The Andantes

The Andantes' lush harmonies and background vocals added depth, texture and polish to many of the greatest hit singles released by Motown Records during the label's creative and commercial golden age.

The Andantes - Marlene Barrow, Jackie Hicks and Louvain Demps - began their Motown career in the early 1960s and quickly became an integral part of the Hitsville USA production team, working closely with the company's stable of songwriters, producers and artists. The Andantes appear on more than 20,000 Motown recordings in all, but despite their contributions to chart blockbusters headlined by Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, the Four Tops and others, the trio's efforts were often uncredited or attributed to other artists; in fact, their names did not appear on the sleeve of a Motown release until 1972.

The Andantes first supported the Supremes on "Stop! In the Name of Love," a Billboard pop number one in the spring of 1965. When Supreme Florence Ballard began missing live performances and recording sessions to confront her personal crises, Marlene Barrow filled in, even surreptitiously replacing Ballard on 1966's chart-topping "You Can't Hurry Love." The Andantes were also prominently featured on many subsequent Supremes sessions, even backing the group's Diana Ross on her first solo number one, 1970's "Ain't No Mountain High Enough." The Andantes' time with Motown reached an abrupt halt when the company cut out for southern California in the summer of 1972, and the trio split later that year, reuniting in 1990 to cut new material for the Motorcity label.