Rosalind Ashford helped the group to distinguish themselves from the other girl groups in the label including the pop-oriented Marvelettes and the doo-wop-influenced Supremes with a rougher, brassier gospel-influenced sound. Reeves was a brassy alto while Annette was a deep contralto, and Rosalind was a high soprano. Like the Supremes' Florence Ballard, the Marvelettes' Wanda Rogers and The Four Tops' Abdul "Duke" Fakir, Ashford registered as the high background vocal in Vandellas records. After "Quicksand" gave the group a third top forty pop hit, Beard left to start a family with her new spouse. Reeves recruited a former member of The Velvelettes,
Roberta A. Ballard from 1968-1969. Roberta Ballard's would end her education in San Francisco, CA at the Cardiovascular Research Institute doing a Neonatology Fellowship from 1970-1972. She would then stay in San Francisco as a professor of pediatrics at the University of California. Roberta Ballard would get her board certifications in 1972 through American Board of Pediatrics. Also through Sub-Board of Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine in 1975 and again in 1992. Roberta A. Ballard Roberta A. Ballard is recognized for her contributions to neonatal medicine. In 1965, she graduated from the University of Chicago's medical school and has dedicated much of her life to research