Few groups got off to such a successful start as Martha & The Vandellas. The Vandellas, fronted by the great Martha Reeves, sang backup on several tunes by Marvin Gaye. When they teamed up with the songwriting powerhouse Eddie Holland, magic happened and they became the 50th most successful act of the 60s. In 1963, they scored their first hit with "Come And Get These Memories," which went to #29. The rest is history with a string of impressive hits like "Heat Wave" (#4), "Quicksand" (#8), "Dancing In The Street" (#2), "Nowhere To Run" (#8), "I'm Ready For Love" (#9), "Jimmy Mack" (#10), and "Honey Chile" (#11). As the 60s turned into the 70s, the music scene was a-changing, and their malt shop style was losing fashion. Released in 1970, "I Gotta Let You Go" only reached #93 - it probably would have gone top 10 if released a decade earlier. The group scored one final chart hit when "Bless You" reached #53 in 1971. Martha Reeves then left to pursue a solo career, which didn't pan out.
Shorty Long was a talented up and coming R&B singer whose life was tragically cut short in 1969 in a boating accident. He was only 29 years old and just scored a top 10 hit with the terrific "Here Comes The Judge" (#8). Shorty Long had a few other minor splashes on the chart before his big hit, like "Function At The Junction," co-written with Eddie Holland. This one landed at #97 in 1966 -- why it didn't perform better is a mystery.
Hailing from Detroit, Motown artist Eddie Holland first scored a hit with "Jamie" in 1962 - that tune went to #30 and would remain his best chart performance. He wrote plenty of other songs for other Motown artists, but should have had more hits on his own. "Candy To Me" is surely one of them, but it stalled at #58 in 1964.
