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Martha Reeves is an American R&B and pop singer. In addition, she Martha Reeves is the lead singer of the Motown girl group Martha and the Vandellas and has released a dozen hit singles.
Early life
Martha Reeves was born on July 18, 1941, in Eufaula, Alabama, in the United States of America. She is American by nationality and is 81 years as of 2022. Also, she has a Cancer birth sign and her birth name is Martha Rose Reeves.
She was born to her father Elijah Joshua Reeves and her mother Ruby Lee Gilmore. In addition, she was the third of 11 children born to her parents. And, the names of her siblings have not yet been revealed by her.
When she was a young child, her family moved from Eufaula to Detroit, Michigan, where her grandfather, the Rev. Elijah Reeves, was a minister at the Detroit Metropolitan Church.
Meanwhile, his family was very active in the church and its choir. Her father played the guitar and Ruby liked to sing; the children acquired their love of music from her parents.
Caption: Old photo of Martha Reeves (Source: DJ Larsupreme)
Martha Reeves – Educational Background
Moving on to his academic career, he went to Detroit’s Northeastern High School. During that time, his vocal coach was Abraham Silver, who also worked with Florence Ballard and Mary Wilson (of the Supremes), and Bobby Rogers (of the Miracles).
Meanwhile, not much is known about whether he has attended any university for his higher education or not. It is possible that he dropped out of college to pursue a musical career.
Career
Growing up in the gospel and inspired by singers like Lena Horne and Della Reese, Martha Reeves became a fan of R&B and doo-wop music. In 1959, she joined the Fascinations, a pop vocal group more active in the mid-1960s. However, Ella Reeves left the group before becoming a recording act. Reeeves later worked in sales while performing with Rosalind Ashford and Annette Sterling as Del-Phis and solo as Martha LaVille.
Martha and the Vandellas
Later, she signed with Motown Records in 1962 and became the lead singer of the girl group Martha and the Vandellas. Additionally, the group had a string of hits in the 1960s, including “Heat Wave,” “Quicksand,” “In My Lonely Room,” “Live Wire,” and “Nowhere to Run.” The group’s most popular single was “Dancing in the Street”, which became their title track.
Similarly, the group also made appearances on television, including The Mike Douglas Show, The Joey Bishop Show, American Bandstand, Where the Action Is, Shindig, Swingin’ Time, Soul Train, and The Ed Sullivan Show.
In addition, they have also been featured in major magazine articles in Johnson Publishing Corp. publications, including HEP, Ebony and JET, and in SOUL Newspaper and SOUL Illustrated Magazine.
However, being successful came with challenges, as the girl group struggled to maintain relentless recording and touring schedules due to their personal lives. After original member Rosalind Ashford left in 1968, Martha recruited Sandra Tilley, and the line-up of Martha and Lois Reeves and Tilley continued until 1972, when the group disbanded shortly after the release of the Black Magic album.
solo career
Later, he moved to Los Angeles and signed with an MCA record for his solo projects. Meanwhile, he worked with legendary jazz trombonist JJ Johnson to release the soundtrack for the 1974 blaxploitation film Willie Dynamite. MCA released a self-titled debut solo album that same year that was produced by Richard Perry.
The album was not commercially successful despite being critically acclaimed. Working under the Arista label, she released the “Rest of my life” in 1977, and two albums We Meet Again”, 1978 and “Gotta Keep Moving”, 1980 under the Fantasy label.
Caption: Martha Reeves singing in concert (Source: Blue Note)
Later, he released the album “Home to You” in 2004. He returned to music full-time after serving on the Detroit City Council, having played several shows and toured extensively.
In addition, he is a board member of the SAG-AFTRA Detroit chapter and the board of SoundExchange. In 2007, she testified in Congress on behalf of musicians, session singers, and recording artists who wanted higher salaries and royalties.
Additionally, she has continued to perform concerts and club dates both solo and with her Vandella sisters Lois (Motown-era Vandella since 1967) and Delphine (since the mid-1980s). She was one of the celebrity contestants on BBC One’s Celebrity MasterChef in the UK in September 2018.
Awards
In 1995, Reeves and the Vandellas were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Reeves received the 1999 Pioneer Award from the Rhythm and Blues Foundation in recognition of his contributions to the genre. In 2000, this singer was inducted into the Michigan Women’s Hall of Fame.
Caption: Martha and the Vandellas won the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame (Source: Rock & Roll Hall of Fame)
Similarly, he received the Recording Academy’s Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his contributions to the music industry in the year 2019. Meanwhile, he has received several Detroit Music Awards over the years, including awards for the best live performance and the best urban/funk performance. . /Hip-hop recording.
Net Worth 2023
Reeves has raised a handsome sum of money throughout his singing career. As of now, the net worth of him is around $5 million and the annual salary of him is still unknown. Album sales, brand promotion and concerts are sources of income for him.
civil status
Talking about her relationship status, Martha Reeves is currently a single and divorced woman. She was married twice in her career. First, she married a man named Wiley in 1967 in Las Vegas.
After just nine months of a marital affair, the couple divorces. After this, she had a brief affair with a man named Gerald. With the relationship, she has a son named Eric, born in November 1970. She later married Willie Dee in the early 1970s and later also ended in divorce.
body measurements
Caption: Martha and the Vandellas/Diskografie (Source: HOUR Detroit Magazine)
Reeves is 5 feet 6 inches tall (1.7 m) and weighs around 75 kg (165.3 lbs). Furthermore, she has gray hair with brown eyes and the other stats of her body have not yet been revealed by her.
Martha Reeves – Social Networks
On his Instagram page ‘@marthareeves7’ he has more than 1900 followers. In addition, he has more than 7,200 followers on his Twitter page ‘@MARTHAREEVESvan’ and more than 19,000 followers on his Facebook page.
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Source: vcmp.edu.vn