Martha Reeves

Martha Rose Reeves was born in Eufaula, Alabama, the first daughter of Elijah Joshua Reeves and Ruby Lee Gilmore Reeves, and the third of the couple\'s 11 children. She was a baby when the family moved from Eufaula to Detroit, Michigan, where her grandfather, Reverend Elijah Reeves, was a minister at Detroit\'s Metropolitan Church. The family was very active in the church and its choir. Elijah played guitar and Ruby liked to sing; the children acquired their love of music from their parents. At Detroit\'s Northeastern High School, her vocal coach was Abraham Silver, who also worked with Florence Ballard and Mary Wilson (of the Supremes) and Bobby Rogers (of the Miracles). Raised on gospel, and inspired by singers like Lena Horne and Della Reese, Reeves became a fan of R&B and doo-wop music. She joined the Fascinations in 1959, but left the group before they became a recording act.\n', '…