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View Full Version : The Marvelettes' "Please Mr. Postman" was released 50 years ago today...

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carlo
08-21-2011, 02:28 PM
...Motown's first # 1 hit. The lives of millions forever changed! :)


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=425GpjTSlS4
Roberta75
08-21-2011, 04:08 PM
...Motown's first # 1 hit. The lives of millions forever changed! :)


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=425GpjTSlS4

And it still holds up today. A true classic.

Roberta
tomato tom
08-21-2011, 05:18 PM
Hope Mr Postman brings Forever More soon!...Paulo xxx
motony
08-21-2011, 08:49 PM
50 years, so hard to beleive.I wore that 45 out, also used it to give Mashed Potato lessons to my friends.LOL
motown_david
08-22-2011, 06:52 AM
We could have done with you attending our ballroom dancing lesson last night, motony! In between the waltz and the cha cha cha, out instrucor was asking if anyone could do the Mashed Potato, as he had to teach it to another class later this week. I directed him to one of the Wii [[sp?) dance games. My granddaughters challenged me to a Mashed Potato dance contest of their Wii last Christmas and I won! The thing is I'm so old now I can't remember the steps I performed..... LMAO
Stone Diamond
08-22-2011, 10:31 AM
Does this mean it's now out of copyright?
And I still think The Mashed Potato was the best of the dance crazes, [[and it was the main dance in the top Mod Discos in the '60's) and at 64 I can still do it :-)
Dee Dee Sharp's "Mashed Potato Time", & Little Eva's "The Locomotion" were straight copies, as proved by the fact that they are now Jobete items.
kenneth
08-22-2011, 11:13 AM
Does this mean it's now out of copyright?
And I still think The Mashed Potato was the best of the dance crazes, [[and it was the main dance in the top Mod Discos in the '60's) and at 64 I can still do it :-)
Dee Dee Sharp's "Mashed Potato Time", & Little Eva's "The Locomotion" were straight copies, as proved by the fact that they are now Jobete items.

I'm not sure that's what that means. I had previously thought that the writers of "Please Mr. Postman" had to share credit with the writers of "Mashed Potato Time" because of how similar the PMP song's structure was to the earlier MPT. But I guess it was actually the other way around, MPT was the later hit and the the writers of MPT had to share credit with PMP. Still, regarding the copyright, the rights to MPT and Locomotion could have simply been bought up though an acquisition by Jobete later, though I don't know that for a fact.
randy_russi
08-22-2011, 12:27 PM
I know that Motown wanted a piece of Mashed Potato Time and did get part of the publishing and "Brianbert" added to
the writers' credits. But I do not hear anything on The Loco-Motion by Little Eva that sounds similar and haven't
heard before that Jobete has the publishing on it.
Motown were big on copying too--What's So Good About Goodbye by the Miracles [[Raindrops by Dee Clark), and
several others I could cite.
randy_russi
08-22-2011, 12:28 PM
Also, Please Mr. Postman was BEFORE Mashed Potato Time, which is why the Dee Dee Sharp hit has a quote and line
about the Marvelettes' hit.
motony
08-22-2011, 12:33 PM
"Locomotion"??That certainly doesn't have any similarity to Postman.When I purchased the "Its Mashed Potato Time"LP in '62 it had Brianbert as part of the writers & Jobete as part of the publishing.
daddyacey
08-22-2011, 01:08 PM
Dang--- I was 6 years old then .....................
Dang--- I still have that original 45....
marv2
08-22-2011, 02:09 PM
Now I know how Kenneth feels. Carlo, I kinda wished now you hadn't reminded us, hehehehehehehe.....!

Congratulations to the Marvelettes on this milestone. Amazing!
kenneth
08-22-2011, 02:13 PM
Now I know how Kenneth feels. Carlo, I kinda wished now you hadn't reminded us, hehehehehehehe.....!

Congratulations to the Marvelettes on this milestone. Amazing!

Yeah! This is about the only place I can't hide my age!
Jimi LaLumia
08-23-2011, 09:42 AM
Motown has NEVER acknowledged that The Marvelettes gave them their breakthrough ,first ever #1 Pop Hit on the Billboard chart..I just pulled out the vinyl "Greatest Hits" album from 1966[[had it since was new!) and even in the liner notes on the back cover,they treat "Postman" as just another Motown hit record..this has been brewing for a LONG time
randy_russi
08-23-2011, 10:12 AM
And you know what else...The Greatest Hits lp doesn't even identify the individuals in the group. It never gives their names
and neither did the lp "The Marvelettes" with the pink cover.
Jimi LaLumia
08-23-2011, 10:33 AM
as kids we paid no attention to this, seemed harmless, but now, in retrospect,"it's clear as a highway sign"
Stone Diamond
08-26-2011, 02:59 AM
Dee Dee Sharp's "Mashed Potato Time" was written in the same chord progression as "Postman", and Kal Mann intended it to be the follow up, but Jobete rejected the demo, so Dave Appel put it out on Cameo. Same goes for "The Locomotion" it was also written with the same chord progression, and was sued by Jobete. Interesting thing about that one is the flip, it's another King-Goffin rip-off; if anyone has heard "Well" the fipside of the Olympics "Western Movies", Little Eva's "He Is The Boy" is identical to, even down to the middle eight!