Labels	Tamla, Motown
Past members	Gladys Horton (deceased) Katherine Anderson Georgeanna Tillman (deceased) Wanda Rogers Ann Bogan Juanita Cowart Georgia Dobbins, writer of Please Mr. Postman

The Marvelettes was an American girl group that achieved popularity in the early- to mid-1960s. They consisted of schoolmates Gladys Horton, Katherine Anderson (now Schaffner), Georgeanna Tillman (later Gordon), Juanita Cowart (now Cowart Motley), and Georgia Dobbins, who was replaced by Wanda Young (now Rogers) prior to the group signing their first deal. They were the first major successful act of Motown Records after the Miracles and its first significantly successful girl group after the release of the 1961 number-one single, "Please Mr. Postman", one of the first number-one singles recorded by an all-female vocal group and the first by a Motown recording act.

Founded in 1960 while the group's founding members performed together at their glee club at Inkster High School in Inkster, Michigan, they eventually were signed to Motown's Tamla label in 1961. Some of the group's early hits were written by band members and some of Motown's rising singer-songwriters such as Smokey Robinson and Marvin Gaye, who played drums on a majority of their early recordings. Despite their early successes, the group was eclipsed in popularity by groups like The Supremes, with whom they shared an intense rivalry.

Nevertheless, they managed a major comeback in 1966 with "Don't Mess with Bill", along with several other smaller hits. They struggled with issues of poor promotion from Motown, illnesses, and mental breakdowns, with Cowart the first to leave in 1963, followed by Georgeanna Tillman two years later, and Gladys Horton two after that. The group ceased performing together in 1969 and, following the release of The Return of the Marvelettes in 1970, featuring only Wanda Rogers, disbanded for good, with both Rogers and Katherine Anderson leaving the music business.