Martha and the Vandellas

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  • Year:
    1995
  • Inducted by:
    Fred Schneider & Kate Pierson (B-52s)
  • Category:
    Performers

Introduction

The brazen Motown girl group with an unyielding R&B edge.

Martha and the Vandellas were the Supremes’ tougher, more grounded counterpart. With her cheeky, fervent vocals, Martha Reeves led the group in a string of dance anthems that are irresistible to this day.

Hall of Fame Essay

1995

Susan Whitall

If you had a pulse in the summer of 1964 and heard Martha Reeves’ piercing cry — "Calling out, around the world, are you ready for a brand-new beat?” — you might have recognized it as the siren sound of Berry Gordy Jr.’s Motown Records.

When you are inside that song, Motown’s Sound of Young America is happening, and all is well in the world. As Reeves sings, "Summer’s here, and the time is right for dancing in the street,” to one of the most irresistible riff Motown’s Funk Brothers ever concocted, for that moment you are young and wild and utterly without a care.

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony Program Cover 1995
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When I heard the honey harmonies of the Vandellas and Martha’s mysterious voice, it was my call to party down.
Kate Pierson

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Collection

Dress

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Gallery

Photography: Kevin Mazur, WireImage