The Elgins were an American vocal group on the Motown label, active from the late 1965 to 1967. Their most successful record was "Heaven Must Have Sent You", written and produced by the Holland–Dozier–Holland team, The record company suggested that they add female lead vocalist Saundra Mallett, who had recorded unsuccessfully for the label, backed by The Vandellas; but Berry Gordy wanted to use the name Elgins, which had previously been one of the names used by The Temptations. With Saundra Mallett Edwards being unwilling to rejoin the group, the Elgins toured the UK with former session vocalist Yvonne Vernee Allen taking her place. Norman McLean died on November 17, 2024.

Discography

Albums

  • 1966: Darling Baby (V.I.P. VM400)
  • 1968: Darling Baby (UK issue) (Tamla Motown STML/TML11081)
  • 1990: Take the Train (MOTCLP 39)
  • 1991: Sensational (MOTCCD 75)
  • 1996: The Best of the Elgins (HTCD 7733-2)
  • 1997: The Elgins Meet the Monitors (UK issue) (Marginal ISO 9002)
  • 2007: The Motown Anthology (UK issue) (Universal UK B000OONPO0)

Singles

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"

|-

! rowspan="2"| Year

! rowspan="2"| A-side

! rowspan="2"| B-side

! rowspan="2"| Label

! colspan="3"| Chart positions

! rowspan="2"| Certifications

|- style="font-size:smaller;"

! width="40"| US Pop<br>

! width="40"| US<br>R&B<br>

! width="40"| UK<br>

|-

| 1965

| align="left"| "Put Yourself in My Place"

| align="left"| "Darling Baby"

| V.I.P. 25029<br /><small>UK: Tamla Motown TMG551</small>

| 72 / 92

| 4 / —

| —

|

|-

| 1966

| align="left"| "Heaven Must Have Sent You"

| align="left"| "Stay in My Lonely Arms"

| V.I.P. 25037<br /><small>UK: Tamla Motown TMG583</small>

| 50

| 9

| —

|

|-

| 1967

| align="left"| "I Understand My Man"

| align="left"| "It's Been a Long Long Time"

| V.I.P. 25043<br /><small>UK: Tamla Motown TMG615</small>

| 92

| 35

| —

|

|-

| 1968

| align="left"| "Put Yourself in My Place"<br /><small>(reissue)</small>

| align="left"| "Darling Baby"

| <small>UK: Tamla Motown TMG642</small>

| —

| —

| —

|

|-

| rowspan="2"| 1971

| align="left"| "Heaven Must Have Sent You"<br /><small>(reissue)</small>

| align="left"| "Stay in My Lonely Arms"

| V.I.P. 25065<br /><small>UK: Tamla Motown TMG771</small>

| —

| —

| 3

|

  • BPI: Silver

|-

| align="left"| "Put Yourself in My Place"<br /><small>(second reissue)</small>

| align="left"| "It's Gonna Be Hard Times"

| <small>UK: Tamla Motown TMG787</small>

| —

| —

| 28

|

|-

| colspan="8" style="text-align:center; font-size:9pt;"| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory.

|}

References

  • A biography of the Elgins
  • Elgins discography