The Marvelettes

The Marvelettes
The Marvelettes in a 1963 promotional photo. Clockwise from top left: Gladys Horton, Katherine Anderson, Georgeanna Tillman, and Wanda Young
Background information
Also known as	The Casinyets, the Marvels, the Darnells
Origin	Inkster, Michigan, U.S.
Genres	R&B rock and roll doo-wop pop soul
Years active	1960–1970
Labels	Tamla
Past members	Gladys Horton Katherine Anderson Georgeanna Tillman Wanda Young Rogers Juanita Cowart[1] Ann Bogan Georgia Dobbins

The Marvelettes were an American girl group formed in 1960 in Inkster, Michigan, consisting of schoolmates Gladys Horton, Katherine Anderson, Georgeanna Tillman, Juanita Cowart (now Cowart Motley), and Georgia Dobbins, who was replaced by Wanda Rogers prior to the group signing their first record deal. Achieving popularity in the early to mid-1960s, they were the first successful act of Motown Records after the Miracles and its first significantly successful female group after the release of the 1961 number-one single, "Please Mr. Postman", one of the first number-one singles recorded by an all-female vocal group and the first by a Motown recording act.^[2]

They struggled with problems of poor promotion from Motown, health issues and substance abuse with Cowart the first to leave in 1963, followed by Georgeanna Tillman in 1965, and Gladys Horton in 1967. Nevertheless, they managed a comeback in 1966 with "Don't Mess with Bill". In 1969, the group ceased performing and disbanded the next year, following the release of The Return of the Marvelettes featuring only Young (under her married name, Wanda Rogers). That year, both Rogers and Katherine Anderson left the music business.