Annette Beard, also known as Annette Helton or Annette Sterling, is an American R&B and

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '':wikt:soul, soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The ea ...

singer. Beard is best known for her work with

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 ''mot ...

and as an original member of the singing group

Martha and the Vandellas Martha and the Vandellas (known from 1967 to 1972 as Martha Reeves & The Vandellas) were an American vocal girl group formed in Detroit in 1957. The group achieved fame in the 1960s with Motown. An act founded by friends Annette Beard, Rosalin ...

during the 1960s. Beard is currently known as a member of the singing group The Original Vandellas.

Early years

Born in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

to Ann and Roger El Wood Beard, Annette started singing in church choirs at an early age. When she was fourteen, she was discovered by a man named Edward "Pops" Larkins, who was holding auditions for a female group at the local YMCA to complement a male group he had started. Fourteen-year-old Annette impressed him with a single note and she joined friends

Rosalind Ashford Rosalind "Roz" Ashford-Holmes (born September 2, 1943) is an American soprano R&B and soul singer, known for her work as an original member of the Motown singing group Martha and the Vandellas. Early years Born Rosalind Ashford on September 2, ...

and Gloria Williams to form the original version of The Del-Phis in 1957. The group performed at local get-togethers, high school parties, YMCA benefits and lawn parties. Annette, who was a shy girl growing up, did not mind singing background behind Gloria Williams, then the original lead singer of the group. Fellow Detroit singer Martha Reeves would replace a departing fourth member in 1960. In 1961, Annette graduated from Southeastern High School and Rosalind Ashford graduated from Wilbur Wright High School that same year. With graduation behind them, it was time for serious considerations of their options and what the future held for them. After changing their name to The Vels, the group recorded for local Motown subsidiaries Mel-O-Dy and Tamla usually singing background for local Detroit acts such as The Elgins' Saundra Mallett. In 1962, frustrated by the group's slow development and sensing a break-up, Williams left the group. Afterwards, Annette, Martha and Rosalind sang together on

Marvin Gaye Marvin Pentz Gay Jr., who also spelled his surname as Gaye (April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984), was an American singer and songwriter. He helped to shape the sound of Motown (music style), Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player ...

's hits " Stubborn Kind of Fellow", "

Hitch Hike Hitchhiking (also known as thumbing, autostop or hitching) is a means of transportation that is gained by asking individuals, usually strangers, for a ride in their car or other vehicle. The ride is usually, but not always, free. Nomads have ...

" and " Pride and Joy". After replacing

Mary Wells Mary Esther Wells (May 13, 1943 – July 26, 1992) was an American singer, who helped to define the emerging sound of Motown in the early 1960s. Along with The Supremes, The Miracles, The Temptations, Martha Reeves and the Vandellas, and ...

and

The Andantes The Andantes were an American female session group for the Motown record label during the 1960s. Composed of Jackie Hicks, Marlene Barrow, and Louvain Demps, the group sang background vocals on numerous Motown recordings, including songs by Ma ...

on a refuted session with a demonstration record for a Mickey Stevenson song, Motown president

Berry Gordy Berry Gordy III (born November 28, 1929), known professionally as Berry Gordy Jr., is a retired American record executive, record producer, songwriter, film producer and television producer. He is best known as the founder of the Motown record la ...

suggested the girls to sign a contract as a recording group. With Reeves as the confirmed lead singer, the name ''Vandellas'' was chosen with the final name being ''Martha and the Vandellas''.

Career

Martha and the Vandellas

Signing to Motown Records' new Gordy subsidiary,

gained a stature as hitmakers in the label almost as quickly after they were signed, boosted by their powerful backing behind Marvin's hit singles, their second single, " Come and Get These Memories", written by the fabled team of Holland-Dozier-Holland, became the group's first hit success. Distinguishing themselves from the two-lead format/traditional girl group pop sound of

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 ...

and the

doo-wop Doo-wop (also spelled doowop and doo wop) is a genre of rhythm and blues music that originated in African-American communities during the 1940s, mainly in the large cities of the United States, including New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Chica ...

sensibilities of

The Supremes The Supremes were an American girl group and a premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s. Founded as the Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, the Supremes were the most commercially successful of Motown's acts and the most successf ...

, Martha and the Vandellas employed a much rougher and sharper sound influenced by

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words a ...

. The group's third hit, " (Love Is Like A) Heat Wave", further established the group as recording stars. A third single, "

Quicksand Quicksand is a colloid consisting of fine granular material (such as sand, silt or clay) and water. It forms in saturated loose sand when the sand is suddenly agitated. When water in the sand cannot escape, it creates a liquefied soil that los ...

", continued that rise in late 1963. The Vandellas' sound was unique because of the difference in sounds between the three women: with Reeves' brassy alto leading the group, Rosalind Ashford Holmes provided the high vocals in her soprano voice while Beard provided the lower vocals in her

contralto A contralto () is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range is the lowest female voice type. The contralto's vocal range is fairly rare; similar to the mezzo-soprano, and almost identical to that of a countertenor, typical ...

delivery making for an interesting and commercial sound. But Beard's rise to fame was overshadowed by a romance. Within a few months, Beard announced she was engaged and pregnant with her first child. Coming to grasp with wanting to stay in the group but also wanting to have a life of a married woman and mother, Beard opted to leave the group in June, 1964. Her last recording session with the group was the "Jimmy Mack / 3rd Finger Left Hand" session on June 18, 1964. Beard was replaced by former

Velvelettes The Velvelettes were an American singing girl group, signed to Motown in the 1960s. Their biggest chart success occurred in 1964, when Norman Whitfield produced "Needle in a Haystack", which peaked at number 45 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, ...

member Betty Kelly when she "retired" to care for her family and work for St John's Hospital in her native Detroit.

Later years

Having remained in touch with her former bandmates, Beard soon found herself back in the public eye following a reunion with Reeves and Ashford during a benefit concert for actor Will Geer in Los Angeles. In the mid-1980s, she and Rosalind filed suit against Motown for back royalties; several years before Reeves would do the same. Sensing a return to performing, she reunited again with Reeves and Ashford, releasing the "Heat Wave"-styled pop of "Step into My Shoes" in 1989. This reunion lead to several tours across the US and UK. In 1995, Beard joined Reeves, Ashford, Betty Kelly and Lois Reeves, as Martha and the Vandellas were inducted to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. In 2005, after 30 years of employment in the outpatient lab of Saint John's Hospital, Beard retired. As of 2011, Helton And Ashford separated from Reeves and Annette and Rosalind continue perform all over the world as "The Original Vandellas" with lead singer, Roschelle Laughhunn.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beard, Annette American contraltos American soul singers Living people Martha and the Vandellas members Singers from Detroit Motown artists Universal Music Group artists Murray–Wright High School alumni Southeastern High School (Michigan) alumni 21st-century American women Year of birth missing (living people)