Quote Originally Posted by reese View Post
I remember reading that it was actually the Drifters' manager George Treadwell who owned the name. At one point in the 50s, he fired the original group and replaced them with a younger group, the Five Crowns, headed by Ben E. King. After George's death, I believe his widow Faye retained the name.

Martha may have been given some rights to the name Vandellas in recent years. But in the 80s, in the book NOWHERE TO RUN, she was quoted as saying she didn't own the name and Motown could send another group on the road if they so wished. I gather Rosalind and Annette may have some rights now as well since they tour as "The Original Vandellas."
@reese,

Yes, it certainly is true that George Treadwell claimed rights to the name, I just don’t know the group history well enough to know how that came about. The contract term that I was quoting from would’ve been in the groups contract with Atlantic so probably before George Treadwell acquired any ostensible ownership in the name.

I think my recollection of the Vandellas was wrong because I remembered Martha Reeves saying that the Vandellas worked for her and she could hire and fire them. So I was thinking she claimed ownership to the name as well. Thanks for the clarification.