Georgia Dobbins

Georgia Dobbins-Davis (May 8, 1942 – September 18, 2020) was an American singer and songwriter.

Early life

Georgia Dobbins was born in Carthage, Arkansas on May 8, 1942, the first child of seven to Arlanders and Mercile Dobbins. During her early years, she was inspired by vocalists Ruth Brown, Etta James, and Sarah Vaughan to sing and perform, and sung doo-wop, which led to her leading groups, and sung at the Willow Run Baptist Church with friend Nickolas Ashford. She left the group in 1961 before signing to the Tamla label due to family commitments and her father refusing her to sing, and was replaced by Wanda Young.

Dobbins was most remembered for co-authoring "Please Mr. Postman", notable for becoming the first Motown song to reach the number-one position on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. The song was later covered in 1963 by The Beatles, and topped the charts again in 1975 with a cover by The Carpenters.

Personal life and death

After leaving the Marvelettes, Dobbins attended Cleary College for Business Administration, and worked as a cashier at Farmer Jack. Dobbins married James Davis in 1966; Davis preceded Dobbins in death in 1969. They had one daughter, Kimberly.

Dobbins died of cardiac arrest on September 18, 2020.