Back in the 1960’s, record buyers were mesmerized by a whole string of hit songs performed
by distinctive combinations of female singers – groups such as The Ronettes, The Shirelles,
The Chiffons and The Supremes, many of whom were blessed with outstanding lead vocalists.
There had of course been girl groups in earlier decades but the phenomenon to which I’m referring
began in the mid-50’s with such R&B records as OOP SHOOP by Shirley Gunter & ‘The Queens’
on Flair in ’54, EDDIE MY LOVE by The Teen Queens on RPM in ’55 and MR. LEE by
The Bobbettes on Atlantic in ‘57 but the single which really started the ball rolling was
MAYBE by five New York girls known as The Chantels; their lead singer was Arlene Smith
who crushed a million hearts with her soaring, impassioned vocal.
MAYBE was released on End in late ’57 and by early the following year,
it was a Billboard R&B & Pop chart success. Here’s the record,
co-written by The Chantels’ producer Richard Barrett:
A great number of the glorious rock ‘n’ roll female anthems of the early years were written by
celebrated songwriting teams, some of whom were based in New York’s fabled Brill Building
and the nearby location at 1650 Broadway, not to mention Motown’s Hitsville building in Detroit.
Along with some YouTube links,
here’s my selective list of just 40 unforgettable examples of 1960’s Girl Group hits.
Also included are five successful singles by solo artists whose renditions also typified the Girl Group sound…
BABY IT’S YOU
(Burt Bacharach/Mack David/Barney Williams)
by The Shirelles
Pro: Luther Dixon
Arr: Burt Bacharach
(Scepter: 1961)
Lead vocal: Shirley Owens.
BABY LOVE
(Brian Holland/Lamont Dozier/Eddie Holland)
by The Supremes
Pro: Brian Holland & Lamont Dozier (Motown: 1964)
Lead vocal: Diana Ross.
BE MY BABY
(Jeff Barry/Ellie Greenwich/Phil Spector)
by The Ronettes
Pro: Phil Spector
Arr: Jack ‘Specs’ Nitzsche/Eng: Larry Levine
(Philles: 1963)
Vocal: Ronnie Spector.
CHAINS
(Gerry Goffin/Carole King)
by The Cookies
Pro: Gerry Goffin for Nevins-Kirshner
(Dimension: 1962)
Lead vocal: Earl-Jean.
CHAPEL OF LOVE
(Jeff Barry/Ellie Greenwich/Phil Spector)
By The Dixie Cups
Pro: Joe Jones, Jerry Leiber & Mike Stoller/Eng: Brooks Arthur
(Red Bird: 1964)
DA DOO RON RON
(Jeff Barry/Ellie Greenwich/Phil Spector)
by The Crystals
Pro: Phil Spector
Arr: Jack Nitzsche
(Philles: 1963)
Lead vocal: La La Brooks.
DANCING IN THE STREET
(Marvin Gaye/William Stevenson)
by Martha & The Vandellas
Pro: William Stevenson
(Gordy: 1964)
DO-WAH-DIDDY
(Jeff Barry/Ellie Greenwich)
By The Exciters
Pro: Leiber & Stoller
(United Artists: 1963) Lead vocal: Brenda Reid.
DON’T SAY NOTHIN’ BAD (About My Baby)
(Gerry Goffin/Carole King)
by The Cookies
Pro: Gerry Goffin for Nevins-Kirshner
(Dimension: 1963)
Lead vocal: Earl-Jean.
EASIER SAID THAN DONE
(Larry Huff/William Linton)
by The Essex
Pro: Henry Glover
(Roulette: 1963)
Lead vocal: Anita Hume.
HEAT WAVE
(Brian Holland/Lamont Dozier/Eddie Holland)
by Martha & The Vandellas
Pro: Brian Holland & Lamont Dozier
(Gordy: 1963)
HE’S A REBEL
(Gene Pitney)
by The Crystals
Pro: Phil Spector
(Philles: 1962)
Lead vocal: Darlene Love.
HE’S SO FINE
(Ronnie Mack)
by The Chiffons
Pro: Bright Tunes Prod aka The Tokens
(Laurie: 1963)
Lead vocal: Judy Craig.
HE WAS REALLY SAYIN’ SOMETHIN’
(Norman Whitfield/William Stevenson/Eddie Holland)
by The Velvelettes
Pro: Norman Whitfield
(V.I.P.: 1964)
Lead vocal: Carolyn Gill.
I LOVE HOW YOU LOVE ME
(Barry Mann/Larry Kolber)
by The Paris Sisters
Supervised & Arr: Phil Spector
(Gregmark: 1961)
Lead vocal: Priscilla Paris.
I WANNA LOVE HIM SO BAD
(Jeff Barry/Ellie Greenwich)
by The Jelly Beans
Pro: Jeff Barry & Steve Venet
Arr: Ellie Greenwich
(Red Bird: 1964)
I’M INTO SOMETHING GOOD
(Gerry Goffin/Carole King)
by Earl-Jean
Pro: Gerry Goffin
Arr: Carole King
(Colpix: 1964)
Backup vocals: The Cookies.
