Please Mr. Postman


"Please Mr. Postman" is a song written by Georgia Dobbins, William Garrett, Freddie Gorman, Brian Holland, and Robert Bateman. It is the debut single by the Marvelettes for the Tamla 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. "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. "Please Mr. Postman" has been covered several times, including by the British rock group The Beatles in 1963.

The Marvelettes version

Background

In April 1961, the Marvelettes arranged an audition for Berry Gordy's Tamla label. Marvels original lead singer 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, himself a Detroit postman and another songwriting partner of Holland 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. Accompaniment is provided by the Funk Brothers, including Marvin Gaye on drums. The Marvelettes' version later appeared in a bar fight scene in the film Mean Streets, directed by Martin Scorsese.
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 the songwriting 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. The Songwriters Hall of Fame credits "Please Mr. Postman" to just Holland, Bateman, and Gorman. EMI Music Publishing, the current music publisher of the song, list all five writers in their catalog.
Ava DuVernay was commissioned by the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture to create a film which debuted at the museum's opening on September 24, 2016. This film, August 28: A Day in the Life of a People, tells of six significant events in African-American history that happened on the same date, August 28. Events depicted include the release of the song.
The song was on Billboard's top 100 chart for 23 weeks, and peaked at number 1 the week of December 11, 1961. Billboard named the song #22 on their 2017 list of 100 Greatest Girl Group Songs of All Time.

Personnel

The Beatles version

Background

"Please Mr. Postman" was covered in a version by British rock group the Beatles on their With the Beatles album in the UK and on The Beatles' Second Album in the US. Sung by John Lennon, their version reverses the genders. The song was produced by George Martin.
The Beatles included "Please Mr. Postman" as part of their live act in 1962, performing it regularly at the Cavern Club. They also performed the song three separate times during live performances on the BBC. 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. Ian MacDonald criticised their version for having a "wall of sound" and for a "general airlessness." It was released by Capitol in Canada with "Roll Over Beethoven" as the A-side. This release reached number 68 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and number 30 on the Cash Box Singles chart. In Sweden, it peaked at number 11 on the Kvällstoppen Chart.

Personnel

Background

A hit cover of "Please Mr. Postman" was recorded by the Carpenters, whose version took the song again to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in early 1975. 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 the duo's 10th and final million-selling single. The corresponding Horizon album was belatedly released in June 1975 and went Platinum.
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. Reaching number two in the UK Singles Chart in 1975, in a UK television special on ITV in 2016 it was voted number one in The Nation's Favourite Carpenters Song.

Music video

A music video of the song, filmed in Disneyland, can be found on the DVD , originally packaged as Yesterday Once More.

Personnel

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Other versions