Start by saying that Smokey Robinson had written this song for the company.

Motown was, ah, interested in what the artist felt and think, thought in the very early days. And we'd all gather together in the main Studio A and we'd start our meetings off with the song that Smokey Robinson wrote, William Robinson I should say, and it goes something like this. "We are a very swinging company working hard from day to day nowhere will you find more unity than at Hitsville, USA." And we'd all sing it and just love it we felt as if we were in school or college and I feel like I'm a graduate of the Motown University, cum laude.

Tell us about recording "Dancing in the Street" it was written by Mickey and Marvin for Marvin.

As usual when we returned to Detroit from our tour, working really hard, we were asked the next day to come for us, for, to the studio for a session, a lesson or something. We always reported to Motown the following day. And, ah, this day was exciting. I, I was asked to come in and sing a song about, ah, dancing in the street. I had been to Rio de Janeiro and I had also been to New Orleans and knew what carnival time was like so I had an idea of what "Dancing in the Street" would be like. But when I heard Marvin's version and he sang it, his, his melody didn't quite fit me.

He was singing something like, "Calling out around the world, are you ready for a brand new beat baby?" More his style, right. I said, well that doesn't really fit me, it's too low in that key. After my first try, I didn't like the song. I said, well can I try it the way that I feel it? And Micky and Marvin gave me the go ahead. It took two takes after that, the first time was a, was a try and the next one was take. I only sang it twice. And it came up with our biggest number one record and the most excitable song I've ever heard or sang in my entire life.

Some people try to read into that song, made it a call to arms almost, in the days of the riots. How did you react to that?

Well, for a fact it came out after the riots. Our song was to calm everybody down. It was a song that I think brought the nation back together. However in Europe, as things are delayed before they get there, it was all taken out of context. And there used to be a time when you wanted to get rid of someone you just put a cement block on their head and a rope and you just drop them in a river. Nowadays it takes a rumor and that's all you need like bad report and that bad report went all the way to England. And I've had to defend myself on a lot of occasions to explain to them that "Dancing in the Street" and every Motown song was about love. If you listen to the lyrics it's an invitation to party and that's what we've done with it, partied all over the world.

Let me ask about Maxine Powell. Tell me specifically some of the things she taught you and what it was like to be in a session with her. Did some of the artists resent this, feel like they didn't need it?

Our introduction to Mrs. Powell was the best thing that ever happened to us, especially me because I was captain of my cheering team, I have six brothers and I was a bit of tomboy. You would sort of call me rowdy. Except, with my exception of singing in the choir I wasn't a very quiet person, I'll be honest. But meeting Mrs. Powell and seeing how charming she was and getting proper instruction. She taught us all how to handle ourselves and to be accepted by kings and queens with the class that she instilled in us. She always told us that charm and grace will get us farther in the world than anything else and she was absolutely right. She taught us to walk. She taught us to sing, to sit, to do whatever it was and to make our physical appearance likeable. She said to us, you're not the most beautiful women in the world and you're not the most talented people in the business but when I finish with you, you'll all have the charm and class that will take you all over the world and make you presentable to kings and queens, presidents, anyone in the world, you'll be accepted because of what I'm going to teach you. And she was absolutely right.

Did you believe it at the time?

When I first met Mrs. Powell she had such an air about her, whatever she had I wanted some it and I believed in her. She had also had Gwen Fuqua, Anna and Esther, Berry's sisters as students. And they certainly carried themselves eloquently. So I wanted to have some of that and I took her very seriously. She was the brunt of a lot of jokes, I'll, I'll say that because as young girls we didn't take her seriously. But I did in my heart and I applied everything she taught me and I can't really do anything now without thinking of Mrs. Powell: if I sit, if I talk, if I walk, if I carry myself at all, Miss Powell is there because she taught us correctly. She gave us a chance. She gave is an air and a, a light that we had never seen and I'll always be grateful to her.

Hi, my name is Martha Reeves, calling out around the world, are you ready for a brand new beat? Summer is here and the time is right for dancing in the street.

Let me ask you about Smokey as a songwriter and producer and how important he was to the ...

I met Smokey Robinson, we, we called him Smokey. I met William Robinson as a do wop at the Warfield Theater in an amateur contest. Later on after I was invited to Motown Records I saw him again as a lead singer with the Miracles. We went on tour a Motown Review for 94 one-nighters and most of Smokey's time was spent writing. He and Claudette were married but she was sort of gracious to spend her time with us girls because of the lack of space in different hotels and marriage was like put on the back burner because Smokey was busy writing. He was always with pen in hand, rhyming something or sort of disillusioned or a way, you know, a little way distracted writing beautiful lyrics. He's got to be the best and the greatest songwriter in the world. And I've had the occasion to sing a few of his songs "No More Tear Stained Makeup", "Hope You Have Better Luck Than I Did", wonderful songs that he wrote and sang, "Tears of a Clown". I love his music and love his lyrics but he's, he's the poet of our generation and one of the best.

