hoping that the postman has brought her a letter from her boyfriend. Holland and Bateman – dubbing themselves "Brianbert" – produced the session. The song's rhythm section is made up of piano, electric bass and drums. The commercial failure of Marvin Gaye's 1961 debut album, The Soulful Moods of Marvin Gaye, led him to spend time as a studio musician for the remainder of the year. Among these efforts was "Please Mr. Postman", on which he plays the drums. Gaye's backbeat is busy throughout the song, playing his snare on the two and four beats while tapping the ride cymbal each half beat. He uses fills to transition the song through sections. The bass mostly alternates between root and fifth chords. An electric rhythm guitar is buried in the mix, only occasionally audible, while handclaps are prominent. Musicologist Walter Everett suggests that the appearance of reverb on the lead vocal at 2:10 is possibly the result of a vocal overdub being "punched into a mismatched circuit". Release Motown's Tamla label released the song as a single in the US in August 1961, then on the album of the same name in November 1961. The single was a commercial success, becoming Motown's second ever million-selling record and its first number-one hit. The song was on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for 23 weeks, and peaked at number 1 the week of December 11, 1961. Producer Berry Gordy credited Barney Ales' PR effort with the commercial success of the song. The song's hit status left many at Motown expecting the Marvelettes to be the label's biggest act, though they failed to ever match their first effort. Journalist Ben Fong-Torres describes the Marvelettes' next song, "Twistin' Postman", as a "calculated follow-up". The song's success led to an expansion in Motown's efforts, with songs like the Miracles "I'll Try Something New" and "You've Really Got a Hold on Me" following in 1962. Fontana Records released the song as a single in the UK in November 1961. Billboard listed the song as #22 on their 2017 list of 100 Greatest Girl Group Songs of All Time. Rolling Stone ranked it at No. 331 on their list of "Top 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". Personnel According to The Complete Motown Singles – Vol. 1: 1959–1961 liner notes, except where noted: The Marvelettes Gladys Horton lead vocal Katherine Anderson backing vocal Wyanetta ("Juanita") Cowart backing vocal