Gladys Horton of The Marvelettes Dies (Top 11 of 11)

. Gladys Horton of The Marvelettes Dies was a top 11 story of 2011 for January. Here is the recap: (Gibson) Gladys Horton, the co-founder of hit Motown group The Marvelettes, has died. The singer passed away late on Wednesday (January 26) in a Los Angeles nursing home, according to Spinner.com. She was 66. Horton's cause of death is unknown, although her son said that she had been recovering from complications from a stroke she suffered last year.

Horton was born in a Detroit suburb in 1944, and sang in the high school glee club as a teenager. She recruited four other girls from the club to form a singing group, which was dubbed Casinyets (as in, "can't sing yet").

In 1961, the group landed a Motown contract with an audition performance of "Please, Mr. Postman" � the song that would grant them stardom. With Horton singing lead, they recorded the tune with The Funk Brothers. By the time it was released in the summer of '61, the group had taken a new name, The Marvelettes. Soon, "Please, Mr. Postman" would top the Billboard pop charts. - more on this story

This Thanksgiving weekend we are looking back at the top 11 Day in Pop stories for each month of 2011. See the other Top 11 of 11 stories here

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