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88-482: The Shirelles were an American girl group formed in Passaic, New Jersey in 1957. They consisted of schoolmates Shirley Owens (later Shirley Alston Reeves), Doris Coley (later Doris Kenner-Jackson), Addie "Micki" Harris (later Addie Harris McFadden), and Beverly Lee. 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

176-478: A countersuit for quitting; both suits were withdrawn in 1965, after an agreement was reached. Knowing that Scepter had lied about the trust disappointed the Shirelles, who felt deceived. In a 1981 interview with Bruce Pollock, Owens said that Greenberg had put on a "mother routine", which the girls had "fall[en] for ... completely". In later years, the Shirelles declined in popularity due in part to pressure from

264-469: A "naive schoolgirl sound" that contrasted with the sexual themes of many of their songs. Several of their hits used strings and featured the influence of Brazilian baião music. 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

352-586: 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 ". After a successful period of collaboration with Dixon and promotion by Scepter, with seven top 20 hits, the Shirelles left Scepter in 1966. Afterwards, they were unable to maintain their previous popularity. The Shirelles have been described as having

440-558: A cover of the "5" Royales song of the same name, Decca returned them to Greenberg and gave up on them, considering them a one-hit act . On Greenberg's new label, Scepter Records , they rereleased "Dedicated to the One I Love" as a single, which peaked at #89; Wayne Wadhams, David Nathan, and Susan Lindsay in Inside the Hits attribute the low rating to poor distribution. In order to better promote

528-530: A crush or lover, and heartache. Some songs sounded upbeat or cheerful and sang about falling in love, whereas others took a decidedly more melancholic turn. Groups like the Shangri-Las , with the song " I Can Never Go Home Anymore " sang about the darker side of being in love. An especially prevalent theme was adolescence. Since most of the girl groups were composed of young singers, often still in high school, songs mentioned parents in many cases. Adolescence

616-666: A female group, and a film, the Spice Girls became the most commercially successful British group since the Beatles . Unlike their predecessors who were marketed at male record buyers, the Spice Girls redefined the girl group concept by going after a young female fanbase instead. The cultural movement started by the Spice Girls produced a glut of other similar acts, which include the British-Canadian outfit All Saints , Irish girl group B*Witched , Atomic Kitten and

704-445: A larger office. It was followed by " Will You Love Me Tomorrow ", written by husband-wife songwriting team Gerry Goffin and Carole King ; the song went on to become the first Billboard number-one hit by an African-American girl group, possibly the first by any girl group. "Tonight's the Night" was later used as the title song for the 1961 album Tonight's the Night , which also included "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" and "Dedicated to

792-573: A more potent sound allowed girl groups to sing powerfully and in different styles than earlier generations. Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller would likewise foster the Exciters , the Dixie Cups , and the Shangri-Las . The Shangri-Las' hit single, " Leader of the Pack ", exemplified the "' death disc ' genre" adopted by some girl groups. These songs usually told the story of teenage love cut short by

880-597: A number of girl groups emerged, such as the Andrews Sisters . The late 1950s saw the emergence of all-female singing groups as a major force, with 750 distinct girl groups releasing songs that reached US and UK music charts from 1960 to 1966. The Supremes alone held 12 number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100 during the height of the wave and throughout most of the British Invasion rivaled

968-440: A professor of music at Western Illinois University , calls a "naive schoolgirl sound". The lyrics sung by the Shirelles tended to be fairly simple and "barely" concealed the subtexts of the songs. The songs were implicitly directed at female listeners, with the male subjects of songs being referred to as "he" instead of "you"; this was a change from previous female-written songs, which tended to be more gender neutral, and helped pave

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1056-404: A tailing-off of the number of the Shirelles' singles to chart. However, they carried on performing and recording. Dionne Warwick replaced Owens and Coley, who took leave to marry their fiancés, in concerts and the group continued to record material. That year, their song " Foolish Little Girl " reached the pop/R&B Top 10, and they performed two songs, "31 Flavors" and "You Satisfy My Soul," for

