Let’s Hear It For The Girls!

It’s no secret that some of the greatest popular music ever made will never make Top Hundred lists of Rolling Stone or Uncut. There are a number of reasons for this but the most important is that much of it was released on singles rather than albums. Furthermore, rock ‘n’ roll music is very male dominated and so some extremely good music has been criminally overlooked and undervalued, for instance; the girl group genre of music.

Mr Lee– The Bobbettes (1957)

The Bobbettes were the first girl group to make it into the charts with this, a doo-wop ode to a teacher they despised. In fact they disliked this particular teacher so much that the original title of the song was ‘I Shot Mr. Lee’, and those sentiments were reflected in the lyrics of the original recording. Although Atlantic Records sensed they might have a hit on their hands, the murderous element of the song made them a tad nervous and so they asked the group to record this more sanitised version.

Maybe – The Chantels (1958)

The Chantays were the first to craft something that more noticeably all the hallmarks of what the girl group became . The pain and longing in Arlene Smith’s vocal is so audible that teenagers everywhere must have instantly been able to relate to it and they bought the record in droves. It sold over a million copies when it was first released. Lead singer, Arlene Smith, also wrote the song.

Be My Baby – The Ronnettes (1965)

By the mid-60s , this was released. Be My Baby is perhaps the most legendary girl-group record of all time – some say the greatest pop record ever made. Phil Spector may be more notorious than famous now, but in the mid-60s he was at the peak of his powers. Even so, the lyrics of Be My Baby are rather disturbing; ‘So won’t you say you love me, I’ll make you so proud of me, we’ll make them turn their heads every place we go…’ The words almost suggest that the singer is happy to be the object of her love’s possession – quite ominous in retrospect.

Don’t Say Nothing Bad About My Baby – The Cookies (1963)

The Cookies were a prolific girl group who recorded under several different names, including; The Pasilades, The Stepping Stones and The Honey Bees; usually with Dorothy Jones on lead vocals. They were a very successful session group too and can be heard supplying backing vocals on many of Neil Sedaka singles, Little Eva’s ‘Locomotion’ and its follow-up hit, plus Mel Torme’s ‘Comin’ Home Baby’. They were Goffin and King’s demo group of choice and recorded some of their songs as singles, including ‘Don’t Say Nothing Bad About My Baby’, which became The Cookies’ biggest hit. Check out the way Dorothy Jones says, ‘So girl, you better shut your mouth,’ they were the epitome of cool.

Tell Him – The Exciters (1963)

Produced by the legendary Leiber and Stoller, The Exciters were quite different from the girl-groups who preceded them. They were noted for having a ‘tougher’ sound and a more aggressive variety of femininity. Fronted by Brenda Reid, this was their first hit:

Nowhere To Run – Martha & The Vandellas (1965)

Another record from 1965, this is a far more up-tempo R&B number and Martha Reeves had the vocal chords to carry a song like this off. Before The Supremes arrived on the scene, Martha & The Vandellas were one of Tamla Motown’s most commercial acts and they hit after hit, most of which haven’t dated one jot. Vandellas records were typically dancey, R&B powerhouse numbers, which went on to be covered by many of mod bands, such as; The Who, The Kinks, etc. None of those cover-versions surpassed the originals though.

Baby Love – The Supremes (1964)

According to Supremes mythology it was Florence Ballard who had the vocal talent, but whatever the truth is, Diana Ross went on to front the band and there’s no denying her charisma. However, the hit-making team placed with The Supremes (Holland, Dozier and Holland) realised that Ms Ross’ voice was not remotely in the category of a powerful singer like Martha Reeves and so they had to take a different approach to accommodate it. The Supremes wanted to record Vandellas style records but instead were presented with more subtle songs like ‘Where Did Our Love Go’ and ‘Baby Love’. The young Diana Ross’ breathy, kitten-like voice suited the syncopated style of those records in a way that Martha Reeves’ would have been too powerful.

