| "Please Mr. Postman" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 US picture sleeve | ||||
| Single by the Marvelettes | ||||
| from the album Please Mr. Postman | ||||
| B-side | "So Long Baby" | |||
| Released | August 21, 1961 | |||
| Recorded | April 1961 | |||
| Studio | Hitsville U.S.A., Detroit | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 2:31 | |||
| Label | Tamla | |||
| Songwriter(s) |
| |||
| Producer(s) | Brianbert | |||
| The Marvelettes singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Please Mr. Postman" is a song written by Georgia Dobbins, William Garrett, Freddie Gorman, Brian Holland and Robert Bateman. It is the debut single by the Marvelettes for the Tamla (Motown) label,[3] 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.[4] "Please Mr. Postman" became a number-one hit again in early 1975 when The Carpenters' cover of the song reached the top position of the Billboard Hot 100. "Please Mr. Postman" has been covered several times, including by the British rock group the Beatles in 1963. The 2017 song "Feel It Still" by Portugal. The Man draws on "Please Mr. Postman"[5][6] and includes a credit for Brian Holland.
- ^ Posner 2002, pp. 92, 94; Fong-Torres 1990, p. 78.
- ^ a b Smith, Troy L. (December 14, 2021). "Every No. 1 song of the 1970s ranked from worst to best". Cleveland.com. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
- ^ Gilliland, John (1969). "Show 25 – The Soul Reformation: Phase two, the Motown story. [Part 4]" (audio). Pop Chronicles. University of North Texas Libraries.
- ^ Whitburn 2004, p. 379.
- ^ Schlanger, Talia (May 2, 2017). "Portugal. The Man On World Cafe". NPR.org. NPR. Archived from the original on June 18, 2017. Retrieved June 20, 2017.
Then there's the song itself, which bears a certain resemblance to the old Marvelettes song "Please Mr. Postman." And while Portugal. The Man certainly didn't try to pull one over on anybody, and even warned its team about the similarities between the two songs, the band explains why it had to get lawyers involved.
- ^ Havens, Lyndsey (July 17, 2017). "Portugal. The Man Explain How Bernie Sanders Inspired Surprise Hit 'Feel It Still'". Billboard. Archived from the original on December 9, 2020. Retrieved August 26, 2017.