Martha Rose Reeves was born in Eufaula, Alabama, the first daughter of Elijah Joshua Reeves and Ruby Lee Gilmore Reeves, and the third of the couple\'s 11 children. She was a baby when the family moved from Eufaula to Detroit, Michigan, where her grandfather, Reverend Elijah Reeves, was a minister at Detroit\'s Metropolitan Church. The family was very active in the church and its choir. Elijah played guitar and Ruby liked to sing; the children acquired their love of music from their parents. At Detroit\'s Northeastern High School, her vocal coach was Abraham Silver, who also worked with Florence Ballard and Mary Wilson (of the Supremes) and Bobby Rogers (of the Miracles). Raised on gospel, and inspired by singers like Lena Horne and Della Reese, Reeves became a fan of R&B and doo-wop music. She joined the Fascinations in 1959, but left the group before they became a recording act.\n', '

1957 was her first association with Rosalind Ashford, Gloria Williams and Annette Beard in a group then known as The Del-Phis, formed after a man named Edward "Pops" Larkins was starting a sister singing group to complement a male vocal group of his. The Del-Phis were popular local performers. Reeves was reportedly an admirer of the group and was a friend of Gloria Williams, who hired Reeves to join the group in 1960.[citation needed]\n', '

Through 1960 and 1961, Reeves made ends meet working several jobs by day and worked as a singer in nighttime hours singing jazz and blues standards at some of Detroit\'s respected nightclubs. Singing at the 20 Grand, Reeves was spotted by Motown A&R director Mickey Stevenson, who recognized her talent, gave her his business card and invited her to audition. Reeves, who used the stage name Martha Lavaille showed up at Motown\'s Hitsville USA studios the next morning, not knowing that she was to call to schedule an audition. Stevenson asked her to answer phones while he took care of other business. Using the skills she had learned in commercial courses in high school, Reeves answered phones, took notes, administered payroll for Motown\'s famed Funk Brothers, and made herself invaluable.\n', '

Return to Martha Reeves Autograph Profile