Editing Martha and the Vandellas (section)

===Later years, disbandment and exit from Motown (1967-1973)===
Following the success of "Jimmy Mack", Motown Records began experiencing a commercial drought as the label's former staff writers and producers Mickey Stevenson and Holland-Dozier-Holland all left in 1967, citing royalty issues with the label, leaving many of the label's original acts, including Martha and the Vandellas, in a rut. Motown hired songwriters [[Sylvia Moy]] and [[Richard Morris (songwriter)|Richard Morris]] to compose songs for Reeves, resulting in the recordings "[[Love Bug Leave My Heart Alone]]" and "[[Honey Chile]]". At the time, the music industry itself was going through rapid changes and the [[Motown#Motown sound|crossover Motown pop sound]] was falling out of favor with audiences, mainly in the black community. Artists such as [[Aretha Franklin]], [[Otis Redding]] and recently signed Motown act [[Gladys Knight & the Pips]] brought in [[Southern soul|grittier soul]] music while the Temptations and Gaye were starting to record [[psychedelic soul]], which forced many other Motown acts to adapt. Both "Love Bug Leave My Heart Alone" and "Honey Chile" were departures from the group's earlier [[pop-soul]] recordings that made them famous. Both songs reached the US top 40, with "Honey Chile" peaking at number eleven. "Honey Chile" also became the first to be released under the moniker, ''Martha Reeves & The Vandellas'', joining the recent moniker changes of the Supremes (''[[Diana Ross]] and The Supremes'') and [[The Miracles]] (''[[Smokey Robinson]] and The Miracles''). During this period, Reeves and Kelly had a falling out and Kelly soon was fired from the group and promptly replaced by Reeves' sister [[Lois Reeves|Lois]].<ref name=Rock/><ref name="Martha and the Vandellas"/> Around this time, the group began performing at engagements at the [[Copacabana (nightclub)|Copacabana]], where a live recording was produced but was later shelved.

Despite the early promise of continued success after "Honey Chile", their next release, "[[I Promise to Wait My Love]]", a more direct response to the Southern soul sound of Franklin and Knight, only managed to reach number 62 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, their lowest position since "What Am I Going to Do Without Your Love" peaked at number 71 two years earlier. Their next single, "[[I Can't Dance to That Music You're Playing]]", barely missed the US top 40 in 1968. That year, Reeves reportedly suffered badly from an [[acid (drug)|acid]]-laced drink while at a party and soon found herself in a mental ward for a couple of weeks. As a result, the group suffered and began fading away from the spotlight. In 1969, Ashford was let go from the group and was told that Reeves didn't want her in the group anymore. She was replaced by [[Sandra Tilley]], another former member of [[The Velvelettes]]. The group re-emerged later that year with the album, ''[[Sugar 'n' Spice (Martha Reeves and the Vandellas album)|Sugar 'n' Spice]]''. The leading single, "Taking My Love and Leaving Me", which featured the Andantes and [[Syreeta Wright]] on background vocals along with a hoarse Reeves, was their first single since "I'll Have to Let Him Go" to not make the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 though top 40 re-issues of their previous songs such as "[[Forget Me Not (Martha and the Vandellas song)|Forget Me Not]]" in the UK kept the group going for the time being. The group seemed to be on the verge of a comeback two years later, however, when the dance song, "[[Bless You (Martha and the Vandellas song)|Bless You]]" (1971) was released, peaking at number 53 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, number 33 in the UK, number 16 in Canada and number 2 in Puerto Rico; the Vandellas notably promoted the song while performing on ''[[Soul Train]]'' around that time. It would become the group's 24th and last single to appear on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. In response to the song's moderate success, Motown issued what would be the final album from the group, ''[[Black Magic (Martha Reeves and the Vandellas album)|Black Magic]]'', in 1972. The group's final singles, "In and Out of My Life" and "Tear It On Down", the latter originally recorded by their former collaborator [[Marvin Gaye]], were only modestly successful on the R&B charts. 

After holding a concert at Detroit's [[Cobo Hall]] on December 21, 1972 with sister Lois Reeves and Tilley, it was reported in March 1973 that Reeves had made the decision to leave the Vandellas, promptly ending the group as a recording unit. After learning of Motown's permanent move to Los Angeles, Reeves decided to leave Motown as well, negotiating her way out of her contract with the label.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MbEDAAAAMBAJ&q=martha+reeves&pg=PA56|title=Singer Martha Reeves Leaves Motown Records|date=March 29, 1973|publisher=Jet|access-date=December 16, 2010}}</ref> Reeves wrote in her memoirs, ''Dancing in the Street: Confessions of a Motown Diva'', that she thought of [[retirement]] until her longtime friend, [[Eddie Kendricks]], formerly of [[The Temptations]], convinced her to continue her career. Reeves decided to relocate to Los Angeles and signed to [[MCA Inc.|MCA Records]], where her self-titled debut, ''Martha Reeves'', produced by [[rock music|rock]] producer [[Richard Perry]], was released.<ref name=Rock/> The album was a critical success but failed to produce hits despite Reeves performing well-received renditions of [[Joe Simon (singer)|Joe Simon]]'s "[[Power of Love (Joe Simon song)|Power of Love]]" and [[Van Morrison]]'s "[[Wild Night]]". Reeves would continue to record with various labels including [[Fantasy Records]] and [[Arista Records]] with little success. During the mid-1970s, Reeves fell into an addiction to [[cocaine]] and alcohol as well as prescription medication. However, after a visit to a Baptist church in 1977, Reeves became a [[Born again (Christianity)|born-again Christian]].<ref name=Rock/><ref name=Enc>{{cite web|url=http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Martha_Reeves.aspx|title=Martha Reeves|publisher=Encyclopedia.com|access-date=December 16, 2010}}</ref>