1144-440: A talent show at Passaic High School at the suggestion of a teacher. After hearing them sing "I Met Him on a Sunday", a song they had written for the show, their classmate Mary Jane Greenberg convinced the reluctant Poquellos to meet with her mother, Florence , the owner of Tiara Records . After several months of avoiding Greenberg and telling her that they were not interested in singing professionally, they were booked to Tiara. By

1232-589: A total of 20 million copies in Japan within three years, with Variety calling them "Japan's top girl group", while Max still hold the record for girl group with the second most consecutive top 10 singles in Japan. Throughout the 2010s, AKB48 sister groups have been launched or will be launched in Indonesia, China, Thailand, Taiwan, the Philippines, and Vietnam. Several new Japanese idol groups appeared in

1320-520: Is located) "Shirelles Boulevard". The dedication ceremony was attended by both surviving Shirelles. Owens said that it was different from they were inducted into the Hall of Fame, as it was their home town. She noted that "the people who loves [ sic ] us and we loved are right here." In 2022, their debut album Tonight's the Night was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in

1408-781: The British Invasion and the heavy competition from other girl groups, including the Chiffons , the Supremes , the Ronettes , Martha & the Vandellas , and the Crystals . During this period, Warwick often replaced Coley on stage due to the latter's family commitments. The Shirelles were still bound to Scepter and thus unable to record for another company until the end of their contract in 1966. Their last single to chart

1496-564: The Great Depression . The Boswell Sisters , who became one of the most popular singing groups from 1930 to 1936, had over twenty hits. The Andrews Sisters started in 1937 as a Boswell tribute band and continued recording and performing through the 1940s into the late-1960s, achieving more record sales, more Billboard hits, more million-sellers, and more movie appearances than any other girl group to date. The Andrews Sisters had musical hits across multiple genres, which contributed to

1584-660: The Honeyz , who all achieved varying levels of success during the decade. Throughout the 2000s, girl groups from the UK remained popular, with Girls Aloud 's " Sound of the Underground " and Sugababes ' " Round Round " having been called "two huge groundbreaking hits" credited with reshaping British pop music for the 2000s. Despite her being a solo artist, Amy Winehouse's 2006 album Back to Black contained heavy influence from 1960s girl groups and garnered Winehouse comparisons to

1672-671: The National Recording Registry as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". The Shirelles' story was shown in Baby It's You! (a musical revue written by Floyd Mutrux and Colin Escott ), which follows the story of Greenberg and Scepter Records. The revue played on Broadway for 148 performances, opening at the Broadhurst Theatre on April 27, 2011, and closing on September 4 of

1760-671: The Spice Girls , the 1990s also saw the target market for girl groups shift from a male audience to an increasingly female one. In the 2010s, the K-pop phenomenon led to the rise of successful girl groups including Girls' Generation , Twice and Blackpink . One of the first major all-female groups was the Hamilton Sisters and Fordyce , an American trio who successfully toured England and parts of Europe in 1927, recorded and appeared on BBC radio – they toured

1848-582: The disco craze and beyond, female acts included First Choice , Silver Convention , Hot , the Emotions , High Inergy , Odyssey , Sister Sledge , Mary Jane Girls , Belle Epoque , Frantique , Luv' , and Baccara . Groups of the 1980s like the Pointer Sisters , Exposé , and Bananarama updated the concept. In Latin America, there were a number of dance-oriented popular girl groups during

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1936-544: The 1950s era would also give advice to other girls, or sing about the advice their mothers gave to them, which was a similarity to some male musical groups of the time (for example, the Miracles ' " Shop Around "). Adolescence was also important (especially starting in the 1950s) from the other end: the consumers were "teenagers [with] disposable income, ready access to automobiles, and consolidated high schools that exposed them to large numbers of other teens. Mass teen culture

