Please Mr. Postman

"Please Mr. Postman"
Single by The Marvelettes
from the album Please Mr. Postman
Released	August 21, 1961
Format	7" single
Recorded	Hitsville U.S.A. (Studio A); April 1961
Genre	Rock and roll, soul music, doo-wop, R&B
Length	2:31
Label	Tamla T 54046
Writer(s)	Georgia Dobbins, William Garrett, Freddie Gorman, Brian Holland, Robert Bateman
Producer	Brianbert (Brian Holland & Robert Bateman)
The Marvelettes singles chronology
"Please Mr. Postman" (1961) "Twistin' Postman" (1961)

"Please Mr. Postman" is the debut single by The Marvelettes for the Tamla (Motown) label, notable as the first Motown song to reach the number-one position on the Billboard Hot 100 pop singles chart. The single achieved this position in late 1961; it hit number one on the R&B chart as well.^[1] "Please Mr. Postman" became a number-one hit again in early 1975 when The Carpenters' cover of the song reached the top position of the Billboard Hot 100.

History

In April 1961, the Marvelettes (then known as "The Marvels") arranged an audition for Berry Gordy's Tamla/Motown label. Marvels member Georgia Dobbins needed an original song for their audition, and got a blues song from her friend William Garrett, which she then reworked for the group. Dobbins left the group after the audition and was replaced, Gordy renamed the group and hired "Brianbert"—Brian Holland and Robert Bateman's songwriting partnership—to rework the song yet again. Freddie Gorman, another songwriting partner of Holland (before Holland became part of the Holland–Dozier–Holland team) was also involved in the final reworking.

The Marvelettes recording features lead singer Gladys Horton hoping that the postman has brought her a letter from her boyfriend, who is away at war. Accompaniment is provided by The Funk Brothers, including Marvin Gaye on drums.

Songwriting credits for "Please Mr. Postman" seem to have changed over the years. The original Tamla 45 single for the Marvelettes' version credits "Dobbins/Garett/Brianbert" as the songwriters, and credits "Brianbert" as producer. The original With the Beatles album cover credited it to just Brian Holland. The 1976 Beatles discography book All Together Now credits it to Holland, Bateman, and Berry Gordy. The 1992 Motown boxed set Hitsville USA: The Motown Singles Collection credits Dobbins, Garrett, Holland, Bateman, and Gorman as the composers. As of 2006^[update], the Songwriters Hall of Fame credits "Please Mr. Postman" to just Holland, Bateman, and Gorman. [1]. EMI Music Publishing, the current music publisher of the song list all five writers in their catalog.

"Please Mr. Postman" has been covered frequently, including a version by The Beatles on their With the Beatles album. Sung by John Lennon, their version reverses the genders. The Marvelettes' version appears in a bar fight scene in Mean Streets (1973), directed by Martin Scorsese. Later, a second hit version was recorded by The Carpenters, whose version took the song again to number one on the Hot 100 in early 1975. The Pat Boone Family released their version of the song at approximately the same time, resulting in both versions appearing simultaneously on the South African Hit Parade. The Carpenters' cover version was also sampled by rapper Juelz Santana for his single "Oh Yes". It is used by the Rob, Arnie and Dawn Show to introduce their Listener Mail segment, and was sung by the presenters of British Saturday morning show SMTV Live to introduce the mailbag section.

The Marvelettes personnel

• Gladys Horton – Lead and background vocals
• Wanda Young – Background vocals
• Georgeanna Tillman – Background vocals
• Wyanetta ("Juanita") Cowart – Background vocals
• Katherine Anderson – Background vocals
• The Funk Brothers – Instrumentation (including)
  • Marvin Gaye – Drums
  • Benny Benjamin – Drums
  • James Jamerson – Bass
  • Richard "Popcorn" Wylie – Piano
  • Eddie "Bongo" Brown – Percussion

Chart (1961)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	1
U.S. Billboard R&B Singles	1

The Beatles

"Please Mr. Postman"
Song by The Beatles from the album With the Beatles
Released	22 November 1963 (mono) 30 November 1963 (stereo)
Recorded	30 July 1963 EMI Studios, London
Genre	Rock and roll
Length	2:36
Label	Parlophone
Producer	George Martin
With the Beatles track listing
14 tracks Side one "It Won't Be Long" "All I've Got to Do" "All My Loving" "Don't Bother Me" "Little Child" "Till There Was You" "Please Mister Postman" Side two "Roll Over Beethoven" "Hold Me Tight" "You Really Got a Hold on Me" "I Wanna Be Your Man" "Devil in Her Heart" "Not a Second Time" "Money"

