Ann Bogan obit

RIP Ann Bogan - The Marvelettes and New Birth 

She was not on the list.

Motown veteran ANN BOGAN died on Thursday August 6th aged 85. Her death was confirmed on Facebook by her family. Her name might not be too familiar to many but Motown collectors will be well aware of her contribution to the Motown sound.

Born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1941, she came to the Gordy empire via her link with Harvey Fuqua. She has recorded with him as Harvey and Ann and as a member of the Challengers III on his Tri-Phi label.

Her first released outing at Motown was fronting the label’s backing group The Andantes (Jackie Hicks, Marlene Barrow and Louvain Demps) on one of their sporadic recordings in their own right. That track, a pounding Holland-Dozier-Holland written and produced ‘(Like A) Nightmare’,  was released in 1964 on VIP, eventually becoming a Northern soul favourite. The flip was ‘If You Were Mine’. Prior to that she’d recorded a couple of singles that remained unissued till they eventually appeared on Motown compilations. Collectors revere her original version of ‘Hold Me Oh My Darling’ and the Northern favourite ‘These Are Things’

In 1968 Ann joined the Marvelettes as replacement for Gladys Horton. She performed on three of their albums, toured extensively with them, and sang lead on final singles such as ‘I’m Gonna Hold On As Long As I Can’ and ‘Everybody Knows (But You)’.

After leaving Motown she reunited with Harvey Fuqua, joining his funk and soul ensemble New Birth and its subgroup, Love, Peace & Happiness. Ann eventually stepped away from the music business to raise her children.