Gladys Horton
Encyclopedia
Gladys Catherine Horton was an American
R&B
and pop
singer, famous for being the founder and lead singer of the popular Motown
all-female vocal group
The Marvelettes
.
, she was raised in the western Detroit suburb of Inkster
by foster parents. By the time of her high school years at Inkster High School on Middlebelt Road, Gladys had taken a strong interest in singing, joining the high school glee club. In 1960 the fifteen-year-old formed a group with fellow glee club members Georgeanna Tillman
, Katherine Anderson
and Juanita Cowart. She also invited Georgia Dobbins to join her new group.
Formerly calling themselves The Casinyets (can't sing yet), the group eventually auditioned for Motown after a talent contest, and while the audition was successful, the group was requested to return to Hitsville
with an original song. After member Georgia Dobbins co-created the song "Please Mr. Postman
", Dobbins suddenly left the group after her father forbade her to be in nightclubs. Dobbins, who was also the group's original lead singer, gave Horton the spotlight to be the lead vocalist, a spot Horton was not comfortable with in the beginning. The group changed their name to the Marvelettes
shortly after Motown signed the act and released "Please Mr. Postman" in the summer of 1961 when Horton was just sixteen.
The single eventually hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100
- becoming Motown's first #1 Pop hit - and turning the group into instant Motown stars. Horton would later sing lead on Marvelettes' classics such as "Playboy
", "Beechwood 4-5789
" and "Too Many Fish in the Sea
". Horton's position as lead vocalist ended in 1965 with Wanda Young
, who had replaced Dobbins, taking over from then on as lead vocalist. Horton left the group in 1967 and was replaced by Cleveland, Ohio
vocalist Anne Bogan.
In the late 1980s, Horton and Wanda Young Rogers reunited to collaborate on the 1990 Marvelettes album for Ian Levine's Motor City Records label titled The Marvelettes...Now! though Young didn't take part in the group's performances. The Marvelettes released the single "Holding On With Both Hands" in 1990, which was sung on record by Wanda but performed by Gladys in public due to Wanda's severe personal problems, described by Marc Taylor in the book, The Original Marvelettes - Motown's Mystery Girl Group, published in 2004 by Aloiv Publishing Company, New York.
Gladys and former Marvelette, Katherine Anderson were involved with Marc Taylor's official biography of the group. She remained semi-retired from the business to take care of her disabled son; however, she still performed on occasion as "Gladys Horton of the Marvelettes". She had resided in southern California since the early 1970s.
Horton died at age 65 on January 26, 2011 at a nursing home in Sherman Oaks, California following several strokes.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
R&B
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
and pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
singer, famous for being the founder and lead singer of the popular Motown
Motown Records
Motown is a record label originally founded by Berry Gordy, Jr. and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation in Detroit, Michigan, United States, on April 14, 1960. The name, a portmanteau of motor and town, is also a nickname for Detroit...
all-female vocal group
Girl group
A girl group is a popular music act featuring several young female singers who generally harmonise together.Girl groups emerged in the late 1950s as groups of young singers teamed up with behind-the-scenes songwriters and music producers to create hit singles, often featuring glossy production...
The Marvelettes
The Marvelettes
The Marvelettes were an American singing girl group on the Tamla label. Motown's first successful female vocal group, the Marvelettes are most notable for recording the company's first #1 Pop hit, "Please Mr...
.
Biography
Born in Gainesville, FloridaGainesville, Florida
Gainesville is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Alachua County, Florida, United States as well as the principal city of the Gainesville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area . The preliminary 2010 Census population count for Gainesville is 124,354. Gainesville is home to the sixth...
, she was raised in the western Detroit suburb of Inkster
Inkster, Michigan
Inkster is a city in Wayne County of the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2010 census, the city population was 25,369. It is one of several suburbs in Metro Detroit whose population is majority or plurality African American.- History :...
by foster parents. By the time of her high school years at Inkster High School on Middlebelt Road, Gladys had taken a strong interest in singing, joining the high school glee club. In 1960 the fifteen-year-old formed a group with fellow glee club members Georgeanna Tillman
Georgeanna Tillman
Georgeanna Marie Tillman Gordon was an American R&B/Pop singer and an original member of the Motown girl group The Marvelettes....
