UpDate - Vol. 15, No. 3, Page 1
September 14, 1995
Old-time rock 'n' roll scheduled on Oct. 13
They're fun, funky and famous, and they've all recorded hits that
have shaped the history of rock 'n' roll. You'll be yakety-yaking,
dancing in the street and going up on the roof as the University
welcomes Martha Reeves and the Vandellas, The Coasters and The
Drifters to the Bob Carpenter Center at 8 p.m., Friday, Oct. 13,
during Homecoming Weekend.
The concert is open to the public.
All three groups have hits on the "500 Songs that Shaped Rock," a
list recently released by the new Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in
Cleveland.
Jim Henke, chief curator of the Hall of Fame who compiled the
list of the most influential songs of rock 'n' roll, included Yakety
Yak and Young Blood, both by the Coasters; Dancing in the Street and
(Love is Like a) Heat Wave, both by Martha and the Vandellas; and
three Drifters' classics, Money Honey, There Goes My Baby and Up On
The Roof.
Other favorites that can be heard at the October concert include
The Drifters' This Magic Moment and Under the Boardwalk; The Coasters'
Charlie Brown and Love Potion No. 9; and the Martha and the Vandellas'
hit Nowhere to Run.
In July, all three groups performed to an enthusiastic crowd at
the University's Summer Arts Festival in Lewes.
The Coasters
Known as the supreme comedians of rock 'n' roll, The Coasters had
an impact that has deepened with time. The group's songs, parodies and
tunes became million-selling records, and it became the first vocal
group to be inducted into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame in 1987.
The Coasters' first record, Down In Mexico, recorded in the
spring of 1956, propelled the group to fame. Working for Atlantic
Records, it started on a gold- record career that lasted more than a
decade.
Other million sellers include Searching and Young Blood. Three
songs hit number one on the charts: Yakety Yak in 1958 and Charlie
Brown and Poison Ivy, both in 1959. Another big hit for the group was
Love Potion #9.
The four original members of the group met in Los Angeles' black
ghetto where most of them grew up. Originally known as The Robbins,
the group used that name in the early 1950s for recordings of Cell
Block Number Nine, Smoky Joe's Cafe and Framed.
The group took the name The Coasters, because it started on the
West Coast, in l955. In the early '50s, the group was a favorite on
The Ed Sullivan Show and Dick Clark's American Bandstand. The group
has appeared in six major movies and has amassed more than 100 million
record sales.
The Drifters
Reading the 25-year history of The Drifters is like reading a
history of contemporary pop music. From its first release on Atlantic
Records, There Goes My Baby, the group was bound for stardom-with a 2
million seller under the belt on the first try.
Over the next few years, there were 29 additional songs that made
the Billboard charts, accounting for nearly 20 million sales of
singles and over 8 million albums in the U.S. alone. Only The Beatles,
The Rolling Stones and The Bee Gees have sold more records over a more
sustained period of time.
The group has appeared in every major nightclub and concert hall
in the U.S. from Las Vegas to New York's Madison Square Garden. It has
literally toured the entire world, including a performance at the
White House. It was the only group to appear twice in Roots of Rock
and Roll, a syndicated television series.
Today, as right from the beginning, the group includes original
lead singer Bobby Warren and original bass singer Barry Hobbs.
The list of The Drifters' million sellers includes There Goes My
Baby, This Magic Moment, Save The Last Dance For Me, Up On The Roof,
On Broadway and Under the Boardwalk. Another 10 songs, including Some
Kind of Wonderful, reached the Top 10.
Martha Reeves
Martha Reeves is on the road 42 weeks each year in the U.S. and
abroad. Along with her backup group, the Vandellas, she has enjoyed
more than 30 years of performing.
Reeves cites her parents, Elijah and Ruby Reeves, as her greatest
inspiration and teachers. The family spent many happy hours singing
together and playing guitar, and Reeves often sang in the church
choir. The family was raised in Detroit, where Reeves was the oldest
of 11 children. Several of her sisters- Lois, Delphine and Eudora-have
performed as Vandellas.
Reeves was discovered singing in the 20 Grand Club in Detroit.
When she wasn't singing she worked as a secretary at Motown Records.
She also was an executive assistant to Berry Gordy, Stevie Wonder,
Smokey Robinson and others. She organized auditions, sang and provided
special sound effects like hand clapping and foot stomping in many
Motown recordings.
When she was unable to find a back-up group for a session with
Marvin Gaye, she filled in with her own former group Del-phis. A
demonstration record, entitled I'll Have To Let Him Go, caught Gordy's
eye and became Reeves' first release in 1962.
Gordy re-named the group Martha and the Vandellas, changing the
name of the back-up group to reflect the inspiration of Della Reese
and Van Dyke Avenue, where Reeves grew up.
Their second release, Come & Get These Memories, in February l963
is often referred to as the beginning of the Motown sound.
Martha and the Vandellas' first hit, Dancing in the Streets, made
it to number one in 1964. Other hits include Quicksand, Nowhere to
Run, I'm Ready for Love and Jimmy Mack.
Five hit motion pictures have featured songs by Reeves. They
include Backdraft, which featured Heat Wave; Thelma and Louise, which
featured Wild Night; Good Morning Vietnam, which featured Nowhere to
Run; The Big Chill, which featured Dancing in the Street; and Carrie,
which featured Quicksand.
Reeves has appeared on numerous television shows, was featured in
the film Fairy Tales and appeared in television's Quincy.
Tickets are $13 in advance and $15 at the door for the general
public, and $8 in advance and $10 at the door for students and youth
under the age of 17. Tickets also are available through Ticketmaster
at 984-2000. A convenience charge may apply. Call UD1-HENS for more
information.
-Beth Thomas