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Tamla T 54046 (B), August 1961
B-side of Please Mr. Postman
(Written by James Young, Robert Bateman and Brian Holland)
Fontana H 355 (B), November 1961
B-side of Please Mr. Postman
(Released in the UK under license through Fontana Records)
The flip of Motown’s first number one pop hit is a shrill, caterwauling doo-wop number. I don’t know how old Wanda Young was when she sang lead on this (the entire group was aged between 14 and 16), but compared to bandmate Gladys Horton – who had done a sensational job with the lead vocal on Please Mr. Postman – Wanda sounds too young and has too little experience to carry it off. She’d go on to be the Marvelettes’ undisputed lead singer in the late Sixties, settling into that role after Gladys was no longer in the group, but her shaky teenage voice as heard on this one bears almost no resemblance to the smoky, assured performances she’d come to give years later.
The song, co-written by Wanda’s older brother, is a mostly straightforward by-the-numbers doo-wop song, and it goes absolutely nowhere, although some frenetic use of electric piano throughout helps liven things up a little bit. Still, it’s not a patch on the stellar A-side, and even judged on its own merits it comes up short; Wanda’s incredibly high pitched falsetto vocals are actually painful to listen to in places, and the whole thing just doesn’t grab you. Disappointingly ordinary.
MOTOWN JUNKIES VERDICT
(I’ve had MY say, now it’s your turn. Agree? Disagree? Leave a comment, or click the thumbs at the bottom there. Dissent is encouraged!)
You’re reading Motown Junkies, an attempt to review every Motown A- and B-side ever released. Click on the “previous” and “next” buttons below to go back and forth through the catalogue, or visit the Master Index for a full list of reviews so far.
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| The Marvelettes “Please Mr Postman” |
The Contours “The Stretch” |
Motown Junkies 
I have to painfully agree with your asessment of this platter.
It seems to me when it came to the b-side, Motown did three things. One, either they wasted it with a terrible record. Two,
they would put a b-side that should have been the A-side and 3 sometimes they would hit the jackpot and have a double sided classic! My favorite b-sides are Third Finger Left Hand by Martha and the Vandellas, Fading Away by the Temptations, Swept for You Baby by the Miracles as well as You Must be Love.
MARY MAGALDO
marymagaldo@basicisp.net
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Oh, wow, Motown had so many amazing B-sides. Enough to forgive them any number of outright duffers like this one, at any rate.
Thanks for all your replies on the various songs, Mary, I’m glad you’re enjoying the blog!
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It’s a little painful to listen to this track, a young Wanda Young actually out-shrilling the equally young Diana Ross. Soul lovers embraced this track however and it was in the group’s repertoire for a period. Raw, gut-bucket soul
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It’s surprising how often Motown classified this as a hit. It showed up again in 1975 on the two-LP Anthology, the “Deliver The Singles” CD set in 1993 as well as “Ultimate Collection” in 1997.
Rough as it is to get through, I’m reluctant to bash it because I know in a year’s time, on the “Playboy” LP, Wanda was coming with a performance of an aching, evergreen song of love and devotion that could singlehandedly establish her musical immortality. “Forever” could forgive five missteps as bad or worse as “So Long Baby.”
Rather than cruelly go at this one with a scalpel, it’s better to think of it as by the Casinyets, the group’s own good-natured admission, “can’t sing yet.” Imagine Ross OKing a group name that revealed such humility?
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Motown classified this as a hit because it was a part of the grils’ live shows and it was a crowd pleaser. The live recording on cd, in my opinion, sounds better than the studio version.
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So-so song. Wanda’s falsetto on this is an acquired taste.
6/10. From the group’s early material, a better ballad choice for the b-side would have been the much better song “Whisper.”
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Not only was this 7 inch disc the largest-selling one to-date, of special interest to me is that it was at the hands of Bateman and Holland producing it, fresh off Berry’s new decision to have others produce records. A-1 business and creative decision, Berry. You da man!
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Marvelettes – So Long Baby.jpeg
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Wow the lead singer is btwn the ages of 14-16??? She sound like a whining old church choir lady. So long to this track…definitely not Postman. Best part of the song were those Oh oh oh’s.
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No they weren’t that young. Gladys was the youngest at age 16, Wanda the oldest at 19
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Commenting on the B-side twice too! Funny, my first comment I didn’t like the song very much, but now I changed my mind. This song is actually kinda good. I love the “oh oh oh” breakdown Wanda does. It’s what makes the song. I’ve also come to appreciate Wanda’s young vocals. Listen to this track again. This girl is singing her heart out! LOL. This is also a perfect example of The Marvelettes “take no mess” image already at work. “So long baby” the girls sing = ) I would now give this an A for effort an a 7/10.
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Great comment, Damecia! While I’m not a fan of the song itself as a production, I do appreciate Wanda’s effort. Although SLB is a 1961 production, the production doesn’t stand up to its other 1961 peers such as “Look in My Eyes” by the Chantels or “There’s No Ohter Like My Baby” by the Crystals. Certainly not fault of the Marvelettes but more of a reflection of where Motown itself was with its productions.
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Just listened to both songs you mentioned and I do hear the difference in production value.
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I try to evaluate songs in the context of the time they were released and competing sounds heard at the time.
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Glad your on this blog Mickey to help me keep things in proper context! = )
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Sorry to dissagree but So Long Baby was a beautiful slow jam, a typical doowop of that time but still very nicely done and definately a big hit at house parties.
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Thanks Janae, and there’s no need to apologise, disagreement is encouraged! 🙂
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Shrill? Yes. Caterwauling? Well, OK. Disappointingly ordinary? Not to my ears. I love its primitive Doo-Woppy charm made all the more effective in contrast to the brilliant A-side. Probably a 6 for me.
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If some things had been different, this
would have been much better, because
the FEEL is there, and I do like the electric
piano a lot. Her key is wrong, and it’s not
as clean a production as some. I very much
agree with Dave L. about “Forever”.
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