2024-599: The 2010s and created a fiercely competitive situation in the music industry, which has been referred to as the "Idol sengoku jidai " (アイドル戦国時代; lit. Age of the Idol Warring States). Since 2009, Hallyu (Korean wave) and K-pop became increasingly significant in the entertainment industry. Its influence spread across Asia and began to reach the Middle East, North Africa, Europe and the Americas. At

2112-496: The 2010s. Japan has the music industry's second largest market overall and the largest physical music market in the world, with the physical sales Oricon Singles Chart being dominated by J-pop idol girl groups. In the late 1990s, vocal/dance girl bands Speed and Max gained prominence in Asia, and paved the way for succeeding Japanese girl groups, such as Morning Musume , AKB48 , Perfume , and Momoiro Clover Z . Speed sold

2200-529: The Beatles in popularity. In later eras, the girl group template would be applied to disco , contemporary R&B , and country -based formats, as well as pop . A more globalized music industry gave rise to the popularity of dance-oriented pop music led by major record labels. This emergence, led by the US, UK, South Korea and Japan, produced popular acts, with eight groups debuting after 1990 having sold more than 15 million physical copies of their albums . With

2288-650: The Bonnie Sisters with "Cry Baby" and the Teen Queens with " Eddie My Love " showed early promise for a departure from traditional pop harmonies. With " Mr. Lee ", the Bobbettes lasted for 5 + 1 ⁄ 2 months on the charts in 1957, building momentum and gaining further acceptance of all-female, all- black vocal groups. However, it was the Chantels ' 1958 song " Maybe " that became "arguably,

2376-497: The Chantels and others was followed by an enormous rise in girl groups with varying skills and experience, with the music industry's typical racially segregated genre labels of R&B and pop slowly breaking apart. This rise also allowed a semblance of class mobility to groups of people who often could not otherwise gain such success, and "forming vocal groups together and cutting records gave them access to other opportunities toward professional advancement and personal growth, expanding

2464-754: The DC Preservation League listed the Howard Theatre as one of its Most Endangered Places in the District. In 2006, the Howard Theatre was returned to private ownership when Ellis Development was selected to renovate and restore the theatre. The District set aside $ 20 million in public funding for the renovation. Ellis Development, led by Chip Ellis and his son, Malik Ellis, formed Howard Theatre Development Group LLC. Through Howard Theatre Development Group, Ellis Development received nearly $ 12 million in District funds to redevelop and reopen

2552-521: The Doo Wop 51 PBS special in 2000. She continued to tour under the name "Shirley Alston Reeves and her Shirelles". Shirley retired in 2020. Lee currently tours with new members, billed as "The Shirelles". Doris Coley died in Sacramento , California on February 4, 2000 of breast cancer. Addie Harris died from a heart attack at the age of 41 on June 10, 1982. Doris Coley died of breast cancer at

2640-671: The Good Times Roll , recording two songs for it. Coley returned as lead singer in 1975, replacing Owens, who left that year to pursue a solo career. Addie "Micki" Harris collapsed of a heart attack in June 1982 in the lobby of Hyatt Regency in Atlanta , Georgia after two performances with the group. She was sent to the Grady Memorial Hospital , where she died at 12:50 a.m. on June 10, 1982. The following year,

2728-480: The Korean wave's globalization accelerated. These newer girl groups gradually shifted towards more "girl crush" concepts and it became more common for members to be involved in writing or production. Popular South Korean girl groups include Blackpink , Twice , Aespa , NewJeans , IVE and Red Velvet amongst others. Girl groups have a wide array of subject matter in their songs, depending on time and place and who

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2816-571: The Money in the World" 100 — — b/w "31 Flavors" 97 — Girl group A girl group is a music act featuring three or more female singers who generally harmonize together. The term "girl group" is also used in a narrower sense in the United States to denote the wave of American female pop music singing groups, many of whom were influenced by doo-wop and which flourished in

