[REMOVE ADS]




Results 1 to 41 of 41

Thread: Oh Martha!

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Posts
    6,831
    Rep Power
    392

    Oh Martha!

    Two days of rehearsals and her segment was completely cut from Motown 60. And when the Motown stars were asked to stand, no recognition at all?

    To be a fly on the wall at her house this evening.....

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Posts
    43,221
    Rep Power
    600
    They cut her and the Vandellas out of Motown 45 too. I wonder if she knew in advance of the broadcast that they would be cutting her out?

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Posts
    11,248
    Rep Power
    291
    You could spot her sitting not far behind Berry. I didn’t think the Vandellas were there with Martha, performing. Am I wrong?

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Posts
    43,221
    Rep Power
    600
    Quote Originally Posted by luke View Post
    You could spot her sitting not far behind Berry. I didn’t think the Vandellas were there with Martha, performing. Am I wrong?
    I didn't see any of the Vandellas but since it was in CA, I wouldn't put it pass Betty Kelly to be somewhere out in that audience. I did see Freda Payne for a hot second.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Dec 2017
    Posts
    273
    Rep Power
    0
    She had a rightfully pissed look. The camera caught her at the exact right time. The show sucked.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Posts
    4,034
    Rep Power
    0
    Quote Originally Posted by marybrewster View Post
    Two days of rehearsals and her segment was completely cut from Motown 60. And when the Motown stars were asked to stand, no recognition at all?

    To be a fly on the wall at her house this evening.....
    Not sure why she was cut from the show but I've seen a few recent live performances of hers online and they were to say the least not good at all

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Posts
    1,346
    Rep Power
    186
    Quote Originally Posted by Fourtopsbiggestfan View Post
    She had a rightfully pissed look. The camera caught her at the exact right time. The show sucked.
    She probably would not have known at the time of the taping that she was being cut...so if she looked pissed, there was probably another reason...

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Posts
    4,283
    Rep Power
    349
    I noticed she looked pissed several times the camera caught her. Like StuBass said, there was no way she would know they were cutting her segment so it had to be about something else.

    Maybe cutting her portion was for the best and saved her from embarrassment. We all know the condition of Martha's voice. It's not held up like her counterparts. I do think the Grammys should have at least given her during the Motown family acknowledgement moment an upclose shot with her name showing. There was no need to re-show that awful J.Lo segment. That was a waste of a good 6 minutes where we could have seen Martha, Claudette, Otis or Duke share their memories. But as for a performance, cutting her singing segment was probably for the best.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Posts
    43,221
    Rep Power
    600
    Quote Originally Posted by bradsupremes View Post
    I noticed she looked pissed several times the camera caught her. Like StuBass said, there was no way she would know they were cutting her segment so it had to be about something else.

    Maybe cutting her portion was for the best and saved her from embarrassment. We all know the condition of Martha's voice. It's not held up like her counterparts. I do think the Grammys should have at least given her during the Motown family acknowledgement moment an upclose shot with her name showing. There was no need to re-show that awful J.Lo segment. That was a waste of a good 6 minutes where we could have seen Martha, Claudette, Otis or Duke share their memories. But as for a performance, cutting her singing segment was probably for the best.
    Did you noticed they stole more than a few ideas from Motown 25. Like having Cedric play a DJ. On Motown 25 they used Howard Hessman as a "DJ".

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Jan 2012
    Posts
    839
    Rep Power
    157
    Quote Originally Posted by bradsupremes View Post
    Maybe cutting her portion was for the best and saved her from embarrassment.
    If she would just stick to the original vocal arrangements and not add all those trills and flourishes, which were never that great to begin with, she'd probably sound about as good as any of the other Hitsville singers of a certain age. In the middle 1970s when she added an octave she loved showing it off, but that was then, this is now. All our voices age after all. She's a law unto herself, though, for better or for worse. As mentioned, if they had included her segment, if she was trilling up and down the scales, it would probably have done her a disservice.

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Posts
    10,018
    Rep Power
    314
    So y'all think they cut her out to save her from embarrassment? I mean social media can be cruel. I can imagine Twitter's reaction to Martha Reeves if they heard the classics and then see her onstage with the trills. Either way, it is sad. She is a true legend, she should've gotten SOME shine.

