Motown T-shirt with Missing Marvelettes

[daviddesper]

This question will REALLY test the dedication level of some of you fans!!!

About 12 years ago I visited the Motown Museum. It was of course quite the great adventure, even though the major renovations I have read about came along after I was there.

Anyway, in the gift shop that day, I bought a T-shirt that I thought was very cool. I won't be able to describe it very well and I am sure I have long since outgrown it or wore it out, but it featured the names of the Motown stars arranged in sort of a geometric, word-search pattern. You know some going up and down, some across, some diagonal.

It was not until I got home and examined the shirt that I realized that our beloved Marvelettes were NOT featured on that shirt. How could they have not been considered for any list of the classic Motown stars?

Do any of you by any chance recall that shirt and is there any chance that one of you might still have it so you could post a photo of it? It would make for some interesting conversation.

[woodward]

I do not have the specific one that you are referring to, however, I have three t-shirts that I have NEVER worn and acquired from past visits to the museum. Here is a brief description of them.

7 Days Starts Friday, Christmas Day MOTORTOWN REVUE. It has pictures of Marvin Gaye, the Miracles, and the Supremes. All shows only $2. [[c) 1994. It does mention The Marvelettes Too Many Fish In the Sea with no photo. It does also mention Tommy Good. Green background on white.

FOX THEATRE Saturday & Sunday Nov. 16/17. Motortown Revue. It has pictures of Little Stevie, Marvin Gaye, Miracles, Martha & Vandellas, Contours, Kim Weston, Contours, and Mary Wells. I adds Special Added Attractions the Marvelettes and the Temptations. It further indicates Sat. Nov. 16 from 12:30 PM to 5 PM only FREE wallet size artists photos to everybody and $3.98 dance albums [[Motown label) to all over 12 years old. Pink background on white.

On Stage, In Person marquee board of Fox Theater. It has no artists pictures. Motortown Revue - Temptations, Stevie Wonder, Martha & Vandellas, Jimmy Ruffin, Tammi Terrell, Gladys Knight and Pips, J J Barnes, The Underdogs, and Earl Van Dyke. "On screen Brigand of Kandahar." Black background on white.

[carlo]

Is it this shirt, David? If so, the Motown Museum still sells it in a few different colours, in their online shop. I noticed Mary Wells isn't listed on it either. This looks more like early 70's era Motown artwork, based on the style of the different fonts from the various album covers they were taken from, along with the inclusion of Valerie Simpson and Thelma Houston. That could explain why acts like The Marvelettes and Mary Wells were not included.

I may be having a deja vu moment here, and might be incorrectly remembering ...but wasn't this artwork used to promote the Motown fan club somewhere? Perhaps in a specific version of the paper inner sleeves that were included in some vinyl releases from the early 70's?

[copley]

What NO Blinky!

[daviddesper]

Carlo: Good job!! Yes that is the shirt although I don't recall the color of mine. It may have been the same as this black one, but I just don't recall.

But if you will notice some of the lesser-known names that ARE included, you can see why I was disappointed to see The Marvelettes were not.

Actually this discussion and your commentary reminds me of something I believe I had heard before......that this was an early 70s design and it only included acts currently on Motown. Since both Mary and the Marvelettes were not at that time, maybe that explains their exclusion.

In case anyone is wondering, Martha and the Vandellas are included and their name is vertical on the extreme right side as you look at this photo.

[DWSheffer]

I have the brown shirt with orange graphics version of this shirt in my closet.
The artwork is taken from an LP inner sleeve design from 1971. In fact, the lower right corner of the sleeve states it was revised in 8/71, August of 1971.
Darin

[Circa 1824]

Where the heck is Willy Tyler and Lester?

[daviddesper]

Now I feel like a doofus. I probably have a dozen or more of those inner sleeves contained in some of my Motown albums from that period and never ONCE had I put two and two together to realize that the t-shirt design came from that same graphic. Since it was a 1971 design, I guess that does mean that the Marvelettes were officially off the roster by that time.

If so, then that brings up another question........Don't I recall a single release from the group [[Maybe Breath Taking Guy?) from early 1972, even though the Return album had already been out for well over a year? If I am correct on that, why would they have released a single that long after the group had been considered disbanded?

[carlo]

Glad to help, David!

Thank you for jogging my memory, DWSheffer! I had checked a few of my LP's yesterday, looking for this sleeve, but couldn't find it. I was going crazy, being almost certain that this t-shirt design had come from a version of the inner sleeve. Thanks for posting this photo, as this is exactly it.

[reese]

Now I feel like a doofus. I probably have a dozen or more of those inner sleeves contained in some of my Motown albums from that period and never ONCE had I put two and two together to realize that the t-shirt design came from that same graphic. Since it was a 1971 design, I guess that does mean that the Marvelettes were officially off the roster by that time.

If so, then that brings up another question........Don't I recall a single release from the group [[Maybe Breath Taking Guy?) from early 1972, even though the Return album had already been out for well over a year? If I am correct on that, why would they have released a single that long after the group had been considered disbanded?

I believe A BREATH TAKING GUY was issued early in 1971.

[BayouMotownMan]

I believe A BREATH TAKING GUY was issued early in 1971.

That song was released actually in early 1972, over a year after the break up of the group. No one seems to know why it was issued after the group was DOA. Very strange release.

[Graham Jarvis]

A Breath Taking Guy:

The Marvelettes: Motown Albums Vol-2 1970 and later 1972
The Supremes : Motown Singles Vol-3 1963
Sandy Chaplin : 45 Empire 119 1965 [Jobete]
The Supremes : [[Stereo) 1963 / 50th Anniversary The Singles Collection 1961-1969 Disc1