Don't make hurting me a habit- cute one from the marvelettes

[kenneth]

I know what you're saying and perhaps that idea of Gladys Horton returning to the group could have possibly been explored, but I believe her first child was born with special needs. That alone would have meant Gladys would have had to make a hard choice. I suspect that if she had planned to return to the Marvelettes after her child's birth, the decision was made when it was discovered her son had special needs.

You are correct. I had forgotten that about her child. I believe her marriage splintered around the same time. One book quoted her saying something like, "I kept waiting for him to take over, but he never took over." So likely there was more than one reason which led to her decision.

[reese]

You are correct. I had forgotten that about her child. I believe her marriage splintered around the same time. One book quoted her saying something like, "I kept waiting for him to take over, but he never took over." So likely there was more than one reason which led to her decision.

In her book, Gladys was very detailed on her years after the Marvelettes. She and her husband moved to the West Coast and things began to sour. But she doesn't mention wanting any return to the group until the 70s and 80s.

[WaitingWatchingLookingForAChance]

Gladys wrote about this in her book. There was some outfit that Berry requested, then demanded that they not wear because her pregnancy was obvious. The group had recently experienced theft of their costumes so they didn't have a lot on hand to wear so they went against him. That said, Gladys had already planned to leave the group and this happened during her last engagement.

This is really ultra surprising, this account of Berry's involvement with the group. I had the impression he wasn't spending any kind of time paying attention to the group.

[reese]

This is really ultra surprising, this account of Berry's involvement with the group. I had the impression he wasn't spending any kind of time paying attention to the group.

More than likely, Berry didn't have the same input in them as he had in the Supremes or the Tempts. But I think he was still interested.

Just a few minutes ago, I listened to a segment of an interview with Motown arranger David Van Depitte. He mentioned Smokey wanted him to do a string arrangement for a Marvelettes Xmas album. I gather it didn't happen but it is a nice thought.

[WaitingWatchingLookingForAChance]

More than likely, Berry didn't have the same input in them as he had in the Supremes or the Tempts. But I think he was still interested.

Just a few minutes ago, I listened to a segment of an interview with Motown arranger David Van Depitte. He mentioned Smokey wanted him to do a string arrangement for a Marvelettes Xmas album. I gather it didn't happen but it is a nice thought.

Amazing. All of this is amazing information. Over the years I started having the feeling that maybe the Marvelettes weren't quite as "invisible" in the Motown structure as I had believed from various things I've read in the past. It's really hard to tell in some regards because I've read conflicting accounts from Gladys and Wanda. In a magazine interview done in, maybe the 80s or 90s that is up on Pinterest, Gladys speaks well of her time at Motown. I think she even commented on how if you worked hard on your craft Motown would be there to support you. It didn't seem as if she had any bitterness. But then from all accounts about her book, it seems she did have some resentments. Well, I guess sometimes we do that ourselves - as we get older, we look back at events and our impressions change. Katherine though, well she leaves absolutely NO ambiguity about what she felt about Motown and Berry, but her thoughts don't seem to be from a place of resentment as much as it seems to be simply that she was and is a realist with no rose-tinted view of Motown or the entertainment field. Actually, her comments, cutting as they can be, can also be funny in her down to earth way of putting things.