'I can out-dance Bowie and Jagger!' – Martha Reeves on Motown, Dancing in the Street and smashing crockery with Dusty Springfield
In an interview with The Guardian, Motown legend Martha Reeves recalls her career, working with Marvin Gaye, her friendship with Dusty Springfield, and her time in Detroit politics.
Martha Reeves, lead singer of Martha and the Vandellas, has given a candid interview reminiscing about the golden era of Motown. She was discovered by producer William Stevenson after winning an amateur contest and the next day showed up unannounced at Hitsville, USA, where she was immediately hired as a secretary.
Reeves draws parallels between Motown and the Ford assembly line, noting that founder Berry Gordy had worked at Ford and applied similar management techniques. She remembers Stevie Wonder at age nine conducting an adult choir in a Pentecostal church – a sign of genius.
One of the highlights is the story behind 'Dancing in the Street'. Reeves recalls standing outside the studio window admiring Marvin Gaye, who invited her to sing the song. Gaye played piano, drums, and melodica on the track, which later became an anthem for the civil rights movement, replacing rioting with dancing.
She speaks warmly of the Holland–Dozier–Holland songwriting team, who gave her hits like 'Heat Wave'. Following her mother's advice, she always sang with genuine emotion, relating the lyrics to her own experiences.
The interview also covers her friendship with Dusty Springfield. In the early 1960s at the Brooklyn Fox, a distressed Springfield bought crockery and threw it against the wall. Reeves joined in, and the two became close friends, later traveling to Brazil and London.
Reeves admits she dislikes other artists covering her songs – she calls herself 'selfish'. She recalls being jealous of David Bowie and Mick Jagger's version of 'Dancing in the Street', insisting she could out-dance them both. Between 2005 and 2009, she served on the Detroit City Council, where she introduced several local laws, including the roundabout in Michigan. Her favourite performance remains singing Sunday school in her grandfather's church at age 11.
