Motown scores its first No 1

November 1961: Number 9 in our series of the 50 key events in the history of pop musicThe US postal service might not seem like the most romantic of subjects for a pop record, but Motown could inject magic into any situation. The Marvelettes's debut single, Please Mr Postman – later covered by the Beatles and the Carpenters – described the high anxiety that comes with any teen love affair and gave Motown its first US No 1, only a year after Berry Gordy had merged his Tamla and Motown labels ...

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