Music
Gladys Horton
1945–2011 · singer
Founder and original lead singer of the Marvelettes from Inkster, whose "Please Mr. Postman" was Motown's first No. 1 pop hit.
- Born
Gainesville, Florida- Died
Sherman Oaks, California
aged 65- Birth name
- Gladys Catherine Horton
- Detroit years
- 1950s–1967
- Field
- Music
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Born in Florida and put up for adoption as a baby, Horton was raised by foster families in Inkster, the western Detroit suburb, in a housing project built by Henry Ford for his workers. In the glee club at Inkster High School she started a vocal group with classmates in 1960; after a school talent show, a teacher helped them get a Motown audition. When lead singer Georgia Dobbins, who had shaped "Please Mr. Postman" from a local musician's blues sketch, left the group, 15-year-old Horton reluctantly took over the lead. Renamed the Marvelettes by Berry Gordy, they took "Please Mr. Postman" to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in December 1961, Motown's first. Horton also sang lead on "Playboy" and "Beechwood 4-5789" before Wanda Young became the main voice. She left in 1967, lived in Los Angeles, and returned for Marvelettes recordings in 1990.
Highlights
- Founded the Marvelettes at Inkster High School (1960)
- Lead vocal on "Please Mr. Postman", Motown's first No. 1 pop single (1961)
- Lead on "Playboy" and "Beechwood 4-5789"
- Memoir A Letter From the Postman
02 / Their Detroit places
Their Detroit places 3
Where they lived, worked, performed and liked to hang out. Closed and demolished places stay here too, because they are part of the city's history.
Studied here · 1959–1961
Inkster High School
Demolished · 2015
The Marvelettes formed here in 1960 among glee-club classmates. The school closed in 2013 and was demolished in 2015.
Recorded here · 1961–1967
Motown Museum
The Marvelettes recorded here in Studio A.
Performed here · 1960s
Graystone Ballroom
Demolished · 1922–1980
The Marvelettes played the ballroom, which Berry Gordy bought in 1963. Demolished in 1980.