Happy Birthday, Martha Reeves! Listen to Her Live Rendition of Martha and the Vandellas’ “Heat Wave”
Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Music Features Martha Reeves
Martha Reeves, best known as the lead singer of Martha and the Vandellas, turns 78 today. The Motown girl group was best known for hits like “Heat Wave,” “Nowhere To Run” and “Dancing in the Street.” Paste featured their version of “Dancing in the Street” at number 18 in our list of 25 Best Motown Tracks.
Between the early ’60s and ’70s, Martha and the Vandellas had over 25 Billboard charting hits. Reeves was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with other members of the group—Rosalind Ashford, Annette Beard, Betty Kelly, Lois Reeves—back in 1995.
At a New York City show billed as “The Legendary Ladies of Rock & Roll” in 1987, Martha Reeves performed “Heat Wave” with the help of fellow Motown and girl group giants like Shirley Alston Reeves (the Shirelles), Ronnie Spector (the Ronettes), Mary Wells, Brenda Lee, Freda Payne and Lesley Gore.
Listen to Martha Reeves perform “Heat Wave” live in 1987 below.