ICON GONE

Legendary ‘Dancing in the Street‘ Singer Dies at 83

Rosalind Ashford was an original member of Martha and the Vandellas.

Singer Rosalind Ashford, one of the three original members of Motown icons Martha and the Vandellas, has died aged 83. Ashford died on Tuesday of natural causes in the Detroit suburb of Redford, the Detroit Free Press reported. Martha and the Vandellas enjoyed a run of hits in the ’60s, including “(Love Is Like a) Heat Wave,” “Nowhere to Run,” “Jimmy Mack,” and their signature anthem “Dancing in the Street,” which reached No.2 in 1964. The band’s leader, Martha Reeves, paid tribute to her former bandmate in the Free Press, saying she was “deeply saddened” by the news of her death. “Rosalind played an important part in the early days of Martha and the Vandellas,” 85-year-old Reeves said. “Her voice will forever be with us through our great recordings together, and she will be missed but never forgotten. Our Motown family has just gotten a little smaller. My heart is heavy.” Ashford left Martha and the Vandellas in 1969, but occasionally reunited with bandmates Reeves and Annette Beard, 83, over the years. Ashford and Beard also performed with lead vocalist Roschelle Laughhunn as The Original Vandellas. Despite a history of drama between herself and Reeves, multiple sources told the Free Press the pair had recently made peace. Ashford was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995 as a member of Martha and the Vandellas, as well as being included in the Grammy Hall of Fame and the Library of Congress’s national registry. Ashford is survived by her son, Damon Holmes, four grandchildren, and a daughter-in-law.

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