Let me ask you about Harvey Fuqua and what he brought to the party in Motown, how important he was.

Harvey Fuqua has on occasion he and Johnny Bristol were a team, have on occasion produced us, Martha and the Vandellas. However his baby was Marvin Gaye. He brought Marvin, Marvin Gaye to the company and was influential in getting he and Tammi Terrell together and wrote most of their songs that they penned together, ah. Harvey was a Moon Glower though and that's what stick out most in my mind. I first saw him here at the Fox Theater with Etta James when it was Harvey and Etta as a duet. And after that then I got involved in who he was and where he came from but that was my first impression of him, doing the duet with Etta.

He headed up the artist development section, right?

He had, ah, he took a big part of the responsibility of artist development. I don't know if one time or the other he became the head of the artist development. There was no particular head, he was a part of it and he helped with our development of course. But he was the kind of guy who would come up with a good song every once in a while and he'd spend time with you in the studio to make sure that you got it right but the joy would be to hear him sing because he's got an outstanding voice. I always had fun listening to the producers, most of our producers were, I guess frustrated singers who didn't want to sing any more but wanted someone else to sing what they felt. And, ah, Harvey was one of the guys who you didn't mind because he had such a wonderful voice.

Pick up how they worked as songwriting team. They had so many hits in a row for a while there, it's not like anything that ever happened before.

Upon arrival at the Motown Museum and the A and R department I was asked to answer a phone and told by William Stevenson that he'd be right back. Well his right back was about two hours and in the process of that, I was answering the phone as the official A and R secretary, there had never been one before. And the people who came in there were amazing. I saw Andre Williams who was the, the hit maker of "Bacon Fat", ah, Freddie Gorman came in the writer of "Mr. Postman" and then there's this guy who came in called The Mardoza who had a hit record out called "What Goes Up Must Come Down". There was also a guy there by the name of Eddie Holland who had just recorded "Jamie" and his kid brother Brian. Ah, they were coming in intermittently and I was waiting on Micky to come back and I had a confrontation with Benny Benjamin and James Jamison about some past session money. But I got to know all the guys. Unlike most of the artists at Motown, a lot of the artists just took the product from the, from the producers but never really got to know them. Well I got to know each one of them individually and was there when Holland Dozier Holland decided to team up. And I think because of that we got their first product "Come and Get These Memories". They were a good team to work with because Eddie sounded a lot like Jackie Wilson. He had one of the finest voices and he would be the one to teach you the lyrics. Brian would be the one to make sure that the lyrics were correct or if they needed any additional rhyming or any more change, he'd be there on half of that. And Lamont basically worked on the keyboard. He would play the musical part for you. And between the three of them they kept you laughing but they turned out a real, real good product. And thanks to them we have about ten top ten songs penned by Holland, Dozier, Holland. They were i… ours entirely until Berry assigned them to The Supremes. And, ah, I'm sure they were glad to, to get them because "What Did I Love" "Oh Baby Love" to name a couple were their introduction to hits. They'd had a, a lot of records prior to Holland-Dosier-Holland's input but after they become, became number one and maybe seven in a row, thanks to Holland-Dozier-Holland.

They had a knack for hitting on lyrics that really spoke to young people.

Yeah, they had a lot of love in their lyrics. And I'm sure they're, they're spiritual because that's, that's the opinion that I had. Any time that I had a Holland, Dozier, Holland song I knew that I was okay with my beliefs because they are also inspired writers and very spiritual.

Tell me about "Heat Wave" and "Live Wire", how those songs came to be recorded and your story about being called in.

We had recorded quite a few Holland, Dozier, Hol… Holland songs before the release of "Love is Like a Heat Wave". And, ah, Jimmie Mack had been put in the can because of the Vietnam War but "Ready For Love" on of their, also one of their songs pulled us through after "Love is Like a Heat Wave". "Come and Get These Memories" our very first recording that they wrote together collectively, took us to the top 20. And we were glad for that. We were especially happy when "Love is Like a Heat Wave" was played on network TV and a newscaster announced the heat wave all over the United States by playing the beginning of our song. And when I heard my voice ring out, I mean I had a fit in my mom's living room and she politely told me, sit down girl and stop all that fuss. But I was so excited. I'll remember that as long as I live.

The follow-up to "Love is like a Heat Wave" was "Live Wire" maybe you can talk about how these tunes were like the Charleston with a church flavor.

Motown's, Motown's music…

Start again please.

Motown's music was all reminiscent of jazz, some portion of it or some phase of jazz. And there was a Charleston era, that I'm sure, "Love is Like a Heat Wave", "Quick Sand" and "Live Wire" were taken from. They had similar beats with a new twist.

