Classic Pop Icons

Gladys Horton, former lead singer of the Marvelettes, sadly died yesterday (Jan 26) aged 65 at a nursing home in Sherman Oaks, California. She was recuperating at the home after suffering a stroke last year. The Marvelettes scored Motown’s first ever number one hit with “Please Mr. Postman” in 1961.

Motown founder Berry Gordy said in a statement:

Gladys was a student at Inkster High School in Detroit when she formed the group that would become the Marvelettes with Katherine Anderson, Juanita Cowart, Georgeanna Tillman and Georgia Dobbins. The group’s original name was the Casinyets (“can’t sing yet”), but this was soon changed to the Marvels and then the Marvelettes after their successful audition for Motown. Their first single was “Please Mr. Postman” in the summer of 1961 and it would be their biggest hit, reaching number one on the Billboard Hot 100. The Beatles later recorded the song for their 1963 album “With the Beatles.”

In 1968, Gladys left the group to get married and was replaced by Anne Bogan. She continued to perform in later years though under the name “Gladys Horton of the Marvelettes.”

There’s no better way to remember Gladys Horton than through two of her biggest hits:

The Marvelettes – “Please Mr. Postman”

The Marvelettes – “Too Many Fish in the Sea”

Rest in peace Gladys Horton.