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Feb 2011
    Posts
    6,340
    Rep Power
    346
    Quote Originally Posted by midnightman View Post
    So y'all think they cut her out to save her from embarrassment? I mean social media can be cruel. I can imagine Twitter's reaction to Martha Reeves if they heard the classics and then see her onstage with the trills. Either way, it is sad. She is a true legend, she should've gotten SOME shine.
    So our dear First Lady of Motown Dr Martha Reeves songs didnt make the show? Thats a darned shame for a great lady whos Motowns greatest ambassaddor. Ive not watched the show yet as im seeing it Friday night with my nephew and his husband.

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Posts
    10,018
    Rep Power
    314
    Quote Originally Posted by Roberta75 View Post
    So our dear First Lady of Motown Dr Martha Reeves songs didnt make the show? Thats a darned shame for a great lady whos Motowns greatest ambassaddor. Ive not watched the show yet as im seeing it Friday night with my nephew and his husband.
    Yeah she got cut. Apparently they showed her in the audience and she wasn't happy that night.

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Oct 2012
    Posts
    2,386
    Rep Power
    279
    What an absolute disgrace to be so disrespectful to Martha. She and the various Vandellas were a staple of Motown, gave it perhaps its most iconic song [[Dancing in the Street), and this is the thanks in old age she and the Vandellas get. It's downright criminal.

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Jan 2011
    Posts
    1,845
    Rep Power
    179
    Quote Originally Posted by midnightman View Post
    So y'all think they cut her out to save her from embarrassment? I mean social media can be cruel. I can imagine Twitter's reaction to Martha Reeves if they heard the classics and then see her onstage with the trills. Either way, it is sad. She is a true legend, she should've gotten SOME shine.
    I have seen Martha sing wo the band in lower register and she sounded great. Her usual warble was very minimal.

  16. #16
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Posts
    43,221
    Rep Power
    600
    Quote Originally Posted by detmotownguy View Post
    I have seen Martha sing wo the band in lower register and she sounded great. Her usual warble was very minimal.
    Same here. I heard Martha sing "How Great Thou Art" at Al Abrams funeral acapella and she sounded great.

  17. #17
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Posts
    10,018
    Rep Power
    314
    Quote Originally Posted by detmotownguy View Post
    I have seen Martha sing wo the band in lower register and she sounded great. Her usual warble was very minimal.
    Good to hear.

  18. #18
    Join Date
    Dec 2017
    Posts
    273
    Rep Power
    0
    Quote Originally Posted by Roberta75 View Post
    So our dear First Lady of Motown Dr Martha Reeves songs didnt make the show? Thats a darned shame for a great lady whos Motowns greatest ambassaddor. Ive not watched the show yet as im seeing it Friday night with my nephew and his husband.
    Definitely should have gotten the whole rainbow shone upon her. The show was pathetic and trash.

  19. #19
    Quote Originally Posted by BigAl View Post
    If she would just stick to the original vocal arrangements and not add all those trills and flourishes, which were never that great to begin with, she'd probably sound about as good as any of the other Hitsville singers of a certain age. In the middle 1970s when she added an octave she loved showing it off, but that was then, this is now. All our voices age after all. She's a law unto herself, though, for better or for worse. As mentioned, if they had included her segment, if she was trilling up and down the scales, it would probably have done her a disservice.
    The comments about the trills and what not illustrates something Motown was VERY good at: they stressed the importance of singers sticking strictly to the melody line and not "coloring outside of the lines" too much. There are examples of alternate takes of well-known songs where the singer was given more leeway and when they tossed in those little trills and extras, it rarely worked. I think even David Ruffin suffered a bit when he went solo. Don't get wrong, he was an incredible singer, but a lot of the 2nd-tier producers I think were prone to just let David go with what he felt, mainly on his first solo album, and it just muddled what could have been even greater performances. When he was with the Tempts, Norman, Smokey and H-D-H always kept his vocals reigned in and it just made the performances all the stronger. I think Martha too felt that she had earned the right to do a song how she felt it should be done. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't so well.

  20. #20
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Posts
    21,798
    Rep Power
    460
    One idea would have been to have one of these young performers they needed for ratings to appear but wrap it into appearances by Duke and Otis and Mary and Martha-if such appearances are palatable for all concerned

  21. #21
    Join Date
    Apr 2011
    Posts
    2,411
    Rep Power
    182
    I love Martha but she MAY have been pissed about her actual performance after it was done [[she has to know what she sounds like these days) and if it's like recent stuff we've seen who knows what the audience reaction was? the audience was not made up of Reeves fans willing to look past what has happened to her voice..just saying..

  22. #22
    Join Date
    Oct 2012
    Posts
    131
    Rep Power
    140
    If she sounded anything like she did on her last CD, it’s no wonder her performance was cut. I was really shocked with how awful she sounded on that, and that was released in 2004 so I doubt that she’s gotten better since then.

