Born and raised in Inkster, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. She was 17 years old when a fellow member of her high schoolglee club, Gladys Horton, asked her to join her unnamed singing group. After one of the members jokingly said "we can't sing yet", they became the Casinyets and the group soon featured Katherine Anderson, Juanita Cowart and Georgia Dobbins. After coming in fourth place at a high schooltalent contest, two of their school's teachers decided to send the group to audition for Motown despite their last place finish. The group auditioned in front of several Motown staffers singing various songs by The Shirelles and The Chantels. Although reportedly impressed, the staffers asked the group to come back with an original recording. Dobbins later took an unfinished blues song, "Please Mr. Postman", and rewrote it as a catchier doo-wop single. Before they returned to Motown, Dobbins opted to leave for personal reasons. Horton found Wanda Young and the group returned with their own song and was quickly signed to Motown's Tamla subsidiary but not before changing their name to the Marvelettes after Motown CEO Berry Gordy claimed their original name was harder to pronounce. "Please Mr. Postman" became Motown's first number-one hit on the pop charts and their second million-seller. Tillman would sing on a total of thirteen Marvelettes singles including the follow-up hits "Twistin' Postman", "Playboy", "Beechwood 4-5789" and "Too Many Fish in the Sea". In 1962, original member Juanita Cowart sang for the Marvelettes until the end of 1963. Continuing on as a quartet, Tillman soon began to have health problems and by 1963 was diagnosed with lupus, she also had been diagnosed with sickle cell anemia during childhood. The constant rehearsals, a stringent touring schedule and recording sessions became too much by the beginning of 1965. On the advice of her doctor after she began suffering health issues during performances, Tillman told band mates she was retiring from performing and recording. She officially left the Marvelettes that January with the rest of the group carrying on as a trio. Prior to this Tillman had married Billy Gordon of the popular Motown vocal groupThe Contours on August 12, 1963, becoming the first of the Marvelettes to marry. They have a son, Darrin Darnell. Tillman continued to work for Motown from 1965 until 1972 as a secretary. Following Motown's official move to Los Angeles, circa 1972, Tillman moved back to her mother's house in her hometown of Inkster, where she remained until her death from lupus and sickle cell anemia, on January 6, 1980, one month before her 36th birthday. Her body is interred in Belleville, Michigan.