The Beatles included "Please Mr. Postman" as part of their live act in 1962, performing it regularly at the Cavern Club. By the time it was recorded for their second album, With the Beatles, it had been dropped from their set, and required some work in the studio to bring it up to an acceptable standard.^[2] Ian MacDonald criticised their version for having a "wall of sound" and for a "general airlessness."^[2]

The Beatles personnel

• John Lennon – double-tracked lead vocal, rhythm guitar
• Paul McCartney – backing vocal, bass
• George Harrison – backing vocal, lead guitar
• Ringo Starr – drums
• George Martin – producer
• Norman Smith – engineer

The Beatles personnel per MacDonald^[2]

The Carpenters

"Please Mr. Postman"
Single by The Carpenters
from the album Horizon
A-side	Please Mr. Postman
B-side	This Masquerade
Released	November 8, 1974
Format	7" single
Recorded	1974
Genre	Pop
Length	2:50
Label	A&M 1646
Producer	Richard and Karen Carpenter
The Carpenters singles chronology
"I Won't Last a Day Without You" (1974) "Please Mr. Postman"/"This Masquerade" (1974) "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town" (1974)

The Carpenters' version resembles an old 1950s rock & roll song. The single was released in late 1974, reached number one on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Easy Listening charts in January 1975, and was a million-selling gold record. The corresponding Horizon album was belatedly released in June 1975.

Music video

A music video of the song, filmed in Disneyland, can be found on the DVD Gold: Greatest Hits (released in 2002), originally packaged as Yesterday Once More (released on VHS in 1985).

Carpenters personnel

• Karen Carpenter – vocals
• Richard Carpenter – vocals

Chart

Chart (1974)	Peak position
Canadian Singles Chart	1
Oricon International Singles Chart	1
Oricon (Japanese) Singles Chart	11
UK Singles Chart	2
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	1
U.S. Billboard Easy Listening	1

Other versions

• Mike Sheridan & The Nightriders (from Birmingham, England) recorded it as their 2nd single, released in Jan 1964, later released on LP on Birmingham Beat (1983). Their version has a slowed-down "skiffle-beat" arrangement quite different from the original.
• Peggy Evers from Les Humphries Singers released a disco version in 1980.
• "Please Mr. Postman" is part of "The Greatest Medley Ever Told" sung by Whoopi Goldberg in the opening scene of the 1993 film, Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit.
• The Backbeat band covered the song for the 1994 film Backbeat.
• El Cuarteto de Nos recorded a cover version for their 1994 album Otra Navidad en las Trincheras. It is one of the most known songs by the band, even though it's a cover version with the lyrics re-written to humorous effect.
• The China Dolls covered this song for their album Cover Girls in 2003 which also featured singers from GMM Grammy.
• Juelz Santana sampled the Carpenters' version for the song "Oh Yes" on his 2005 album What the Game's Been Missing.
• The Saturdays performed a cover of the song on Celebrating The Carpenters.
• Lil Wayne sampled The Carpenters' version of the song on a mixtape track called "Mr. Postman".
• In this song was also features by the 2008 music simulation game Wii Music.
• Cragga released a dubstep remix of the song in 2009.
• Diana Ross and the Supremes also made a cover of "Mr Postman."
• In the T.V show Phineas and Ferb there is an episode where there is a parody of this song.
• The song is referenced in Layzie Bone's opening verse for the 2003 "Bone Thugs-n-Harmony" song "Home".

See also

• List of Hot 100 number-one singles of 1961 (U.S.)
• List of number-one R&B singles of 1961 (U.S.)

• List of number-one singles in Australia during the 1970s
• List of RPM number-one singles of 1975
• List of Hot 100 number-one singles of 1975 (U.S.)
• List of number-one adult contemporary singles of 1975 (U.S.)

Notes

1. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 379. 
2. ^ ^{a b c} MacDonald, Ian (2005). Revolution in the Head: The Beatles' Records and the Sixties (Second Revised ed.). London: Pimlico (Rand). p. 91. ISBN 1-84413-828-3.