[2] The group was founded in 1961 by Bertha Barbee-McNeal (June 12, 1940 – December 15, 2022)[3] and Mildred Gill Arbor, students at Western Michigan University.
[4] A classmate at Western Michigan University, Robert Bullock, was Berry Gordy's nephew, and he encouraged the group to audition for Motown.
While the group awaited their chance at stardom, they recorded for many producers, some of which were re-recorded by other artists including fellow labelmates Martha and the Vandellas and The Supremes.
[1] The group recorded its follow-up, "He Was Really Sayin' Somethin'", with Whitfield again producing,[4] and spent time on various Motown-sponsored tours as a support act.
Cal recruited two new members for concert performances: future Vandella Sandra Tilley (who was introduced by her friend Abdul Fakir of The Four Tops), and Annette McMillan.
The final Velvelettes single release (after an internal label change to Motown's Soul subsidiary) was "These Things Will Keep Me Loving You", which made number 43 on the US R&B Charts.
Together the Gill sisters and Barbee cousins then went on to re-record their original hits and some new songs for the album One Door Closes for Motorcity Records.
Three decades after the group left Motown, the company released a CD, The Very Best of the Velvelettes, featuring 15 tracks, including four previously unreleased selections.
Founding member Bertha Barbee-McNeal died of colon cancer in hospice in Kalamazoo, Michigan, on December 15, 2022, at the age of 82.