, Katherine Anderson
Katherine Anderson
Katherine Anderson Schaffner is an American singer, famed for her tenure in the Motown all-female singing group The Marvelettes...
and Juanita Cowart. She also invited Georgia Dobbins to join her new group.
Formerly calling themselves The Casinyets (can't sing yet), the group eventually auditioned for Motown after a talent contest, and while the audition was successful, the group was requested to return to Hitsville
Hitsville U.S.A.
"Hitsville U.S.A." is the nickname given to Motown's first headquarters. A former photographers' studio located at 2648 West Grand Boulevard in Detroit, Michigan, it was purchased by Motown founder Berry Gordy in 1959 and converted into both the record label's administrative building and recording...
with an original song. After member Georgia Dobbins co-created the song "Please Mr. Postman
Please Mr. Postman
"Please Mr. Postman" is the debut single by The Marvelettes for the Tamla label, notable as the first Motown song to reach the number-one position on the Billboard Hot 100 pop singles chart. The single achieved this position in late 1961; it hit number one on the R&B chart as well. "Please Mr...
", Dobbins suddenly left the group after her father forbade her to be in nightclubs. Dobbins, who was also the group's original lead singer, gave Horton the spotlight to be the lead vocalist, a spot Horton was not comfortable with in the beginning. The group changed their name to the Marvelettes
The Marvelettes
The Marvelettes were an American singing girl group on the Tamla label. Motown's first successful female vocal group, the Marvelettes are most notable for recording the company's first #1 Pop hit, "Please Mr...
shortly after Motown signed the act and released "Please Mr. Postman" in the summer of 1961 when Horton was just sixteen.
The single eventually hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
- becoming Motown's first #1 Pop hit - and turning the group into instant Motown stars. Horton would later sing lead on Marvelettes' classics such as "Playboy
Playboy (The Marvelettes song)
"Playboy" is a song composed by Brian Holland, Robert Bateman, Mickey Stevenson and singer Gladys Horton, lead vocalist of the Motown singing group The Marvelettes, who recorded the song and released it as a single on Motown's Tamla imprint in 1962...
", "Beechwood 4-5789
Beechwood 4-5789
"Beechwood 4-5789" is a 1962 single released by Motown girl group The Marvelettes on the Tamla record label.-Original version:Written by Marvin Gaye, William "Mickey" Stevenson and George Gordy, the lyrics are about the narrator wanting a man she just met to call her number in order to "have a...
" and "Too Many Fish in the Sea
Too Many Fish in the Sea
"Too Many Fish in the Sea" is a 1964 hit song recorded by Motown singing group The Marvelettes. It was the group's first top 40 pop hit in almost a year reaching number 25 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was one of the first hit singles written by Norman Whitfield and was also written by Eddie...
". Horton's position as lead vocalist ended in 1965 with Wanda Young
Wanda Young
Wanda Young is an American singer, famous for being the member and later lead singer of the popular Motown all-female singing group The Marvelettes.-Biography:Wanda was born in 1943 and raised in the western Detroit suburb of Inkster, Michigan...
, who had replaced Dobbins, taking over from then on as lead vocalist. Horton left the group in 1967 and was replaced by Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
vocalist Anne Bogan.
In the late 1980s, Horton and Wanda Young Rogers reunited to collaborate on the 1990 Marvelettes album for Ian Levine's Motor City Records label titled The Marvelettes...Now! though Young didn't take part in the group's performances. The Marvelettes released the single "Holding On With Both Hands" in 1990, which was sung on record by Wanda but performed by Gladys in public due to Wanda's severe personal problems, described by Marc Taylor in the book, The Original Marvelettes - Motown's Mystery Girl Group, published in 2004 by Aloiv Publishing Company, New York.
Gladys and former Marvelette, Katherine Anderson were involved with Marc Taylor's official biography of the group. She remained semi-retired from the business to take care of her disabled son; however, she still performed on occasion as "Gladys Horton of the Marvelettes". She had resided in southern California since the early 1970s.
Horton died at age 65 on January 26, 2011 at a nursing home in Sherman Oaks, California following several strokes.