Martha Reeves is an American R&B and pop vocalist. Martha Reeves was born on July 18, 1941, in Eufaula, Alabama, United States of America.
Table of Contents
Wiki, Bio, Family, Siblings, Childhood & Education
Martha Reeves was born on July 18, 1941, in Eufaula, Alabama, United States of America. She is an American citizen and will be 81 years old in 2022. She was born with the sign of Cancer, and her given name is Martha Rose Reeves.
Her father, Elijah Joshua Reeves, and mother, Ruby Lee Gilmore, gave birth to her. Furthermore, she was the third of her parents’ eleven offspring. And she has yet to disclose the names of her siblings.
Her family relocated from Eufaula to Detroit, Michigan, when she was a child, because her grandpa, Reverend Elijah Reeves, was a minister at Detroit’s Metropolitan Church.
Meanwhile, her family was heavily involved in the church and chorus. Her father played guitar, and Ruby enjoyed singing; the children inherited their parents’ passion for music.
She attended Northeastern High School in Detroit for her academic education. Her voice coach at the time was Abraham Silver, who also worked with Florence Ballard, Mary Wilson (of the Supremes), and Bobby Rogers. (of the Miracles).
Meanwhile, little is known about whether she entered a university for further education or not. She might have dropped out of college to seek a musical career.
Martha Reeves’s Age, Height, Weight, and Body Dimensions
Reeves is 5 feet 6 inches tall (1.7 m) and weighs approximately 75 kg. (165.3 lbs). She also has grey hair and brown eyes, and her other body statistics have yet to be disclosed.
Martha Reeves’s Profession & Career
Growing up on gospel and inspired by vocalists such as Lena Horne and Della Reese, Martha Reeves developed an interest in R&B and doo-wop music. She joined the Fascinations, a pop vocal ensemble active in the mid-1960s, in 1959. Reeves, however, departed the band before it became a recording act. Later, Reeves worked in sales while singing as the Del-Phis with Rosalind Ashford and Annette Sterling and solo as Martha LaVille.
The Vandellas are Martha and her sisters.
In 1962, she signed with Motown Records and became the lead vocalist of the girl group Martha and the Vandellas. Furthermore, the group had a string of successes in the 1960s, including “Heat Wave,” “Quicksand,” “In My Lonely Room,” “Live Wire,” and “Nowhere to Run,” with “Dancing in the Street” becoming their signature tune.
The band also appeared on The Mike Douglas Show, The Joey Bishop Show, American Bandstand, Where the Action Is, Shindig, Swingin’ Time, Soul Train, and The Ed Sullivan Show.
They were also highlighted in major magazine pieces in Johnson Publishing Corp. publications such as HEP, Ebony, and JET, as well as SOUL newspaper and SOUL Illustrated magazine.
However, because of their personal lives, the female group struggled to keep up with their relentless recording and touring schedules. Following the departure of the original member, Rosalind Ashford, in 1968, Martha recruited Sandra Tilley, and the lineup of Martha, Lois Reeves, and Tilley lasted until 1972 when the group disbanded soon after the release of the Black Magic album.
Independent Career
She later relocated to Los Angeles and signed with an MCA label for her solo endeavors. Meanwhile, she collaborated with renowned jazz trombonist J.J Johnson to release the music for the 1974 blaxploitation film Willie Dynamite. That same year, MCA released her self-titled debut solo album, which was produced by Richard Perry.
Despite critical acclaim, the album was not commercially effective. Working for Arista, she recorded “The Rest of My Life” in 1977, as well as two albums for Fantasy, “We Meet Again” in 1978 and “Gotta Keep Moving” in 1980.
She later published the album “Home to You” in 2004. After serving on the Detroit City Council, she returned to music full-time, having performed several shows and embarked on multiple tours.
She also serves on the boards of the SAG-AFTRA Detroit branch and SoundExchange. She appeared before Congress in 2007 on behalf of musicians, session singers, and recording artists who wanted higher wages and royalties.
Furthermore, she has continued to perform individually and with her Vandellas—sisters Lois (a Motown-era Vandella since 1967) and Delphine. (since the mid-1980s). In September of 2018, she was one of the celebrity contestants on the BBC One program Celebrity MasterChef in the United Kingdom.
Awards
Reeves and the Vandellas were elected into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995. In recognition of her contributions to the genre, Reeves earned the Rhythm and Blues Foundation’s Pioneer Award in 1999. This vocalist was inducted into the Michigan Women’s Hall of Fame in 2000.
Similarly, she received the Recording Academy’s Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of her contributions to the music business in 2019. Meanwhile, she has won numerous Detroit Music Awards, including Outstanding Live Performance and Outstanding Urban/Funk/Hip-Hop Recording.
Martha Reeves’s Salary and Net Worth
Reeves has amassed a sizable fortune through her singing profession. Her net worth is currently estimated to be around $5 million, and her yearly salary is unknown. Her earnings derive from album sales, brand promotion, and concerts.
Martha Reeves’s Husband, Marriage & Relationship
Regarding her marital status, Martha Reeves is presently single and divorced. During her tenure, she married twice. First, in 1967, she married a man called Wiley in Las Vegas.
The pair divorced after only nine months of having an affair. She then had a brief romance with a man called Gerald. She has a son called Eric from the relationship, who was born in November 1970. Later, in the early 1970s, she married Willie Dee, which resulted in divorce.
Martha Reeves’s Social Media(Facebook, Twitter, Instagram)
Her Instagram account, ‘@marthareeves7,’ has over 1.9k followers. Similarly, she has over 7.2k followers on Twitter (@MARTHAREEVESvan) and over 19k fans on Facebook.
Quick Facts
Full Name | Martha Reeves |
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Born Date | 18 Jul 1941 |
Age | 81 years |
Horoscope | Cancer |
Lucky Number | 4 |
Lucky Stone | Moonstone |
Lucky Color | Silver |
Best Match for Marriage | Taurus, Pisces, Scorpio |
Gender | Female |
Profession | R&B and pop singer |
Country | United States |
Height | 5 feet 7 inches (1.70m) |
Marital Status | divorce |
Break Up | Gerald |
Divorce | Wiley and Willie Dee |
Net Worth | $5 million |
Eye Color | Brown |
Hair Color | Grey |
Birth Place | Eufaula, Alabama |
Nationality | American |
Religion | Christian |
Education | Detroit’s Northeastern High School |
Father | Elijah Joshua Reeves |
Mother | Ruby Lee Gilmore Reeves |
Siblings | 10 |
Kids | Eric |
Martha Reeves Facebook | |
Martha Reeves Twitter | |
Martha Reeves Instagram | |
Personal Web | Martha Reeves Personal Web |
IMDB | Martha Reeves IMDB |
Wiki | Martha Reeves Wiki |
Brands | N/A |
Hobbies | N/A |