THE MARVELETTES - Please Mr. Postman

The Marvelettes were formed in 1960 by five teenage girls in a Michigan high school glee club, and in 1961 the group was signed to Motown Records - they were one of the young labels first successful bands. Their first single - Please Mr. Postman - was the first Motown Records single ever to hit number one on the charts. It was also one of the first times an all-girl group hit number one. The group had used the song for their audition, which they reworked from a friend's original blues song. Most of the early recordings by The Marvelettes, including Please Mr. Postman, featured Marvin Gaye on Drums. Twenty-two year old Gaye was trying to break into the industry, and he was working at Motown Records as a session drummer. When this song was recorded in 1961 people relied heavily on the postal service, it was one of the main ways people communicated. There were many other mail-related hit songs in this period, such as Return To Sender by Elvis and Signed Sealed Delivered by Stevie Wonder.