Back in the day, female vocal groups looked beautiful in their satin dress, high heels, and bouffant hairstyles while delivering perfect harmonies to welcoming audiences. The names of the groups are familiar to many. It was The Angels, The Blossoms, The Chantels, The Dixie Cups, Martha and the Vandellas, The Marvelettes, The Ronettes, The Shirelles, The Supremes, The Velvelettes, and many more. They performed on small to mid-sized stages with other singing groups and solo artists, backed by precision musicians. It was quite a life for these young singers.
Behind the scenes, it was a different story. The book 鈥溾 looks at the success and challenges of Black and White female vocal groups from the 1950s to the 1970s. Co-authored by Laura Flam and Emily Sieu Leibowitz, this book is an oral history compilation of narratives from over 300 hours of new interviews with more than 100+ subjects. Though both Black and White girl groups were discussed in the book, the majority of the groups were young Black women.
鈥淲e wanted to make sure it was accessible in multiple ways,鈥 said Leibowitz about presenting the book as an oral history. 鈥淲e wanted to honor the women in the project by letting their voices lead.鈥
The Difference for Girl Groups
In exploring popular American music history, we have heard about young Black males singing 鈥渄oo-wop鈥 on the corner or at school, hoping to be discovered by a record producer. The 鈥済irl group鈥 sound is a musical genre, but it鈥檚 also a complex system of relations covering race, class, and gender that doesn鈥檛 quite fit into any boxes we like to see our pop culture fit into.
鈥淭hese were teenage girls in school who were not going to be on the streets,鈥 said Flam.
For example, The Chantels were friends in Catholic school. As students, they were taught to sing in Gregorian Chant, an unaccompanied sacred song in Latin of the Roman Catholic Church. They brought that training to their popular music style, particularly the song 鈥.鈥
鈥淕irl groups were actually the first pop stars,鈥 Flam continued. 鈥淚t started out in 鈥渄oo-wop鈥 and R&B then changed into something unique that was its own and is now known as pop music.鈥
Writing the Songs and Receiving Credit
White writers wrote many early hits recorded by the girl groups. For example, Carole King and her ex-husband, the late Gerry Goffin, wrote 鈥,鈥 recorded by The Chiffons, and 鈥,鈥 recorded by The Shirelles. Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich, and Phil Spector wrote 鈥溾 by The Ronettes. Atlantic Records did open a publishing company for one of their groups, The Bobbettes, a Harlem, New York-based group that recorded the hit 鈥.鈥
Usually, credit for songs written by the women in these groups was in their manager’s name. Further, they did not get the credit if a song was certified a gold record. Motown Records had a stable of writers where only if the singer also recorded the song, which was when the writing credit was shared.
Today, the lack of recognition continues. Few girl groups have made it to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. , , The Shirelles, and The Ronettes are in the Hall. Some of those notable girl groups are missing, such as The Chantels, , , and
鈥淭his year is the 60th anniversary of 鈥楥hapel of Love鈥 by The Dixie Cups,鈥 said Leibowitz. 鈥淏arbara Ann Hawkins, an original Dixie Cup, still performs. In fact, she will do the New Orleans Jazz Festival this year.鈥
Flam and Leibowitz leave readers with an important message 鈥淏ut Will You Love Me Tomorrow?鈥
鈥淭he singers and certain songwriters of the Girl Group Sound are at risk of erasure from the canon of pop music history,鈥 said the co-authors in a joint statement. 鈥淲e hope people will remember them and their contributions.鈥
鈥淏ut Will You Love Me Tomorrow?鈥 was published by Hachette Books and can be obtained through your favorite bookseller.