The Foote Files: The Marvelettes
This 1960's female R&B group was from Inkster MI and was one of the most successful girl groups of its time to transcend the fast changes in pop music of that decade.
The group consisted of Gladys Horton, Georgeanna Tillman Gordon, Wanda Young, Katherine Anderson, and Juanita Cowart. Horton and Young were the primary lead vocalists. Cowart left in 1965. Horton left in 1967 and replaced by Anne Bogan. By 1969, the group had disbanded.
From 1961-1968, the group charted 10 times, three songs in the top ten, and one #1 hit in 1961 with "Please Mr. Postman", a song also recorded by The Beatles. It was on the Billboard chart for 15 weeks and a #1 R&B song for seven weeks.
Today's featured song by the girls is "Too Many Fish In The Sea". It was recorded on September 22, 1964 and released a few weeks later on October 14th of that year. Written by Norman Whitfield and Eddie Holland, produced by Whitfield (his first), running 2:26 on the Tamla label (part of Motown Records), the lyrics go like this:
Look here, girls
Take this advice, and remember always in life:
Into each heart some tears must fall
Though you love and lose, you must stand tall
'Cause we all got to cry sometimes
I said, sigh sometimes
Pull yourself together
No use crying forever
Because there's too many fish in the sea
Too many fish in the sea
I said, there's short ones, tall ones, fine ones, kind ones
Too many fish in the sea
My mother once told me something
And every word is true
Don't waste your time on a fella
Who doesn't love you
He'll only mislead you
Only grieve you
Don't worry about him
Do without him
Because there's too many fish in the sea
Too many fish in the sea
I said, there's short ones, tall ones, fine ones, kind ones
Too many fish in the sea
This song was also recorded by Detroit-based blue-eyed soul band Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels in 1967, which hit #24 that year. It's a hard-charging version and a good one, but I personally prefer the one from The Marvelettes.
You can hear this song on SIRIUS XM 60's On 6 with Phlash Phelps, Dave Hoeffel, Pat St. John, Shotgun Tom Kelly, and Mike Kelly.