This was the first big hit for Motown founder Berry Gordy (I think), and the first big hit for songwriting trio Holland-Dozier-Holland (I think) and the first big hit for Martha Reeves & The Vandellas (for sure).

Heat Wave came out not on the Motown label but on its Gordy subsidiary, in July 1963, and reached no.4 in the US chart, selling more than a million copies.

I now find that Martha Reeves wasn’t even in the group when they formed in 1957 as the Del-Phis, comprising Rosalind Ashford, Annette Beard and lead singer Gloria Williams.

Reeves joined in 1960 but their first single with Martha on lead vocals, I’ll Let You Know, flopped, and she went solo – as Martha LaValle – in the hope of getting a contract with Detroit’s new Motown label.

Turning up on the wrong day for her audition, she instead found a day job at Motown’s Hitsville UK offices, working as a secretary in charge of arranging auditions.

Boosted to a quartet, and renamed The Vels, the other Vandellas sang backing vocals on Marvin Gaye’s debut single Stubborn Kind Of Fellow before recording a demo for a song called I’ll Have To Let Him Go.

Written by Martha’s boss Mikey Stevenson, Reeves sang on it only because Mary Wells (who would have Motown’s first no.1 the following year with My Guy) didn’t turn up for the job, feigning illness that day.

It immediately caught the ear of Berry Gordy and earned them a contract. Gordy gave them the new name The Vandellas and they had a minor hit with their second single, Come And Get These Memories, but struck gold with the next one, Heat Wave and went on to enjoy a string of hits including classics like Nowhere To Run, Jimmy Mack and what would become their signature tune, Dancing In The Street.

The music on Heat Wave – and most of the others – is played by Gordy’s in-house band The Funk Brothers: Richard ‘Pistol’ Allen on drums, James Jerson on bass (double bass here), Joe Hunter on piano, Robert White and Eddie Willis on guitars, with a sax solo by Andrew ‘Mike’ Terry.