  23. #23
    Join Date
    Feb 2012
    Posts
    2,036
    Rep Power
    213
    Quote Originally Posted by Fourtopsbiggestfan View Post
    She had a rightfully pissed look. The camera caught her at the exact right time. The show sucked.
    Martha May have been pissed, but not about being cut as she sang Nowhere To Run At the taping. From all I’ve spoken to, it was a bad night for Martha - very, very, bad. Still, she should have been given her props in some fashion. Also, Smokey’s songs were cut way down in time as were Stevie’s. Diana was featured in the first 30 40 minutes but was deemed the highlight and edited to the end. Also, I’m told Thelma tore the place apart in person. I feel very, very bad for Martha.

  24. #24
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Posts
    43,221
    Rep Power
    600
    Quote Originally Posted by Jimi LaLumia View Post
    I love Martha but she MAY have been pissed about her actual performance after it was done [[she has to know what she sounds like these days) and if it's like recent stuff we've seen who knows what the audience reaction was? the audience was not made up of Reeves fans willing to look past what has happened to her voice..just saying..
    Yeah but they would clap for Bob Dylan, some one that could never sing or carry a tune.

  25. #25
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Posts
    21,798
    Rep Power
    460
    Quote Originally Posted by marv2 View Post
    Yeah but they would clap for Bob Dylan, some one that could never sing or carry a tune.
    Yes but there was a time when Martha could carry a very good tune; I mean many very good tunes - Dancing, Nowhere, Heat Wave etc.

    And Bob never did a song where he bothered with that.

    A sad time for Martha Reeves who is always a positive spirit and loves Motown and it's artists.

  26. #26
    Join Date
    Aug 2016
    Posts
    3,945
    Rep Power
    387
    Quote Originally Posted by marv2 View Post
    Yeah but they would clap for Bob Dylan, some one that could never sing or carry a tune.
    My Rottweiler is a better singer...and better looking. Maybe he could write lyrics...but,
    Jesus...that voice!

  27. #27
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Posts
    1,346
    Rep Power
    186
    Martha & The Vandellas were a great Motown legacy group with Marthas terrific leads on some really great material on their recordings and she's been a huge Motown booster throughout the years... I agree that her voice has waviered and quavered throughout the years at various times. I've heard her really bad vibrato, and I've heard her perform much better as time has marched on. I don't know how her taping went for this particular show...Now that we've addressed that question...I can also say, based on VERY reliable first hand accounts, that most may not be aware of...and also despite the fact that Martha has been closely tied to Detroit and the Motown Museum...that she and Berry Gordy have had a somewhat strained relationship throughout the years, including the time in the 80's that Martha in a huff fled the scene of a Motown television taping in Los Angeles [[for reasons I won't go into except that involved Jean Carne) and Berry tracked her down and reportedly told her that if she did not return IMMEDIATELY...he'd see that she NEVER worked on ANY Motown project again... She did return...True story...
    Last edited by StuBass1; 04-24-2019 at 05:48 PM.

  28. #28
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Posts
    43,221
    Rep Power
    600
    Quote Originally Posted by lakeside View Post
    My Rottweiler is a better singer...and better looking. Maybe he could write lyrics...but,
    Jesus...that voice!
    Lakeside! I just busted out laughing here!!!!! LOL!!!

  29. #29
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Posts
    43,221
    Rep Power
    600
    Quote Originally Posted by StuBass1 View Post
    Martha & The Vandellas were a great Motown legacy group with Marthas terrific leads on some really great material on their recordings and she's been a huge Motown booster throughout the years... I agree that her voice has waviered and quavered throughout the years at various times. I've heard her really bad vibrato, and I've heard her perform much better as time has marched on. I don't know how her taping went for this particular show...Now that we've addressed that question...I can also say, based on VERY reliable first hand accounts, that most may not be aware of...and also despite the fact that Martha has been closely tied to Detroit and the Motown Museum...that she and Berry Gordy have had a somewhat strained relationship throughout the years, including the time in the 80's that Martha in a huff fled the scene of a Motown television taping in Los Angeles [[for reasons I won't go into except that involved Jean Carne) and Berry tracked her down and reportedly told her that if she did not return IMMEDIATELY...he'd see that she NEVER worked on ANY Motown project again... She did return...True story...
    I love your stories Stu, but that all happened a while back. Martha Reeves and Berry Gordy get along very well now. I saw the message he sent to her to read at Al Abrams funeral. They have gotten along very well in the last 20 years or more.

