A must read interview with Martha Reeves

Peter caught up with Martha Reeves at Walnut Street Theatre where she was playing with Chuck Jackson. Early ‘80s.

During the sixties Martha Reeves and the Vandelas were always on the radio with songs like “Heatwave,” “Nowhere to Run,” and “Dancing in the Streets.” As the decade ended and the sound changed, Martha and the Vandelas faded from the limelight, but not for music. While in town for an oldie show at the Walnut Street Theatre, Martha Reeves graciously consented to a short interview during Chuck Jackson's performance. We started with her involvement with Motown Records.

Martha Reeves: I didn't really start at Motown. I was a professional singer that had recorded with another label before applying at Motown for a singing position. I was told at that time that they were very busy and they had a lot of the artists that they had just signed, it was the birth of something, I could see that. So, Mickey Stevenson is the man who got me to come there in the first place. He was A&R director at the time. So, he said, since the auditions are until two or three weeks from now, or something, they told me, you know, not go away or leave. But it was not really an invitation to stay. He said, why don't I just come to the A&R department and just hang around with the songwriters. I might want to write songs because at the time I was writing. In fact, my first single on Motown was called “I’ll Have To Let Him Go,” I had the b-side I wrote, that was one of my first compositions. And I started working as the A&R secretary. I worked for eight months and the first big engagement I got. It was a 94-1-nighter. It became the first Motown review to ever tour.. It's kind of how I got started. It all happened in the 1960s.