As a member of the original line-up of The Marvelettes, Katherine Anderson Schaffner helped give Motown Records its first Number One single. She died last week, aged 79, the last of the original line-up (apart from Juanita Cowart, who was only with the band until 1963).
The Marvelettes were Motown's first girl group, and although they would soon be overshadowed by The Supremes, they produced a string of US hits throughout the 60s (although they only charted once in the UK). None of the group's members would go on to achieve household name status like Diana Ross, so I couldn't find any songs that mentioned Katherine, or any of her bandmates. The Marvelettes, however, were a different matter.
Normally Elvis Costello would walk away with it if he threw his hat in the ring for this feature, but this is latter day Elvis, so not quite on a par with his wonder years...
From the booth in the corner
From a different perspective
Where a man plays the fool or a private detective
He wrote her name out in sugar on a Formica counter
"You could be the game that captures the hunter"
Then he went out for cigarettes
As the soundtrack played The Marvelettes
Elvis is referring, of course, to a lesser-remembered Marvelettes hit...
At the beginning of the 21st Century, 80s hitmaker Terence Trent D'Arby "died", changing his name to Sananda Maitreya. "Terence Trent D'Arby was dead," he told the world, "he watched his suffering as he died a noble death. After intense pain I meditated for a new spirit, a new will, a new identity". This is what hew sounds like these days...
We are getting stronger
And we want the world to know
We are getting freer
And we've got let it show
When you were a sister
Of loneliness in Sivaville
No Goobers no Raisinettes
No Miracles no Marvelettes
When I was a solo boy
Next, a taste of what you'd find on a mixtape compiled by Helen Love. No surprises here...
I got 'Stephanie Says' and 'I'll Be There',
Bikini Kill and the Marvelettes
Undertones, Rolling Stones,
Sandra Bernhardt and Joey Ramone
Finally today, here's David Johansen from The New York Dolls with a solo track that starts out in unexpectedly melodic fashion... but then morphs into a rocking tune that's just as good as anything he produced in his day job...
Remember how we were marveling darling,
We were marvelous
Yeah we were marveling at The Marvelettes
Only charted once in the UK? What fools we are.
ReplyDeleteIt appears we were too busy buying Cilla Black records.
DeleteThis may be a shorter list than usual but quality through and through. - Brian
ReplyDelete