The Marvelettes had provided Motown with its first #1 pop single with the excellent ‘Please Mr. Postman’, but the resulting album of the same name struggled to make any commercial impact. Comprising largely of cover versions, the album showcased the group’s vocal abilities but was essentially designed to cash in on the single’s success. However, ‘Please Mr. Postman’ ensured the Marvelettes a certain status within the label, despite the emergence of the Supremes.
The Marvelettes had quickly become Motown’s leading source of income, and in December 1961, they released their second single, ‘Twistin’ Postman’. The song served as a sequel to ‘Please Mr. Postman’ and was designed to cash in on the Twist dance craze sweeping America. A lively, upbeat number, ‘Twistin’ Postman’ became a moderate success, peaking at #13 in the R&B charts. However, promoting the single proved difficult; with the group still at school, Gordy had a hard job getting them all together to fulfil a series of dates. Eventually, after consultations with each of the group’s parents, all the girls, bar Wanda Young, dropped out of school, with Berry Gordy assigning his sister, Esther as their legal guardian.
Early in 1962, the Marvelettes were quickly recording new material, with Gladys Horton bringing the bones of a new hit single, ‘Playboy’, to Hitsville studios. Brian Holland, Robert Bateman, and William ‘Mickey’ Stevenson honed it further, and the single was released in April, cracking the top ten of the pop and R&B charts. However, success came with a price to pay, and while appearing on Dick Clark’s America Bandstand, Juanita Cowart made a nervous slip during the interview. Sadly, Cowart subsequently stopped performing live with the group, and after fulfilling her contractual obligations, she eventually left the group. ‘Playboy’ was also Robert Bateman’s final Motown composition, ending a brief but fruitful relationship with the label.
Playboy followed soon after, the group’s third album, released in July to capitalise on the success of its lead single, ‘Playboy’. The record was further supplemented by the concurrent release of a new single, ‘Beechwood 4-5789’, which once again took the group into the top ten of the R&B charts. Although a considerable improvement on Smash Hits of ’62, Playboy was another inconsistent effort, suffering from a large number of contributing songwriters and slightly scrappy production. It’s similar to Please Mr. Postman in many aspects, with Gladys Horton putting in a strong performance, but some of the harmonies are a little shrill at times, lacking a bit of polish.
The album starts with ‘Playboy’, which bears a more than passing resemblance to ‘Please Mr. Postman’, though it lacks its punch. Still, it’s a strong single, the handclaps and driving piano lines giving it a nice rhythm, and the harmonies are sharp. The bouncy ‘Mix It Up’ features some classic call-and-response vocals, but the backing vocals are rather flat, and the twisty chorus fails to take off. The second single, ‘Beechwood 4-5789’, showcases Horton’s elegant voice, but again the harmonies struggle in comparison. Produced by Marvin Gaye, the track was notably covered by the Carpenters in 1982, albeit being a commercial flop.
‘I’m Hooked’ has more oomph, elevated by its horn section, but is hampered by some basic songwriting. Smokey Robinson penned ‘I Think I Can Change You’ slows things down, Horton’s voice tender and mournful. Its chorus isn’t great, but musically it bounces along quite nicely; one of the album’s better-produced tracks. ‘Forever’ sees Wanda Young take lead vocals, and while her voice is pleasant, it lacks the strength of Horton’s; however, she does capture the track’s sentimental energy. ‘Somedays Someway’ is a bit of a musical mess, a little off-key and with too much going on, the harmonies largely being swallowed up.
The gentle, hazy ‘Goddess of Love’ is another Wanda Young-led effort. Again, it’s another pleasant number, but there’s no real bite to it. ‘You Should Know’ allows Horton to stretch her vocal cords, showing off a nice falsetto, able to float over the top of the saxophone solos impressively. ‘(I’ve Got To) Cry Over You’ is another which suffers from slightly weak harmonies, though Horton harnesses the song’s anguish well.
The album seems to be a stylistic stutter, abandoning the more energetic twistin’ sound and drifting back to a more doo-wop-driven sound. It’s essentially filler, and some of the harmonies aren’t quite as sharp as Please Mr. Postman, but it does demonstrate Gladys Horton’s impressive vocal dexterity. It’s not a bad album by any stretch, but it is a classic early Motown LP, rushed and lacking in consistency. The Marvelettes had proven themselves as proficient hitmakers, but the rise of the Supremes and Martha and the Vandellas started threatening their position as Motown’s premier girl group.