2904-732: The Murmaids took David Gates ' " Popsicles and Icicles " to the top 3 in January, the Carefrees ' " We Love You Beatles " scraped the top 40 in April, and the Jewels ' "Opportunity" was a small hit in December. Over 750 girl groups were able to chart a song between 1960 and 1966 in the US and UK, although the genre's reach was not as strongly felt in the music industries of other regions. As

2992-612: The Night" was ranked 409th. The Shirelles' 1963 Greatest Hits album was included in Robert Christgau 's "Basic Record Library" of 1950s and 1960s recordings, published in Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981). In September 2008, the Shirelles' hometown of Passaic honored the group by renaming a section of Paulison Avenue between Passaic and Pennington Avenues (the section where Passaic High School

3080-560: The One I Love". After the success of their singles, the Shirelles became frequent guests of Murray the K , who hosted them on his "All Star Rock Shows" on the New York radio station WINS . During this same period they reissued "Dedicated to the One I Love", which peaked at #3, followed by " Mama Said ", then " Baby It's You ", written by Burt Bacharach , Luther Dixon , and Mack David , " Soldier Boy ", and " Boys ", with saxophonist King Curtis . In 1963 Dixon left Scepter, which presaged

3168-630: The Pips . At the ceremony in the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York, the three surviving members sang a medley of songs after being presented the awards by Merry Clayton , Marianne Faithfull , and Darlene Love . In 2002, they were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame . Lee and Owens accepted the award. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked them #76 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time . Paul Shaffer , who did

3256-518: The Ronettes. UK girl group continued to have success in the 2000s and 2010s, with acts such as Mis-Teeq , the Saturdays , StooShe and Little Mix , one of the successful acts to come from the British version of The X Factor . Although the emergence of dance-pop focused acts in Asia paralleled their British counterparts in the 1990s, girl groups in Asia sustained as a successful format through

3344-408: The Shirelles and the Ronettes , so yeah we developed our harmonies from trying to come up with an English, male version of their vocal feel." Their debut album, Please Please Me included cover versions of two songs by the Shirelles, "Baby It's You", and "Boys", and a third song from the album, " P.S. I Love You " was according to John Lennon , Paul 's attempt at "trying to write a "Soldier Boy" like

3432-559: The Shirelles' success reflected the Civil Rights Movement . He indicates that works such as "Will You Love Me Tomorrow", written by a white couple, produced by an African-American man, with vocals by young African-American women and strings sounding like they were targeted at a white audience, conveyed a "color-blind" message on top of its more obvious sexual one. The Beatles were large admirers, according to George Harrison , "We always loved those American girl groups, like

3520-631: The Shirelles." In 1994, the Shirelles were honored by the Rhythm and Blues Foundation with the Pioneer Award for their contributions to music. The award was accepted by Owens, Lee, and Kenner. As Coley was accepting her award, she said "This is dedicated to the one I love", and sang an impromptu rendition of "Soldier Boy" together with Owens and Lee. Two years later they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame , together with Gladys Knight &

3608-640: The Three Degrees (which had roots in the 1960s and in 1970, like the Chantels in 1958, began their top 40 pop career with "Maybe"). Patti LaBelle and the Bluebelles was a US 1960s girl group whose image Vicki Wickham , their manager, helped remake in the early 1970s, renaming the group Labelle and pushing them in the direction of glam rock . Labelle were the first girl group to eschew matching outfits and identical choreography, instead wearing extravagant spacesuits and feathered headdresses. During

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3696-725: The Toys and the Sweet Inspirations , the only girl groups with any significant chart presence from the beginning of the British Invasion through 1970 were Motown girl groups with the Supremes being the only girl group to score number one hits. The distinct girl group sound would not re-emerge until the 21st century, where it would influence modern-day English-speaking pop-soul soloists who have been met with international success, such as Amy Winehouse , Adele , Duffy and Melanie Fiona among others. In addition to influencing individual singers, this generation of girl groups cemented