IT MIGHT AS WELL RAIN UNTIL SEPTEMBER
(Gerry Goffin/Carole King)
by Carole King
Pro: Gerry Goffin for Nevins-Kirshner
(Dimension: 1962)
THE KIND OF BOY YOU CAN’T FORGET
(Jeff Barry/Ellie Greenwich)
by The Raindrops
An Ellie & Jeff Barry Prod.
(Jubilee: 1963)
Lead vocal: Ellie Greenwich.
LEADER OF THE PACK
(Jeff Barry/Ellie Greenwich/George Morton)
by The Shangri-Las
Pro: Shadow Morton & Jeff Barry
(Red Bird: 1964)
Lead vocal: Mary Weiss.
THE LOCO-MOTION
(Gerry Goffin/Carole King)
by Little Eva
Pro: Gerry Goffin for Nevins-Kirshner
(Dimension: 1962)
Backup vocals: The Cookies
A LOVER’S CONCERTO
(Sandy Linzer/Denny Randell)
by The Toys
Pro: Randell-Linzer for Bob Crewe
Prod./Arr & Cond: Charles Calello
(DynoVoice: 1965)
Lead vocal: Barbara Harris.
MY BOYFRIEND’S BACK
(Robert Feldman/Gerald Goldstein/Richard Gottehrer)
by The Angels
Pro: Feldman, Goldstein & Gottehrer
Arr & Cond: Leroy Glover
(Smash: 1963).
NEEDLE IN A HAYSTACK
(William Stevenson/Norman Whitfield)
by The Velvelettes
Pro: Norman Whitfield
(V.I.P.: 1964)
Lead vocal: Carolyn Gill.
NEEDLES AND PINS
(Jack Nitzsche/Sonny Bono)
by Jackie DeShannon
Pro: Dick Glasser
Arr: Jack Nitzsche
(Liberty: 1963)
ONE FINE DAY
(Gerry Goffin/Carole King)
by The Chiffons
Pro: Bright Tunes Prod aka The Tokens
(Laurie: 1963)
Lead vocal: Judy Craig. Piano: Carole King.
OPPORTUNITY
(Ray Evans/Randy Stewart)
by The Jewels
Arr & Pro: Gene Redd
Vocal Arr: Ray Evans
(Dimension: 1964)
Lead vocal: Sandra Bears.
PLEASE MR. POSTMAN
(Brian Holland/Robert Bateman/Freddie Gorman/William Garrett/Georgia Dobbins)
by The Marvelettes
Pro: Brianbert (Brian Holland & Robert Bateman)
(Tamla: 1961)
Lead vocal: Gladys Horton.
POPSICLES AND ICICLES
(David Gates)
by The Murmaids
Pro: Kim Fowley
Arr: Nestor Labonte
Eng: Stan Ross
(Chattahoochee: 1963)
Lead vocal: Terry Fischer.
REMEMBER (Walkin’ In The Sand)
(George Morton)
by The Shangri-Las
Pro: Jeff Barry & Artie Ripp
(Red Bird: 1964)
Lead vocal: Mary Weiss.
SALLY, GO ROUND THE ROSES
(Zell Sanders/Lona Stevens)
by The Jaynetts
Pro: Abner Spector
Arr & Cond: Artie Butler
(Tuff: 1963)
THE SHOOP SHOOP SONG (It’s In His Kiss)
(Rudy Clark)
by Betty Everett
Pro: Calvin Carter
(Vee-Jay: 1964)
SOLDIER BOY
(Luther Dixon/Florence Greenberg)
by The Shirelles
Pro: Luther Dixon
Arr: Bert Keyes
(Scepter: 1962)
STOP! IN THE NAME OF LOVE
(Brian Holland/Lamont Dozier/Eddie Holland)
by The Supremes
Pro: Brian Holland & Lamont Dozier
(Motown: 1965)
Lead vocal: Diana Ross
SWEET TALKIN’ GUY
(Doug Morris/Elliot Greenberg)
by The Chiffons
Pro: Doug Morris & Bright Tunes Prod aka The Tokens
(Laurie: 1966)
Lead vocal: Judy Craig.
TELL HIM
(Bert Berns)
By The Exciters
Pro: Leiber & Stoller
Orch Cond: Teacho Wiltshire
(United Artists: 1962)
Lead vocal: Brenda Reid.
UPTOWN
(Barry Mann/Cynthia Weil)
by The Crystals
Pro & Arr: Phil Spector
(Philles: 1962)
Lead vocal: Barbara Alston.
THE WAH-WATUSI
(Dave Appell/Kal Mann)
by The Orlons
(Cameo: 1962)
Lead vocal: Rosetta Hightower.
WALKING IN THE RAIN
(Barry Mann/Cynthia Weil/Phil Spector)
by The Ronettes
Pro: Phil Spector
Arr: Jack ‘Specs’ Nitzsche
Eng: Larry Levine
(Philles: 1964)
WILL YOU LOVE ME TOMORROW
(Gerry Goffin/Carole King)
by The Shirelles
Pro: Ludix Prod aka Luther Dixon
Arr: Carole King
(Scepter: 1960)
Lead vocal: Shirley Owens.
Rock on.
Alan Warner
As in all my postings,
the recordings listed above are personal choices and recommendations
and are in no way intended as definitive collections of the genre.
© Alan Warner, 2019.
Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express
and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly
prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear
credit is given to Alan Warner with appropriate and specific direction
to the original content.