The Shirelles

The Shirelles are one of my favorite girl groups of all time.  They were the first major female vocal group of the rock and roll era, defining the so-called girl group sound with their soft, sweet harmonies and yearning innocence. Their greatest hit album was the first LP I purchased by an all girl group.  What I remembered most of the songs on the LP other than they were all great was the fact the song "Baby It's You," was recorded what seemed to be in only two stereo tracks.  When you turned the balance to the left you heard only the singers with no music and when you turned the balance to the right you heard only the music.  I had never heard that on any record before. Of course after their music was put on tapes and CDs you did not experience that.  I also had the pleasure of seeing them live in 1971 at the NCO Club at Ft. Richardson, Alaska while serving with United States Army.  They went by the name Shirley and & The Shirelles at that time.  Although Doris Jackson was not with them at that time, they gave an outstanding show.  I decided to feature them here as the Spotlighted Aritst of the month while listening to their CD this past weekend.

The Shirelles were originally formed in 1958 in Passaic, New Jersey by four friends: Shirley Owens Alston Reeves, Doris Coley Kenner Jackson, Addie "Micki" Harris McPherson, and Beverly Lee. Students at Passaic High School, they christened themselves 'the Poquellos', wrote a song called "I Met Him on a Sunday," and entered their school talent show with it, singing it a cappella. A school friend had them audition for her mother, Florence Greenberg, who ran a small record label; she was impressed enough to become the group's manager, and changed their name to The Shirelles by combining frequent lead singer Shirley's first name with doo-woppers the Chantels. The Shirelles' recording of "I Met Him on a Sunday" was licensed by Decca and climbed into the national Top 50 in 1958. Two more singles flopped, however, and Decca passed on further releases. Greenberg instead signed them to her new label, Scepter Records, and brought in producer Luther Dixon, whose imaginative, sometimes string heavy arrangements would help shape the group's signature sound.

"Dedicated to the One I Love" (1959), a song they learned by heart after seeing The Five Royales perform in a show they did together and "Tonight's the Night" (1960) both failed to make much of an impact on the pop charts, although the latter was a Top 20 R&B hit and Top 40 Pop hit. However, they broke big time with the Goffin-King composition "Will You Love Me Tomorrow"; released in late 1960, it went all the way to number one pop, making them the first all-female group of the rock era to accomplish that feat; it also peaked at number two R&B. In the UK, this same song reached the Top 5 pop chart in 1961. Its success helped send a re-release of "Dedicated to the One I Love" into the Top 5 on both the pop and R&B charts in 1961 [US], and "Mama Said" did the same. A more R&B flavored outing, "Big John," also went to #2 that year. 1962 continued their run of success, most notably with "Soldier Boy," a Luther Dixon/Florence Greenberg tune that became their second pop #1; they also had a Top 10 pop and R&B hit with "Baby It's You". Dixon subsequently left the label; the Shirelles managed to score one more pop/R&B Top Ten with 1963's "Foolish Little Girl", but found it difficult to maintain their previous level of success. "Soldier Boy" also reached the Top 30 in the UK in 1962.

The group went on to record material for the film It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, headlined the first integrated concert show in Alabama, and helped a young Dionne Warwick get some of her first exposure (subbing for Reeves and Jackson when each took a leave of absence to get married). A money dispute with Scepter tied up their recording schedule for a while in 1964, and although it was eventually settled, The Shirelles were still bound to a label where their run was essentially over. This was also due in part to the British Invasion, whose bands were among the first to cover their songs; not only their hits, but lesser-known items like "Boys" (the Beatles) and "Sha La La" (a hit for Manfred Mann). Some of the classic covers of the Shirelles tunes, besides the ones mentioned above include: "Dedicated to the One I Love" by The Temprees, and later the Mamas & the Papas, "Baby It's You" by The Masqueraders, and "Will You Love Me Tomorrow?" by Roberta Flack. Shortly after its release, Bertell Dache did a very interesting answer song to "Will You Love Me Tomorrow?" entitled, "Not Just Tomorrow, But Always". [available on the CD The Answer To Everything: Answer Songs Of The '60's].

The Shirelles scraped the lower reaches of the charts a few more times, making their last appearance, ironically, with 1967's "Last Minute Miracle". Jackson left the group the following year to remarry and raise her family, and the remaining Shirelles continued as a trio, cutting singles for Bell Records as "Shirley and the Shirelles", United Artists, and RCA through 1971. The group continued to tour the oldies circuit, however, and appeared in the 1973 documentary "Let the Good Times Roll". Shirley Alston Reeves left for a solo career in 1975, upon which point Doris Jackson returned. Reeves recorded both as 'Lady Rose' (on the Scepter Strawberry subsidiary) and Shirley Alston for moonlighting Motown executive Barney Ales' Prodigal label until the label was purchased by Motown. That year, she recorded the album "With A Little Help From My Friends", in which such rock-and-roll luminaries as Shep and the Limelites, The Five Satins, Lala Brooks of The Crystals, Danny and the Juniors, The Flamingos, and The Drifters sang along with Reeves.

Doris took a leave of absence from 1979 to 1982 and was replaced by Louise Bethune. Shortly after Doris returned, Micki Harris died of a heart attack during a performance in Atlanta on June 10 1982. She was replaced by a returning Louie Bethune. By 1986, the group split, and the two originals formed their own groups: Coley fronting one group along with Fanita James and Gloria Jones of The Blossoms and occasionally, Carolyn Willis formerly of The Honey Cone; and Beverly Lee fronting the other (which featured Eloise Whittiker). Various groups claiming to be the Shirelles had been touring the oldies circuit in the '90s, so one group agreed to tour the West Coast while the other toured the East Coast. This meant that promoters would look for an authentic Shirelle to be featured in the group. They reunited briefly for a program honoring them at the high school they attended in Passaic, New Jersey and sang background on Dionne Warwick's 1983 recording of "Will You Love Me Tomorrow?", found on her "How Many Times Can We Say Goodbye?" album. They had previously sung background for her on the song "Get Rid Of Him", an answer to their own "Foolish Little Girl", on Warwick's 'Make Way For Dionne Warwick' album.

The Shirelles made a special guest appearance on Bo Diddley's 1996 album A Man Amongst Men, singing background vocals on the tracks "Bo Diddley Is Crazy", "Hey Baby" and "Oops! Bo Diddley".

Beverly Lee eventually secured the official trademark for the group's name. The members of the group have also been lifelong activists in the fight for royalty reform, medical coverage, and fair treatment of and recognition for pioneering artists. They were officially inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996. In 2004, Rolling Stone Magazine ranked them #76 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. "Will You Love Me Tomorrow?" (#125) and "Tonight's the Night" (401) both made Rolling Stone's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

Doris Jackson died at the age of 58 from breast cancer in Sacramento, California, on February 4, 2000. Following her death, James and Jones reformed the Blossoms.

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