By Vandelron (24.44.20.172) on Sunday, May 25, 2003 - 11:12 pm:

Marvelettes yahoo club--the writer of the book has finished her research and is writing it now-not sure if their is a publisher. I wonder if Mioss Bogan was contacted. I know the writer was trying to reach all of them--Ms Horton was ambivalent,Ms Rogers struggling and Ms Anderson very helpful from what I read. Heard nothing about Anne Bogan.

By Vickie (198.81.26.231) on Sunday, May 25, 2003 - 11:36 pm:

Hopefully this person is doing The Marvelettes right....
That is a book I will buy and love reading..

By Non-lawyer (67.249.46.66) on Monday, May 26, 2003 - 12:16 am:

Does anyone know what sort of financial shape the Marvelettes are in? Royalties and so? And who's the author?

By Vandelron (24.44.20.172) on Monday, May 26, 2003 - 07:42 am:

Well I hear Wanda is in a half-way house;Gladys and Katherine I dont know per royalties. Does anyone else? I dont remeber ever hearing they sued unlike a lot of others. Has anyone else noticed the riff on Lauryn Hill song right from Playboy which Gladys wrote?Does she get royalties for that?;I only know the author's Yahoo name. I think it is a she and she is currently in Inkster where the Marvelettes are from and she lives in NYC I believe.

By Promises Kept (12.227.139.195) on Monday, May 26, 2003 - 12:34 pm:

I did read an article just before "Motown-25" came out and all that publicity surrounding this event........"that", members of the Marvelettes were involved in a lawsuit with Motown over royalties and the fact that their songs were featured on several sound-tracks from movies around that time. You'll remember that this group was not featured (except for clips) for the event.

By Randy Russi (169.139.180.100) on Tuesday, May 27, 2003 - 10:01 am:

The Marvelettes were NOT even invited to Motown
25 according to what Katherine told me. I do
hope the author does a great story on them.
Katherine is a very nice lady, always willing
to talk. Hopefully, the book will be published.

By LeVan45789 (166.107.77.254) on Tuesday, May 27, 2003 - 01:12 pm:

This is really great news finally someone is writing a book about my favorite Motown group the Marvelettes. I just hope it's not one sided.

By Jim G (12.47.224.12) on Tuesday, May 27, 2003 - 02:57 pm:

Vandelron,

University of Michigan Press is always looking for music history books about Detroit.
If you contact me off-list I can give you details.

Jim Gallert
JamesJazz@aol.com

By Greg C. (207.103.134.250) on Wednesday, May 28, 2003 - 08:22 am:

If anyone can provide a rich history and the real deal on the Marvelettes it would be Katherine who was there from the beginning to the end.

I hope Juanita Cowart can also be contacted since she was there in the beginning when the Marvelettes were a quintet and can provide insight as well. Georgianna Tilman has unfortunately passd on from sickle cell disease.

By Randy Russi (169.139.180.100) on Wednesday, May 28, 2003 - 09:59 am:

I did an extensive interview with Katherine for
DISCoveries Magazine several years ago. The
topic of the issue was Motown Ladies. I think
it was issued in '93, I'll have to find my
copy & check.

By Vandelron (24.44.20.172) on Wednesday, May 28, 2003 - 11:14 pm:

Loved that issue--I have it somewhere!

By Brother Love (12.65.114.65) on Thursday, May 29, 2003 - 01:54 am:

I talked to Gladys the other day she seem to be doing fine. Her birthday is this coming Friday so I made her a CD with rare and unreleased tracks that I know she doesn't have. I really wish Gladys could work a lot more instead of those fake girls, it's real sad when she really needs the work to take care of her family.

By John Lester (213.123.133.30) on Thursday, May 29, 2003 - 02:40 am:

Randy

It was one of the best interviews ever......and it still remains one of my favourites. You managed to get Gladys to really open up.

By John Lester (213.123.133.30) on Thursday, May 29, 2003 - 05:44 am:

Randy....wasn't it you that did the interview with Gladys and Wanda....That was the one I was referring to. It talked about Florence....maybe the one I am thinking about wasn't it in Discoveries/Goldmine.

By Randy Russi (169.139.180.100) on Thursday, May 29, 2003 - 08:24 am:

John, the interview I did was with Katherine.
Although I have met Gladys, I never sat and did
an interview with her. I have read several done
by others with her as well as a few brief ones
done with Wanda.
I saw Gladys in 1984 in LA when she had just
moved out there from Detroit. She had inquired
about writer royalties on "Playboy", but said
she was told because she was so young when she
wrote it, that's why she is no longer receiving
them. She told this to me & Mary Wells and Mary
quickly said, "Well, I still get royalties for
writing 'Bye, Bye Baby' and I was only sixteen."
Again, that was in 1984. Maybe she has since
taken care of that.

By Vandelron (24.44.20.172) on Thursday, May 29, 2003 - 08:51 pm:

As I said beofore Lauryn Hill takes some of Playboy on her first big hit--hope Gladys gets THOSE royalties. There IS a publisher for book on Marvelettes.

By Randy Russi (169.139.180.100) on Friday, May 30, 2003 - 08:34 am:

When Motown released the double CD "The Marvelettes-Deliver: the singles" Gladys' name
is not listed for writer credits on "Playboy",
replaced by the name Georgia Dobbins, who had
never been listed before. When I mentioned this
"error" to Cary Mansfield, who worked on the
project, he told me that was no error, that's
the names currently listed as writers with
BMI (or whoever the licensing agency is).
Georgia Dobbins DID write part of Please Mr.
Postman, but quit the group before it was even
recorded. How her name suddenly came up on Play-
boy...

By Vandelron (24.44.20.172) on Friday, May 30, 2003 - 11:39 pm:

Well that is totally new news from everything Ive heard and seen over the years. How did he explain Gladys being the original writer listed?

By John Lester (213.123.159.196) on Saturday, May 31, 2003 - 03:05 am:

Randy

I am sure it was your interview with Gladys that also dealt with the real writers of Please Mr Postman but it seems right to me that Cary would be expected to follow the legal form over the reality.

As an aside, the Velvelettes wrote both "There He Goes" and "Should I Tell Them" - they were the two songs that they sung at their audition at Motown. However, when you look at the writers on the released product, their names are nowhere to be found. I guess the way around this, is to refer to the real writers in liner notes as a comment from the artist.

By John Lester (213.123.159.196) on Saturday, May 31, 2003 - 03:09 am:

Randy....for some reason, I can't get it out of my head that the wonderful interview I have on tape with Gladys and Wanda was carried out by you. Please forgive me for incorrectly referring to you when I speak of it. I think I need to carry out a scandisk scan followed by a defrag on my brain!!