She Sang on “Dancing in the Street.” Then Motown Got a Little Smaller.
She is a , original Martha and the Vandellas singer, dies at 83**
A true Motown legend has died. Rosalind Ashford, an original singer with Martha and the Vandellas, has passed away at age 83.
Ashford, one of the three original members of the group behind Motown classics such as “Dancing in the Street” and “(Love Is Like a) Heat Wave,” died Tuesday, September 15, 2026, of natural causes in Redford Township, a suburb of Detroit.
“I am deeply saddened to hear about the passing of Rosalind Ashford,” Martha Reeves told the *Detroit Free Press*. “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.”
Born on September 2, 1943, in Detroit, Ashford was still a student at Wilbur Wright High School when she joined Annette Beard and Gloria Williams to form a girl group called the Del-Phis. Reeves later joined the group, which also recorded as the Vels.
In 1962, they sang backup for stars including Marvin Gaye and Mary Wells. Those sessions caught the attention of Motown founder Berry Gordy, who offered them a record deal. After Gloria Williams left, the group became Martha and the Vandellas.
Their 1963 breakthrough, “Come and Get These Memories,” climbed to No. 29 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 6 on the R&B chart. The same year, “(Love Is Like a) Heat Wave” became an even bigger hit, reaching No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and earning a Grammy nomination. “Quicksand” followed as another early hit.
In the summer of 1964, “Dancing in the Street” became a landmark record, reaching No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100. Later covers included versions by the Mamas & the Papas and Van Halen. Other hits included “Nowhere to Run,” “I’m Ready for Love,” and “Jimmy Mack.”
Ashford left the group in 1969. She continued to perform with former Vandellas singers over the years while also working for Michigan Bell Telephone Co.
She appeared on nearly two dozen Top 40 hits on Billboard’s R&B chart and was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1995 with the Vandellas, only the second all-female group to receive the honor.
Ashford is survived by her son, Damon, and four grandchildren. Funeral arrangements were pending, with services expected at James H. Cole Funeral Home on Schaefer Highway in Detroit.
