Rosalind Ashford, who helped build the Motown sound as a founding member of Martha and the Vandellas, has died of natural causes in Michigan, and the tributes from Detroit are already pouring in.
Ashford died Tuesday in Redford, Michigan, at the age of 83. She co-founded the group that would become one of Motown's signature acts, recording hits that defined a generation of American popular music. Her son, Damon Holmes, four grandchildren, and a daughter-in-law survive her.
The City of Detroit posted a tribute on Facebook Thursday, noting that Ashford's voice "helped shape the sound of Motown." The city's official statement offered condolences to her family and fans.
"We send our condolences to her family, friends and all who loved her music. Her voice and legacy will forever be part of Detroit."
Martha Reeves, the group's lead singer, also paid tribute Thursday. The 85-year-old Reeves shared a carousel of old and recent photos on Instagram alongside a written tribute to her former bandmate.
"I am deeply saddened to hear about the passing of Rosalind Ashford. Rosalind played an important part in the early days of Martha and the Vandellas. 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's musical career began in 1957, when she, Annette Beard, and Gloria Williams formed a group they called the Del-Phis. Martha Reeves joined a few years later, and the group renamed itself the Vels. Berry Gordy then signed the quartet to Motown Records and rechristened them the Vandellas.
What followed was a run of recordings that helped define the Motown era. Martha and the Vandellas produced hits including "Heat Wave," "Dancing in the Street," "Nowhere to Run," "Quicksand," and "My Baby Loves Me." The group also sang backing vocals for Marvin Gaye.
Ashford left the group in 1969. The Detroit Free Press reported that the relationship between Ashford and Reeves had been fraught in the decades since, though the two reconciled recently. The specifics of their falling out and the timing of their reconciliation were not detailed.
Martha and the Vandellas were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995, in a ceremony held in New York. The honor cemented the group's place in the canon of American popular music, a recognition that the songs Ashford helped create had outlasted the internal tensions that pulled the original lineup apart.
Ashford continued to appear at Motown-related events over the years. In February 2004, she and Beard performed together at the Roostertail Nightclub in Detroit for "It's All The Way Live With Levi: 50 Years And Still Going," a tribute to Levi Stubbs of The Four Tops. In May 2013, Ashford attended Motown Family Night on Broadway at "Motown: The Musical" at the Lunt Fontanne Theatre in New York City.
Those appearances showed that Ashford never fully stepped away from the music or the community that shaped her. She kept showing up, for the songs, for the legacy, and eventually, for a reconciliation with Reeves that neither woman discussed publicly in detail.
Motown built something durable in Detroit. The artists who made it possible deserve to be remembered not for the industry's politics, but for the work they left behind. Rosalind Ashford earned that.
