Playboy (The Marvelettes album) explained

Playboy
Type:	Studio
Artist:	The Marvelettes
Cover:	Playboy (The Marvelettes album).jpeg
Released:	July 1962
Recorded:	Hitsville USA 1962
Genre:	Pop, R&B
Label:	Tamla (Motown)
Producer:	George Gordy, William "Mickey" Stevenson, Marvin Gaye, Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, Robert Bateman
Prev Title:	Please Mr. Postman
Prev Year:	1961
Next Title:	The Marvelous Marvelettes
Next Year:	1963

Playboy is the third album by the Motown girl group The Marvelettes, released in 1962. It capitalized on their hit singles "Playboy" and "Beechwood 4-5789". It also includes the single "Someday, Someway" and "Forever", a heartfelt standard that would be released the following year as the B-side of the single "Locking Up My Heart" and join the A-side on the charts. Other compositions include "Goddess of Love", "Cry Over You", and "Mix It Up". George Gordy, William "Mickey" Stevenson and Marvin Gaye, who had produced "Beechwood 4-5789" all did some work on the Playboy LP as well.

The album would be the last to feature the backing vocals of original Marvelette, Juanita Cowart on every track, as she would opt out of the group in early 1963.

Track listing

Superscript denotes lead singer: (a) Gladys Horton, (b) Wanda Young

Side 1

1. "Playboy" (Gladys Horton, Brian Holland, William Stevenson, Robert Bateman) ^a
2. "Mix It Up" (William Stevenson) ^a
3. "Beechwood 4-5789" (Marvin Gaye, George Gordy) ^a
4. "I'm Hooked" (Berry Gordy, Jr.) ^a
5. "I Think I Can Change You" (William Robinson) ^a

Side 2

1. "Forever" (Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, Freddie Gorman) ^b
2. "Someday, Someway" (Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, Freddie Gorman) ^a
3. "Goddess of Love" (Lamont Dozier) ^b
4. "You Should Know" (Brian Holland, Janie Bradford, Stanley Ossman) ^a
5. "(I've Got To) Cry Over You" (Berry Gordy, Jr.) ^a

Personnel

The Mervelettes

• Gladys Horton  - lead and background vocals
• Wanda Young  - lead and background vocals
• Georgeanna Tillman  - background vocals
• Katherine Anderson  - background vocals
• Wyanetta "Juanita" Cowart  - background vocals

with:

• Marvin Gaye  - producer, drums on "Beechwood 4-5789"
• William "Mickey" Stevenson  - producer
• George Gordy  - producer
• Raynoma Liles Gordy  - Hammond organ on "Forever" and "Someday, Someday"
• The Funk Brothers  - other instrumentation^[1]
  • Joe Hunter  - piano on "Playboy", "Forever" and "Someday, Someday"
  • Richard "Popcorn" Wylie  - piano on "Beechwood 4-5789"
  • James Jamerson  - bass on "Playboy" and "Beechwood 4-5789"
  • Clarence Isabell  - bass on "Forever" and "Someday, Someday"
  • Benny Benjamin  - drums on "Playboy", "Forever" and "Someday, Someday"
  • Eddie Willis  - guitar on "Playboy", "Beechwood 4-5789", "Forever" and "Someday, Someday"
  • Hank Cosby  - tenor saxophone on "Playboy", "Beechwood 4-579", "Forever" and "Someday, Someday"
  • Andrew "Mike" Terry  - baritone saxophone on "Playboy", "Beechwood 4-5789", "Forever" and "Someday, Someday"
  • Eddie "Bongo" Brown  - percussion on "Beechwood 4-5789"

External links

• Don't Forget the Motor City
• Don't Forget the Motor City

Notes and References

1. The Complete Motown Singles Vol. 2: 1962 [liner notes]. New York: Hip-O Select/Motown/Universal Records