Wanda LaFaye Young, known as Wanda Rogers, was an American singer, known for being a member of the Motown all-female singing group the Marvelettes, and after 1965, the lead singer.
13 Facts About Wanda Young
2.
Wanda Young's father, James Young, worked at the Ford plant, while her mother Beatrice was a housewife.
3.
Wanda Young sang lead on the B-side of the single on a ballad, "So Long, Baby".
4.
Horton was the main vocalist for their initial hit, but as the oldest member of the group, Wanda Young became their main voice and front woman.
5.
Wanda Young sang co-lead on Marvelettes' songs, including singles "Locking Up My Heart" and "Too Many Fish in the Sea".
6.
In 1970, Wanda Young recorded a solo album with Smokey Robinson serving as her producer.
7.
Wanda Young left the label in 1972 when the Motown label relocated from Detroit to Los Angeles.
8.
Wanda Young was involved with many years of substance abuse and alcoholism following the Marvelettes' departure, largely due to witnessing the shooting death of her sister at the Wanda Young family's Inkster residence.
9.
Wanda Young separated from her husband and lost custody of their children.
10.
Wanda Young re-emerged in 1989 after accepting an offer from Motorcity Records' Ian Levine to record new songs and revised versions of her classics with the Marvelettes.
11.
Wanda Young made a brief return to performing in the early 1990s but without Marvelettes members Gladys Horton and Katherine Anderson.
12.
Katherine retired from show business after the Marvelettes' breakup though both Horton and Wanda Young collaborated on a Marvelettes recording for Motorcity Records.
13.
Wanda Young died from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in Garden City, Michigan on December 15,2021, at the age of 78.