Girl Group Chronicles: Delicates

Well known West-Coast girls, the Delicates, had a long and interesting career on several labels from the mid sixties to the early seventies. Billie Rae Calvin, Brenda Joyce Evans, and Michelle Doe formed a group in the early 60s in California. 1964 found them on the Challenge label recording three superb singles, including "Comin’ Down With Love," "I Want To Get Married," and "I’ve Been Hurt."

Their R&B roots with touches of gospel and pop proved a local sensation, but their efforts went largely unnoticed elsewhere in the country. When Motown moved offices to Los Angeles Bobby Taylor found the girls later in the decade, and brought them aboard as session singers. Although they did not release anything of their own while at the company, Brenda and Billie found themselves as two "Marvelettes" on the cover of The Return Of The Marvelettes, behind Wanda Young, although Motown’s Andantes actually appeared on the tracks.

In early 1970, the two remaining Delicates recorded some material for Norman Whitfield with Joe Harris. The new group, called the Undisputed Truth recorded the futuristic "Smiling Faces Sometimes." Shooting up to number 3 on the pop charts, the song became an anthem for a generation facing Richard Nixon, the sexual revolution, and the hardcore drugs of the seventies. Other hits followed, but the "delicate" part of the group left to pursue other interests.