"Twistin' Postman" is a song recorded by

Motown Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''moto ...

singing group

The Marvelettes The Marvelettes were an American girl group that achieved popularity in the early to mid-1960s. They consisted of schoolmates Gladys Horton, Katherine Anderson, Georgeanna Tillman, Juanita Cowart (now Cowart Motley), and Georgia Dobbins, who wa ...

, who released it in 1961, and was the follow-up to their smash debut single, " Please Mr. Postman".

Background

Like their previous single, the vocals are led by original Marvelette

Gladys Horton The Marvelettes were an American girl group that achieved popularity in the early to mid-1960s. They consisted of schoolmates Gladys Horton, Katherine Anderson, Georgeanna Tillman, Juanita Cowart (now Cowart Motley), and Georgia Dobbins, who wa ...

, and is partially based on the then-current

Twist Twist may refer to: In arts and entertainment Film, television, and stage * ''Twist'' (2003 film), a 2003 independent film loosely based on Charles Dickens's novel ''Oliver Twist'' * ''Twist'' (2021 film), a 2021 modern rendition of ''Olive ...

dance move. The song's subject is a sequel of the original "Postman" single and this time the narrator is finally happy that the postman has delivered a letter from the narrator's boyfriend.

Credits

*Lead vocals by

*Background vocals by

Wanda Young Wanda LaFaye Young (August 9, 1943 – December 15, 2021), also known as Wanda Rogers, was an American singer, known for being a member of the Motown all-female singing group the Marvelettes, and after 1965, the lead singer. Early life Young ...

Katherine Anderson The Marvelettes were an American girl group that achieved popularity in the early to mid-1960s. They consisted of schoolmates Gladys Horton, Katherine Anderson, Georgeanna Tillman, Juanita Cowart (now Cowart Motley), and Georgia Dobbins, who wa ...

Georgeanna Tillman The Marvelettes were an American girl group that achieved popularity in the early to mid-1960s. They consisted of schoolmates Gladys Horton, Katherine Anderson, Georgeanna Tillman, Juanita Cowart (now Cowart Motley), and Georgia Dobbins, who ...

and

Juanita Cowart The Marvelettes were an American girl group that achieved popularity in the early to mid-1960s. They consisted of schoolmates Gladys Horton, Katherine Anderson, Georgeanna Tillman, Juanita Cowart (now Cowart Motley), and Georgia Dobbins, who wa ...

*Instrumentation by

The Funk Brothers The Funk Brothers were a group of Detroit-based session musicians who performed the backing to most Motown recordings from 1959 until the company moved to Los Angeles in 1972. Its members are considered among the most successful groups of stud ...

Chart performance

The song became a modest hit for the group reaching number thirteen on the R&B charts, and number thirty-four on the pop singles chart in early 1962. A third single, "

Playboy ''Playboy'' is an American men's lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. K ...

", returned the group to the top ten of the pop and R&B charts later that year.

References

Songs about occupations Songs about letters (message) Twist (dance) 1962 singles The Marvelettes songs Tamla Records singles Songs written by Brian Holland Songs written by William "Mickey" Stevenson 1961 songs Songs written by Robert Bateman (songwriter) {{1960s-R&B-song-stub