Georgeanna Tillman
Encyclopedia
Georgeanna Marie Tillman Gordon (February 6, 1943 - January 6, 1980) (source: Find A Grave website) was an American
R&B
/Pop
singer
and an original member of the Motown
girl group
The Marvelettes
.
Growing up in the western Detroit suburb of Inkster, Michigan
, Tillman joined a singing group with high school friends Gladys Horton
. After a successful audition, Wanda Young
joined the group and the quintet, which had auditioned for a deal with Motown
earlier, returned with a song written by former Marvels member Georgia Dobbins title, Georgia Dobbins,Wyanttea Cowart and Katherine Anderson, called the Casinyets. After coming in second place during a talent contest, the group, now known as The Marvels, went to Motown's Hitsville USA studio and auditioned for the label's head Berry Gordy
and leading artist/staffer Smokey Robinson
. The group performed well but was required to come back with their own song.
Group member Georgia Dobbins co-wrote the song "Please Mr. Postman
" for the group and the Marvels signed to Motown's Tamla label in 1961, Gordy altering their name to the Marvelettes. Tillman remained a member from then on until 1965 when her bouts with sickle cell anemia and lupus
began to affect her performances.
Tillman died from complications of her illness in January 1980 at her mother's Inkster residence, just south of Michigan Avenue. She was 36 years old. She has one child (Darrin Darnell Gordon) with Billy Gordon (of the Contours) whom she married on August 12, 1963.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
R&B
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
/Pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
singer
Singing
Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
and an original member of the Motown
Motown Records
Motown is a record label originally founded by Berry Gordy, Jr. and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation in Detroit, Michigan, United States, on April 14, 1960. The name, a portmanteau of motor and town, is also a nickname for Detroit...
girl group
Girl group
A girl group is a popular music act featuring several young female singers who generally harmonise together.Girl groups emerged in the late 1950s as groups of young singers teamed up with behind-the-scenes songwriters and music producers to create hit singles, often featuring glossy production...
The Marvelettes
The Marvelettes
The Marvelettes were an American singing girl group on the Tamla label. Motown's first successful female vocal group, the Marvelettes are most notable for recording the company's first #1 Pop hit, "Please Mr...
.
Growing up in the western Detroit suburb of Inkster, Michigan
Inkster, Michigan
Inkster is a city in Wayne County of the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2010 census, the city population was 25,369. It is one of several suburbs in Metro Detroit whose population is majority or plurality African American.- History :...
, Tillman joined a singing group with high school friends Gladys Horton
Gladys Horton
Gladys Catherine Horton was an American R&B and pop singer, famous for being the founder and lead singer of the popular Motown all-female vocal group The Marvelettes.-Biography:...
. After a successful audition, Wanda Young
Wanda Young
Wanda Young is an American singer, famous for being the member and later lead singer of the popular Motown all-female singing group The Marvelettes.-Biography:Wanda was born in 1943 and raised in the western Detroit suburb of Inkster, Michigan...
joined the group and the quintet, which had auditioned for a deal with Motown
Motown Records
Motown is a record label originally founded by Berry Gordy, Jr. and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation in Detroit, Michigan, United States, on April 14, 1960. The name, a portmanteau of motor and town, is also a nickname for Detroit...
earlier, returned with a song written by former Marvels member Georgia Dobbins title, Georgia Dobbins,Wyanttea Cowart and Katherine Anderson, called the Casinyets. After coming in second place during a talent contest, the group, now known as The Marvels, went to Motown's Hitsville USA studio and auditioned for the label's head Berry Gordy
Berry Gordy
Berry Gordy, Jr. is an American record producer, and the founder of the Motown record label, as well as its many subsidiaries.-Early years:...
and leading artist/staffer Smokey Robinson
Smokey Robinson
William "Smokey" Robinson, Jr. is an American R&B singer-songwriter, record producer, and former record executive. Robinson is one of the primary figures associated with Motown, second only to the company's founder, Berry Gordy...
. The group performed well but was required to come back with their own song.
Group member Georgia Dobbins co-wrote the song "Please Mr. Postman
Please Mr. Postman
"Please Mr. Postman" is the debut single by The Marvelettes for the Tamla label, notable as the first Motown song to reach the number-one position on the Billboard Hot 100 pop singles chart. The single achieved this position in late 1961; it hit number one on the R&B chart as well. "Please Mr...
" for the group and the Marvels signed to Motown's Tamla label in 1961, Gordy altering their name to the Marvelettes. Tillman remained a member from then on until 1965 when her bouts with sickle cell anemia and lupus
Systemic lupus erythematosus
Systemic lupus erythematosus , often abbreviated to SLE or lupus, is a systemic autoimmune disease that can affect any part of the body. As occurs in other autoimmune diseases, the immune system attacks the body's cells and tissue, resulting in inflammation and tissue damage...
began to affect her performances.
Tillman died from complications of her illness in January 1980 at her mother's Inkster residence, just south of Michigan Avenue. She was 36 years old. She has one child (Darrin Darnell Gordon) with Billy Gordon (of the Contours) whom she married on August 12, 1963.