When you recorded these songs had they already gotten the instrumental on tape and then you came in and sang? Maybe you could tell us about the procedure in recording.

The earlier days at Motown when there only four tracks available, ah, we all would watch as the musicians put their parts on two tracks and then they'd save two tracks for the vocals. We'd sing on one mike and we'd come up with product. I was there during the time that they evolved from four tracks to eight tracks, eight tracks to twelve and eventually the largest board that they could put in. And each song was a different experience, recording each one was a, as they grew. There was a gentleman by the name of Michael McLean who was building the studios sometimes right underneath us, he'd come in and put a new part on. He'd even hold a session up to make an adjustment. But I've seen the studio grow. And, ah, it was always an experience. The tracks were recorded sometimes before we got to the studio, sometimes they were recorded as we waited until the last instrument was put on and, ah. I've been recorded at every level; I recorded once with just keyboard and the other parts were added and I recorded when the whole track had been completed with horn, strings and the works. So, ah, I watched the progress and it has been an experience.

Tell the story of you being called in late at night to do "Live Wire" or "Quick Sand".

We were in Baltimore, Maryland at the Royal Theater at the time, at that time theater circuits were the thing. We'd play five days in Chicago at the Regal then we'd go, move on to Baltimore where we played five days and then we'd leave the Royal Theater, we'd go on to Philadelphia to the Uptown Theater. And then we'd go on from there to the Howard Theater in Washington or the Apollo Theater in New York. On this occasion we were at the Royal in Baltimore, we got this call that after four shows we were to get on a plane and fly into Detroit to record a whole album and also two sides behind Marvin Gaye since we were his backup singers at the time. And I remember getting on an airplane really tired, arriving here in Detroit and not allowed to even go home. We couldn't go anywhere but directly from the airport to the studio where William Stevenson, Holland, Dozier, Holland and, ahm, Ivy Hunter were waiting. They had pre-recorded "Wait Until My Bobbie Gets Home", "Danke Shein", "My Boy Friend's Back", "If I Had a Hammer" to name a few. And we came in and recorded all of those songs one after the other it became our "Love is Like a Heat Wave" album. It was all done in one night after doing four shows and we were immediately put back on the plane first thing in the morning, back to the Royal Theater in Baltimore to do another four shows.

Berry Gordy ran Motown, it was a very competitive atmosphere right?

The Motown studio itself was like a beehive, Berry being proprietor could have a session anytime he chose. Sometimes there was recordings being done there 24 hours a day. The call would be put out whenever anyone needed a hit record and Berry would have a competition among the producers, whoever gets the hit on the artist that he selects would get the choice of the and they had competitions: they'd have doctors, lawyers, preachers, laymen, DJs, all come in at meetings and choose the next release for the artist who Berry had on his list, the next one who he wanted to release a record on. And, ah, they would listen to the songs and if they didn't come up with a song then Berry himself would go into the studio and write one. So he was there in the competition. He kept everybody on their toes and music was being produced for everyone. There were occasions when you'd have one artist record a song and then another artist would record it, it was mainly because the producers had the right to do that, Berry give him a free hand, they were on salary and they very well earned their money.

There's a video of you and the Vandellas on the assembly line in a car factory riding along on Mustangs. People made that analogy that Motown was like an assembly line. Did you feel that way when you were there?

Ah, the, the "Nowhere To Run" video was, was a brainstorm of Murray the K, Murray Kaufman from the Brooklyn Fox. He wanted to show off the artists in a light they, they've never been in. And, ah, while we visited the Ford Motor Company to the surprise of most of the workers because they were pushing and shoving and saying, who are these women? Get them out of here, we're busy. Ah, it, let me say that Berry had probably gotten a lot of his techniques from working at Ford. This Mustang that was made underneath us was a surprise to me 'cause I had never even been in a factory, anywhere near one. But it gave us a close look at just how things are done. And I can say that Motown was ran similar to a factory. There was always something happening. Whenever we returned from the road, ah, we would be instructed to come immediately the next morning to Motown for two things, I think it was two purpose, dual purposed: it kept us out of trouble because an idle artist is, is really a problem, when you've got an artist you got to keep him busy but we went for instruction, there was Maurice King and Johnny Allan there teaching us music theory, there was Mrs. Maxine Powell there teaching us charm, as she puts it, and I love her for it. She gave us class that we probably would never have developed without her training and her expertise. There was always the producers teaching us to record because you have to learn how to record as well. You don't just wake up in the morning and know how to stand in the studio with ear phones on and give your best and give your all. And, ah, Charlie Atkins, Charlie was giving us choreography, teaching us how to move and how to present ourselves as, as class acts. So they kept us busy and I love them for that.