In Memoriam
Wanda Young, singer of group The Marvelettes, dies at 78
Wanda Young, a legendary singer in the Motown doo-wop girl group The Marvelettes, has died.
Wanda Young, a legendary singer in the Motown doo-wop girl group The Marvelettes, has died.
Young died Dec. 15 of complications of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, her daughter Meta Ventress told The New York Times Saturday.
She was 78.
Wanda Young and The Marvelettes
The Marvelettes (Motown/Tamla Records-photographer-James Kriegsmann, New York, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons | https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Marvelettes_1963.jpg)
Young replaced another singer in the Marvelettes group when Motown head Berry Gordy signed the band in 1961. A month later, The Marvelettes’ “Please Mr. Postman” became the first song on the label to reach the top of the charts.
The group followed the hit with popular songs like “My Baby Must Be A Magician” and “Don’t Mess With Bill,” which both featured Young providing lead vocals.
Wanda Young is survived by three children; seven grandchildren; a great-grandson; four sisters and four brothers.
----------------------------------------------------------
Connect with Unheard Voices on Twitter, Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, YouTube
Download the app on Google Play or ITunes.
----------------------------------------------------------
Unheard Voices Magazine is a news reporting platform covered under Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research.