Martha Reeves has nothing left to prove. She is the Motown legend responsible for such immortal classics as “Dancing in the Street”, “Nowhere to Run” and “Jimmy Mack”, she has been honoured by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and she’s been given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, whose 2024 unveiling drew Smokey Robinson and Stevie Wonder to sing her praises. She just turned 85 and would be well within her rights to be resting up and taking it easy.
Instead, Reeves is about to release her first album in 22 years, Searching. “I’m not trying to prove anything, baby,” Reeves says when I ask why. “I’m just doing what God said to do – he said share your talent.”
Reeves has been sharing her talent since she was three years old. Born in Alabama, she moved with her family to Detroit before she was one year old. Music ran through the family: her mother Ruby would teach her songs while combing her hair, while her father Elijah had played the blues guitar alongside John Lee Hooker. “When I was three years old, my two oldest brothers and I won candy at the church for our singing,” Reeves recalls, speaking via video call from Detroit. “When we stood up and sang, everybody loved us. That was my first experience of singing, so I knew from then that music was my calling.”