Baby It’s You – The Shirelles (1961)

The Shirelles were one of John Lennon’s favourite groups and The Beatles even went on to record a version of this on the first album. The Shirelles’ version of ‘Baby It’s You’ has a unique, weird sound all of its own though, and that’s why I’ve included it here. The record has a disconcerting atmosphere and this is quite typical of the Shirelles, whose imperfect harmonies add depth to all of their recordings. Even their most famous single, ‘Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow’, shares this quality.

Out In The Streets – The Shangri-Las (1964)

Some of The Shangri-Las’ records are, quite simply, masterpieces. The Shangri-Las’ producer, George ‘Shadow’ Morton was heavily influenced by Phil Spector, but unlike Spector was less overbearing and temperamental. Although The Shangri-Las’ quickly became associated with a short 60s phenomena known as ‘the death ballad’, their records always had a sense of humour and fun about them and the group embodied streetwise glamour.

Nobody Knows What’s Going On In My Mind – The Chiffons (1965)

The Chiffons were one of the most successful girl groups of the 1960s and they had many hits, most of which were pop at its purest form (‘He’s So Fine’, ‘Sweet Talking Guy’, and ‘One Fine Day’, etc). Their records were very stylish and had a great deal of natural poise and elegance. This record is no exception but it has far more in common with R&B than their earlier pop hits. In fact, it’s very easy to imagine this being a hit in Northern Soul clubs.

Attack – The Toys (1966)

The Toys scored a Number One single in the US with ‘Lover’s Concerto’ in 1965 – they only managed to get to Number Eighteen with this, but I like it. Again, it has a Northern Soul style quality and should be heard more often.

The Hunter Gets Captured By The Game – The Marvelettes (1967)

The Marvelettes are one of the great girl groups but perhaps owing to the fact that they shared the Tamla Motown label with The Supremes, they have been too often overshadowed. They recorded the original version of ‘Please Mr Postman’ and took it to Number One in the Billboard Charts and recorded many equally memorable singles. In fact, they were Motown’s most successful girl-group for a short time.

Bad Boy – The Donays (1962)

‘Bad Boy’ was the A-side of ‘Devil In His Heart’, which went on to become a vehicle for an early George Harrison vocal performance (as ‘Devil In Her Heart’, of course). As far I can make out, it was sadly the only single The Donays ever released.

He Was Really Saying Something – The Velvelettes (1964)

This was the original version of the song Bananarama and FunBoy 3 had a hit with in 1982. The Velvelettes were another first-class Tamla Motown girl-group and they specialised in street-wise anthems like this (another was ‘Needle In The Haystack’). The Velvelettes were unfortunately another great girl-group who suffered as a consequence of Motown’s relentless cash-generating machine.

Nothing But A Heartache – The Flirtations (1968)

Play this record to most people and they will immediately think that is one of the best Supremes songs they’ve never heard or will at least imagine that it’s a Tamla Motown single. Not so, this was a group of US émigrés recording for British record-label, Deram (which was Decca’s more ‘with it’ younger brother). This was the best record The Flirtations ever managed to release though as they were never quite able to find the right producers or material to match their potential. This is an undeniable masterpiece though.

Mama Didn’t Lie – The Orions (1963)

The Orions were primarily renowned for realeasing dance-craze singles like ‘The Wah Watusi’, but the foursome had far more range, as this early Curtis Mayfield composition demonstrates. Rosetta Hightower was their lead singer and they were one of the forerunners of the early Philadelphia Soul sound.

I Wanna Love Him So Bad – The Jelly Beans (1964)

The Jelly Beans were signed by Leiber and Stoller and placed with production and songwriting team, Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich. This was their debt single and it peaked at Number Nine in the Billboard Charts. Apparently the group did a lot of recording but much of it was remained unreleased. Two further singles came out with little interest being generated at the time and so their label Red Bird didn’t put out an album, despite ample material being available. The group split up in 1965.