The group began in 1957 as the Del-Phis, formed in Detroit by Rosalind Ashford, Annette Beard and Gloria Williams, who took etiquette coaching from Maxine Powell. Martha Reeves, who had sung with the Fascinations, joined later. After flops on Checker and Checkmate, Reeves sang solo as Martha LaVaille until Mickey Stevenson invited her to a Motown audition. She arrived on a Tuesday when auditions were Thursdays and was hired as A&R secretary. As the Vels, the group sang backup on Marvin Gaye’s Stubborn Kind of Fellow, and in 1962, when Mary Wells missed a session, Reeves cut the demo I’ll Have to Let Him Go. Gordy signed them, and Williams quit.
With Holland-Dozier-Holland they had Come and Get These Memories, Heat Wave, which spent five weeks at No. 1 R&B, and Quicksand, followed by Dancing in the Street and Nowhere to Run, which they performed on a CBS special while riding a Mustang down a Ford assembly line. Motown’s focus shifted to the Supremes, the lineup changed repeatedly, and the departures of Stevenson and Holland-Dozier-Holland in 1967 stalled the hits. The group disbanded after a late 1972 show at Cobo Hall. Reeves won a royalty suit against Motown in 1983, and Ashford and Beard filed their own suits in 1989.
- Ashford denied the name combined Van Dyke Avenue and Della Reese, while Reeves has said it did.
- Beard’s 1964 exit is disputed: Reeves wrote it was voluntary, Beard said she was forced out; Betty Kelly of the Velvelettes replaced her.
- In 1968 Reeves drank a beverage laced with acid at a party and was hospitalized in a mental ward.
- Kelly was dismissed and replaced by Reeves’ sister Lois, and Ashford was let go in 1969 for Sandra Tilley.
- The B-52s inducted the group into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995, the second all-female group so honored.
Leave a Reply