Martha Reeves

One of the leading ladies of R&B in the 1960s, Martha Reeves was the earthy, powerful leader of Martha Reeves and the Vandellas, a Motown female act that scored some of the label's biggest hits between 1964 and 1967, including "(Love is Like a) Heat Wave," "Dancing in the Street" and "Jimmy Mack." Reeves and the Vandellas' blend of church fire and street sass offered a grittier alternative to Motown's premier female vocal act, The Supremes, which endeared them to rock and pop listeners alike. The Vandellas' fortunes ran out in the early 1970s, after which Reeves struggled to establish herself as a solo artist. She experienced a respectable comeback in the 1980s before moving into Detroit city politics for the better part of the 2000s. Though not quite as successful on the charts as Diana Ross and the Supremes, Martha Reeves and the Vandellas enjoyed lasting favor among music fans that took their music as a clarion call to get loose, get sweaty and enjoy life.