As a fan of a wide variety of popular (and not-so-popular) music from the 1950s (and sometimes even earlier) up through the present, one of my bucket list projects for years has been to put together a list of my 100 favorite songs of all time. At some point I decided that, once I got around to figuring that out, I could put it out on a blog, for the infinitesimally small proportion of the Internet world that might be interested. So, here we are. While the Top 100 will be a major focus, I also plan to post on a variety of other musical (and occasionally non-musical) topics, in which you may or may not be interested. (If a particular posting doesn’t ring your bell, you’re only a few clicks away from a dancing cat video on YouTube.)

Monday, January 31, 2022

The Marvelettes

This year I decided to periodically spotlight some other musical artists whom I like for one reason or another. Admittedly, I’m doing this at least in part because #ILikeMakingLists (see below). I decided to start with the Marvelettes so I could also pay belated tribute to Wanda Young, who died last December. While they were never as commercially successful as The Supremes or Martha & The Vandellas, they did have the distinction of having Motown’s first #1 hit on the Hot 100 with “Please Mr. Postman” in 1961. That song, along with other early singles such as “Beechwood 4-5789”, put them squarely in the mold of that era’s other “girl groups”, such as The Ronettes, The Shirelles, and The Chiffons. Their sound did evolve later in the decade, when they hit the top 20 with hits such as “Don’t Mess With Bill” and “My Baby Must Be A Magician.”

 

Favorite songs:

Forever

The Hunter Gets Captured By The Game

Danger Heartbreak Dead Ahead

Strange I Know

Beechwood 4-5789

When You’re Young And In Love

My Baby Must Be A Magician

Please Mr. Postman

Don’t Mess With Bill

Playboy

 

2 comments:

  1. Yesterday I was listening to the Top 40 from this week in 1968 and the Marvelettes appeared with My Baby Must Be a Magician. It is my favorite tune from them.

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    1. A Smokey Robinson classic! As is Don't Mess With Bill, and The Hunter Gets Captured By The Game (the latter of which I moved up to #2 on my list after re-listening to my 23-track compilation CD).

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