The label's second most-successful all-female singing group after The Supremes, Martha Reeves and the Vandellas were known for a churchier, more southern-styled soul than the Supremes, as typified in Motown hits such as "(Love Is Like A) Heat Wave", "Jimmy Mack", "I'm Ready For Love", "My Baby Loves Me", "Nowhere to Run", and, their signature song, "Dancing in the Street".
Founded in Detroit, Michigan in 1960, the group had initially gone by the name The Del-Phis and originally was a quartet of Martha Reeves, Rosalind Ashford, Annette Beard and original lead singer Gloria Williamson. Williamson left after a failed single on the Checkmate label, leaving the quartet as a trio. They changed their name again to The Vells signing a deal with Motown's Mel-o-dy label, and singing background for established Motown performers such as Mary Wells and Marvin Gaye before signing a new deal with Motown's Gordy label, changing their name to Martha and the Vandellas in 1962.
In 1964, the Vandellas' lineup changed with Betty Kelley replacing Sterling. In 1967, Kelley was fired and was replaced by Martha's younger sister, Sandra "Lois" Reeves. In 1969, Ashford was also fired and replaced by Sandra Tilley. The lineup of the Reeves sisters and Tilley continued after Martha's return from an institution after suffering a nervous breakdown. The group's final performance at Detroit's Cobo Hall in 1972 ended their twelve-year existence.
I Should Be Proud
Martha Reeves And The Vandellas Lyrics
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"Private John C. Miller was shot down in Vietnam"
Through my tears I read: "No more information at this time
He′s missin' in action somewhere on the Delta Line"
And they say that I should be proud; he was fightin′ for me
They say that I should be proud, those too blind to see
But he wasn't fightin' for me, my Johnny didn′t have to fight for me
Now I prayed night & day that my Johnny wouldn't die
Love, faith & hope was all that kept me alive
Then 6 weeks later came that cold & heartless letter:
"Private Johnny was killed in action, number 54327"
And they say that I should be proud; he was keepin′ me free
They say that I should be proud, those too blind to see
But he wasn't fightin′ for me, my Johnny didn't have to die for me
He was fightin′ for the evils of society
They shipped him home with medals of honor & glory
Even our local paper ran a front-page story
But the whole time gave him praisin' & said how honored I should be
But I don't want no superstar, just the good man they took from me
And they tell me I should be proud; he was fightin′ for me
They say that I should be proud, those too blind to see
But he wasn′t fightin' for me, my Johnny didn′t have to die for me
He's a victim of the evils of society
I should be proud of my Johnny
They tell me that I should be proud; they just don′t want Johnny for me
They tell me that I should be proud of my Johnny...
The song "I Should Be Proud" by Martha Reeves and the Vandellas illustrates the grief of a woman who loses her lover, Johnny, in Vietnam War. She receives a telegram while "under the dryer," which informs her that Johnny was shot down in Vietnam, but he is MIA. The woman is portrayed as crying and heartbroken as she reads the telegraph. The text she is reading specifies that there's no more information at this time, and Johnny is missing somewhere on the Delta Line. The woman prays day and night, hoping and wishing that Johnny makes it. She was hopeful that love, faith, and unity would keep them together. However, six later, she receives a heartless letter that informs her that Johnny is dead in Vietnam. The letter also states that he was killed in action numbered 54327. The song highlights the message that Johnny was fighting for the evils of society and not for the woman. He was fighting a war that had nothing to do with her.
The chorus of the song emphasizes that people keep telling her that she should be proud of Johnny because he was fighting for her freedom. However, the woman understands that Johnny wasn't dying for her or her freedom. He was a victim of the evils of society, which led him to fight for his country. The woman feels that Johnny was taken from her while he was fighting for something she didn't want him to fight.
Overall, the lyrics detail the despair and loss felt by many individuals who lost loved ones during the Vietnam War. The song speaks not only to the pain of the struggle but also to the level of confusion felt by those attempting to make sense of the tragedy. The song suggests that people might honor those who fought in the war, but what matters is a personal relationship with the person.
Line by Line Meaning
I was under the dryer when the telegram came:
I was getting my hair done when I received a telegram.
"Private John C. Miller was shot down in Vietnam"
The telegram informed me that Private John C. Miller was shot down in Vietnam.
Through my tears I read: "No more information at this time
Despite my tears, I read on and saw that there was no further information at that time.
He′s missin' in action somewhere on the Delta Line"
The telegram revealed that he was missing in action somewhere on the Delta Line.
And they say that I should be proud; he was fightin′ for me
People tell me that I should be proud of him because he was fighting on my behalf.
They say that I should be proud, those too blind to see
People who can't see the truth keep telling me that I should be proud of him.
But he wasn't fightin' for me, my Johnny didn′t have to fight for me
He didn't have to fight for me because he was fighting against the societal evils.
He was fightin′ for the evils of society
He was fighting for the greater good by battling the societal evils.
Now I prayed night & day that my Johnny wouldn't die
I prayed constantly that Johnny would not lose his life.
Love, faith & hope was all that kept me alive
My love, faith and hope gave me strength to keep going in difficult times.
Then 6 weeks later came that cold & heartless letter:
After 6 weeks, I received a letter informing me of Johnny's death, which felt cold and heartless.
"Private Johnny was killed in action, number 54327"
The letter informed me that Johnny was killed in action and assigned the number 54327.
And they say that I should be proud; he was keepin′ me free
People tell me that I should be proud of him because he was fighting to maintain my freedom.
They say that I should be proud, those too blind to see
People who can't see the truth keep telling me that I should be proud of him.
But he wasn't fightin′ for me, my Johnny didn't have to die for me
He didn't have to die for me because he was fighting against the societal evils.
He was fightin′ for the evils of society
He was fighting for the greater good by battling the societal evils.
They shipped him home with medals of honor & glory
They brought him home with awards of honor and pride.
Even our local paper ran a front-page story
Our local newspaper published a story on the front page about him.
But the whole time gave him praisin' & said how honored I should be
Everyone kept praising him and telling me how honored I should feel.
But I don't want no superstar, just the good man they took from me
I don't want a hero, I just want the good man that they took from me.
And they tell me I should be proud; he was fightin′ for me
People keep telling me that I should be proud of him because he was fighting for me.
They say that I should be proud, those too blind to see
People who can't see the truth keep telling me that I should be proud of him.
But he wasn′t fightin' for me, my Johnny didn′t have to die for me
He didn't have to die for me because he was fighting against the societal evils.
He's a victim of the evils of society
He fell victim to societal evils while fighting for the greater good.
I should be proud of my Johnny
Even though he didn't die for me, I should still be proud of Johnny for fighting for the greater good.
They tell me that I should be proud; they just don′t want Johnny for me
People tell me to be proud of Johnny, but they don't understand the depth of my loss.
They tell me that I should be proud of my Johnny...
People keep telling me that I should be proud of Johnny, even though he fought against societal evils and didn't have to die for me.
Writer(s): H. Cosby, P. Sawyer, J. Hinton
Contributed by Ellie G. Suggest a correction in the comments below.