Sandra Tilley
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Sandra Tilley (May 6, 1946 - September 9, 1981) was an American R&B and soul singer, known for being a member of Motown girl groups The Velvelettes and Martha and the Vandellas. She was also a brief member in the soul group called The Orlons. She was a native of Cleveland Ohio. Her parents were both ex-Vaudeville dancers.
Tilley joined the Velvelettes after one of the original members of the group left in 1966. She left the group to replace original Vandellas member Rosalind Ashford in 1969. Although her picture was on the cover of Sugar 'n' Spice, released in February 1970, it is unlikely she sang on the album. The first song she recorded with the Vandellas was "Something", which appeared originally on the 1970 album Natural Resources. She sang on the modest chart hit "Bless You", "Your Loves Makes It All Worthwhile" and the album Black Magic before the group splintered altogether following a farewell tour in late-1972.
Tilley's highlights as a Vandellas member included performing at the world famous Copacabana Club in New York with stars such as Judy Garland and F. Lee Bailey in the audience. She also toured England with the group when "Forget Me Not" became a huge hit in the UK in 1970.("Dancing In The Street" hit #4 for the group in the UK a year before) She and Lois Reeves are considered by Martha Reeves as the most elegant of all Vandellas and the best dancers.
Tilley eventually retired from singing and got married. She developed a brain tumor and died after a brain aneurysm surgery was performed at a hospital in Las Vegas, Clark County, Nevada on September 9, 1981 at the age of thirty-five.
Circa 1980-81 Tilley worked as a receptionist at radio station KYND-FM in Houston, Texas. She would entertain fellow staffers with solo renditions of some of the Vandellas hits such as "Jimmy Mack".
In 1995, she was posthumously inducted to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as member of the Vandellas.
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