Martha Reeves And The Vandellas - Heat Wave

2018-05-01 15

"Heat Wave" the mega classic that Martin Luther King adopted in 1963 as the theme to his legendary civil-rights movement "I Have A Dream" tour of America, a message and sentiment which has only finally come true now in 2009, a full forty six years later, as the USA embraced its first African-American President. My relationship with Martha blew hot and cold. One day she was bringing a bucket full of fruit flavoured wine coolers to refresh everybody in the studio, which was truly lovely, then the next day she wouldn't even speak to me. In 1990 I signed a contract with her and paid a large advance to finally complete an album with her, an album that still hasn't been recorded to this day. But I can't help but adore her, even though she treated me terribly. It's hard to stay mad with one of your heroes, and I grew up with her music, and still adore her in every way. We all cried in the studio, in March 1989, when she did the vocal on the first song we ever recorded with her, "Step Into My Shoes", her first recording for ten years, at that time. Then we did "Angel In Disguise"straight afterwards. Then in July 1989, Martha and The Vandellas sang "Step Into My Shoes" on the Kelly And Company TV Show in Detroit. Then we cut three more songs in the studio, "Number One", and then the duet with G.C. Cameron on "You're All I Need To Get By", and finally this wonderful reworking of her mega classic, "Heat Wave".