Martha Reeves is mourning the loss of one of the women whose voice helped create the unmistakable sound of Martha and the Vandellas.
Rosalind Ashford-Holmes, an original member of the legendary Motown group, died Tuesday, Sept. 15, in Redford, Mich., of natural causes, according to the Detroit Free Press. She was 83.
“I am deeply saddened to hear about the passing of Rosalind Ashford,” Reeves said in a statement to the outlet. “Rosalind played an important part in the early days of Martha and the Vandellas.”
Reeves, who was dubbed “The Queen of Motown” by the Recording Academy went on to reflect on the musical legacy she and Ashford-Holmes created together.
“Her voice will forever be with us through our great recordings together, and she will be missed, but never forgotten,” Reeves said. “Our Motown family has just gotten a little smaller. My heart is heavy.”
Born in Detroit on Sept. 2, 1943, Ashford-Holmes had celebrated her 83rd birthday just two weeks before her death.
Ashford-Holmes began singing as a child and participated in church choirs and school vocal groups before joining the Del-Phis in the late 1950s. The group eventually included Reeves and evolved into the act that would become Martha and the Vandellas.
Before finding fame in their own right, Ashford-Holmes and her future Vandellas bandmates provided backing vocals for other Motown artists, including Marvin Gaye and Mary Wells.
With Reeves out front, Ashford-Holmes’ high soprano became part of the sound behind a remarkable run of hits, including “(Love Is Like a) Heat Wave,” “Dancing in the Street,” “Nowhere to Run” and “Jimmy Mack.”
Martha and the Vandellas ultimately logged 24 R&B hits and became one of Motown’s most successful touring acts. The group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995.
Ashford-Holmes remained with the Vandellas through most of the group’s biggest years before departing near the end of the 1960s. She later reunited with fellow original Vandella Annette Beard for performances as the Original Vandellas.
Reeves and Ashford-Holmes had experienced tension in the decades following their Motown years, but multiple sources told the Free Press that the two women had recently reconciled.
Following her years in the Motown spotlight, Ashford-Holmes enjoyed traveling and spending time with family and friends, her son Damon Holmes told the newspaper.
She is survived by Holmes, four grandchildren and a daughter-in-law. Funeral arrangements are pending in Detroit.
Ashford-Holmes’ death leaves behind recordings that have endured for more than six decades, and, as Reeves put it in her farewell to her former bandmate, a voice that “will forever be with us.”
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