Rosalind Ashford

Rosalind "Roz" Ashford-Holmes (born September 2, 1943) is an American soprano R&B and soul singer, known for her work as an original member of the Motown singing group Martha and the Vandellas.

Born Rosalind Ashford on September 2, 1943, to John and Mary Ashford in Detroit, Michigan, Ashford sang in church choirs and learned to dance in local centers. Developing a passion for music, she joined the glee club and mixed choruses while attending Wilbur Wright High School. According to Ashford, in 1957 her mother and sister helped land her an audition at a local Detroit YMCA club, where a man named Edward "Pops" Larkins recruited her, Annette Beard and Gloria Williams to form a sister group to a male vocal group. Martha Reeves, contrary to belief, was not an original member of The Del-Phis, as she was a member of another group. Reeves would not join until 1960.

Naming themselves The Del-Phis, the group performed in local benefit parties throughout Detroit and performed at YMCA parties and high school functions before the group became serious about music around 1960 shortly after Reeves joined the group. The following year, they released "I'll Let You Know" on the Chess Records label subsidiary Checkmate. The record did not go anywhere and two follow-up records where they changed their name to The Vels including "Camel Walk" and "There He Is (At My Door)" also failed to bring any national interest to the group. The group later became Marvin Gaye's background singers on hit singles such as "Stubborn Kind of Fellow" and "Hitch Hike".

After Martha recruited Roz, Gloria and Annette to back her on a demo record intended for Mary Wells titled "I Have to Let Him Go," Motown president Berry Gordy offered Reeves, who was then holding a secretarial job for the label, a recording contract for herself and her background singing partners. Choosing the name Martha and the Vandellas, the group signed to Motown in September 1962 and issued what had been intended as a demo recording for their first single.

Following a successful performance while performing at the Motortown Revue, the Vandellas scored a moderate hit on the Hot 100 and a major R&B hit with their second single, "Come and Get These Memories". The song, one of the first major compositions by the team of Holland-Dozier-Holland, charted at the top ten of the American R&B singles chart. The group's second hit, "(Love Is Like a) Heat Wave", helped the group to distinguish themselves from the other girl groups on the label, such as The Supremes and Marvelettes, by showing they were capable of rougher, brassier, and grittier sounds.

Biography summary from English Wikipedia, photograph via Wikimedia Commons.