Formed:
Genres:
Principal Members:
- Gladys Horton (b. 1944, Detroit, MI): vocals
- Wanda Young (b. 1944, Detroit, MI): vocals
- Georgia Tillman (b. Georgeanna Marie Tillman, 1944, Detroit, MI; d. January 6, 1960, Los Angeles, CA): vocals
- Katherine Anderson (b. 1944, Detroit, MI): vocals
- Juanita Cowart (b. Wyanetta Cowert, 1944, Detroit, MI): vocals
Contributions to music:
- The first Motown act to reach Number One on the charts
- One of the very earliest girl-group sensations, paving the way for the genre
- Their 1961 smash "Please Mister Postman" remains a perennial girl-group favorite
- Went on to record some of the finest hits in the genre in the mid-Sixties, even as their pop audience faded away
Early years:
Success:
Later years:
Other facts:
- The group famously turned down the offer to record "Where Did Our Love Go" before the Supremes, opting instead for "Too Many Fish In The Sea," which became a minor R&B hit
- Original member Juanita Cowart left the group after being endlessly teased for mistakenly commenting on ABC's American Bandstand that Detroit was "a suburb of Inkster"
- Georgeanna Tillman would later marry the Contours' Billy Gordon
- Smokey Robinson wrote and produced many of the group's excellent later hits, such as "Don't Mess With Bill," "The Hunter Gets Captured By The Game," and "My Baby Must Be A Magician"
Awards/Honors:
- Vocal Group Hall of Fame (2004)
Recorded work:
Pop:
"Please Mr. Postman" (1961)
R&B:
"Please Mr. Postman" (1961)
Top 10 hits:
Pop:
"Playboy" (1962)
"Don't Mess With Bill" (1966)
R&B:
"Playboy" (1962)
"Beechwood 4-5789" (1962)"Someday, Someway" (1962)
"Strange I Know" (1963)
"Don't Mess With Bill" (1966)
"The Hunter Gets Captured By The Game" (1966)
"When You're Young And In Love" (1967)
"My Baby Must Be A Magician" (1968)
Top 10 albums:
R&B:
Greatest Hits (1966)
Other important recordings: "So Long Baby," "Twistin' Postman," "Locking Up My Heart," "Too Strong To Be Strung Along," "Forever," "Tie A String Around My Finger," "My Daddy Knows Best," "As Long As I Know He's Mine," "You're My Remedy," "Too Many Fish In The Sea," "He's a Good Guy (Yes He Is)," "I'll Keep Holding On," "Danger! Heartbreak Dead Ahead," "You're The One," "Here I Am Baby," "Destination: Anywhere," "I'm Gonna Hold On As Long As I Can," "That's How Heartaches Are Made," "Marionette," "A Breath-Taking Guy"
Covered by: The Beatles, Carpenters, Blondie, The Commitments, The Detroit Cobras, The Backbeat Band
