THE SHIRELLES
The Shirelles were an American girl group that achieved popularity in the early 1960s. Founded in 1957 for a talent show at their high school, they were signed by Florence Greenberg of Tiara Records. Their first single, “I Met Him on a Sunday”, was released by Tiara and licensed by Decca Records in 1958. After a brief and unsuccessful period with Decca, they went with Greenberg to her newly formed company, Scepter Records. Working with Luther Dixon, the group rose to fame with “Tonight’s the Night”. They have been credited with launching the girl group genre, with much of their music reflecting the genre’s essence. Their acceptance by both white and black audiences, predating that of the Motown acts, has been noted as reflecting the early success of the African-American Civil Rights Movement. Two of their songs, “Will You Love Me Tomorrow” and “Tonight’s the Night”, were selected by Rolling Stone on its list of the greatest songs of all time. (More from Wikipedia)
A torrent of girl groups followed, among them Martha and the Vandellas, the Supremes, the Marvelettes, the Shirelles, the Ronettes, and the Orlons. Bette Midler’s revival of “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy” in 1973 reminded rock audiences of the Andrews Sisters, who had had the original hit with “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy” during World War II. More recently, the Spice Girls, TLC and Destiny’s Child (whence came Beyoncé) continued the tradition.
(October 2013)