  30. #30
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Posts
    11,248
    Rep Power
    291
    Maybe I missed it but when camera went to Martha she looked happy. Janie Bradford did not.

  31. #31
    Join Date
    Jan 2011
    Posts
    1,845
    Rep Power
    179
    Quote Originally Posted by midnightman View Post
    Good to hear.
    Sort of recently she sang love makes me do foolish things she was wearing a blue suit [[i think on YouTube) and in another instance she did an interview in Detroit small cafe and sang I’ll Be There. Maybe w only a small piano. Her talent is there. Nobody can work the stage like Martha.
    Last edited by detmotownguy; 04-24-2019 at 09:02 PM.

  32. #32
    Join Date
    Jan 2011
    Posts
    1,845
    Rep Power
    179
    Go find what Joni Mitchell has to say abt Dylan......

  33. #33
    Join Date
    Jan 2011
    Posts
    1,845
    Rep Power
    179
    If the Vandellas would sing along with her it might control things a bit. She just gets carried away.

  34. #34
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Posts
    43,221
    Rep Power
    600
    Quote Originally Posted by detmotownguy View Post
    Sort of recently she sang love makes me do foolish things she was wearing a blue suit [[i think on YouTube) and in another instance she did an interview in Detroit small cafe and sang I’ll Be There. Maybe w only a small piano. Her talent is there. Nobody can work the stage like Martha.

    I saw that one. It was with Charlie Le Duff. Martha's friend was threatening to beat Charlies ass right there in the diner. LOL!

  35. #35
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Posts
    43,221
    Rep Power
    600
    Quote Originally Posted by detmotownguy View Post
    Go find what Joni Mitchell has to say abt Dylan......

    I take it that it wasn't something good?

  36. #36
    Join Date
    Jan 2011
    Posts
    1,845
    Rep Power
    179
    Quote Originally Posted by marv2 View Post
    I take it that it wasn't something good?
    lol!!! More abt his writing. She is a far superior writer than him IMO. Anyway, He can’t sing if u call it that!

  37. #37
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Posts
    43,221
    Rep Power
    600
    Quote Originally Posted by detmotownguy View Post
    lol!!! More abt his writing. She is a far superior writer than him IMO. Anyway, He can’t sing if u call it that!
    Bob Dylan has no shame when it comes to trying to sing. He will stand up in front of a huge audience and just "sing" his song. A part of me appreciates that. It's like he doesn't give a ****! LOL!!!!

  38. #38
    Join Date
    Jan 2011
    Posts
    1,845
    Rep Power
    179
    Quote Originally Posted by marv2 View Post
    I saw that one. It was with Charlie Le Duff. Martha's friend was threatening to beat Charlies ass right there in the diner. LOL!
    That’s right we talked abt the diner incident!!!!! Martha sounded great.

  39. #39
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Posts
    43,221
    Rep Power
    600
    Quote Originally Posted by detmotownguy View Post
    That’s right we talked abt the diner incident!!!!! Martha sounded great.
    Only in Detroit, hehehehehehe!

  40. #40
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Posts
    1,346
    Rep Power
    186
    Quote Originally Posted by marv2 View Post
    I love your stories Stu, but that all happened a while back. Martha Reeves and Berry Gordy get along very well now. I saw the message he sent to her to read at Al Abrams funeral. They have gotten along very well in the last 20 years or more.
    There is a reason that some of the Motown alumni were not only not performing on the special...but received little acclaim or mention... I realize that it was a NARAS production...but there are reasons behind who was featured and who was not... I can understand the Tempts and Tops not performing with only one original [[non-lead) member...but for some others...there are reasons... Don't know the current relationship between Berry/Martha, Diana/Mary, Diana/Gladys...etc...but there has been history between all of them and it still wouldn't surprise me if those old feuds didn't play a significant role in the fact that they were largely ignored...

  41. #41
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Posts
    10,018
    Rep Power
    314
    Good point, Stu. :/

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  

[REMOVE ADS]

Ralph Terrana
MODERATOR

Welcome to Soulful Detroit! Kindly Consider Turning Off Your Ad BlockingX
Soulful Detroit is a free service that relies on revenue from ad display [regrettably] and donations. We notice that you are using an ad-blocking program that prevents us from earning revenue during your visit.
Ads are REMOVED for Members who donate to Soulful Detroit. [You must be logged in for ads to disappear]
DONATE HERE »
And have Ads removed.