3784-536: The UK charts at the time was Eternal , but even they "remained largely faceless". Amidst the American domination of the girl group format, the Second British Invasion saw the UK's Spice Girls turn the tide in the mid-1990s, achieving ten number 1 singles in the UK and US. With sold-out concerts, advertisements, merchandise, 86 million worldwide record sales, the best-selling album of all time by

3872-657: The US and UK quickly recognized the potential of this new approach and recruited existing acts (or, in some cases, created new ones) to record their songs in a girl group style. Phil Spector recruited the Crystals , the Blossoms , and the Ronettes , while Goffin and King penned two hit songs for the Cookies . Phil Spector made a huge impact on the ubiquity of the girl group, as well as bringing fame and notoriety to new heights for many girl groups. Phil Spector's so-called Wall of Sound , which used layers of instruments to create

3960-499: The US and in Britain. He also notes that they spawned "legions of imitators", and laid a blueprint for future female pop stars to follow. Turner writes that the Shirelles "launched [the girl group] genre", noting that their early work already included "the essence" of the genre; Alwyn Zak expands on the statement, noting that the influx of female groups started after the success of "Will You Love Me Tomorrow". Michael Campbell notes that

4048-503: The US variety and big-time theaters extensively, and later changed their stage name to the Three X Sisters . The band was together from 1923 until the early 1940s, and known for their close harmonies, as well as barbershop style or novelty tunes, and utilized their 1930s radio success. The Three X Sisters were also especially a notable addition to the music scene, and predicted later girl group success by maintaining their popularity throughout

4136-490: The acts featured at the theater's reopening. Later in the decade, go-go bands played the venue, and Chuck Brown and the Soul Searchers also performed at the Howard Theatre in the 1970s and 1980s. In 1980, the theater closed again. At the time it was the oldest venue in the country that featured Black artists. Under Mayor Marion Barry the theatre was purchased by the District government for $ 100,000. In 2002,

4224-587: The age of 58 on February 4, 2000. Wadhams, Nathan, and Lindsay describe the style of the Shirelles early work as "tight, almost doo-wop harmony". Owens's vocals, described by rock n' roll writer Alwyn W. Turner as being "wonderfully expressive", were capable of sounding "almost, but not quite" out of tune, which in his opinion lent Owens an innocent sound in her songs; music critic Albin Zak describes her vocals as being able to intone desire and vulnerability. The other members, singing backup, also convey what Michael Campbell,

4312-469: The beginning, girl groups such as Girls' Generation , 2NE1 and Wonder Girls were among the leaders of this "Hallyu" wave. The influence of the original girl groups of the United States was not lost on this era of artists, as many adopted visual influences through their "retro" concepts, such as the international 2008 hit " Nobody " by Wonder Girls. From the second half of the 2010s, new generations of Korean girl groups emerged and enjoyed great success as

4400-479: The best-selling album by a girl group in the United States (Diamond certification), while selling over 14 million copies worldwide. Destiny's Child emerged in the late 1990s and sold more than 60 million records. In the mid-to-late-2000s, there was a revival of girl groups. American girl group and dance ensemble the Pussycat Dolls achieved worldwide success with their singles. Danity Kane also became

4488-471: The charts. Groups in these genres, such as SWV , Xscape , 702 , Total , Zhane , Blaque , and 3LW , managed to have songs chart on both the U.S. Hot 100 and the U.S. R&B charts. However, TLC achieved the most success for a girl group in an era where contemporary R&B would become global mainstream acceptance. TLC remains the best-selling American girl group with 65 million records sold, and their second studio album, CrazySexyCool (1994), remains

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4576-621: The death of one of the young lovers. The Paris Sisters had success from 1961 to 1964, especially with " I Love How You Love Me ". The Chiffons , the Angels , and the Orlons were also prominent in the early 1960s. In early fall 1963 one-hit wonder the Jaynetts ' " Sally Go 'Round the Roses " achieved a mysterious sound quite unlike that of any other girl group. In 1964, the one-hit wonder group

4664-437: The early success of the Civil Rights Movement . They have received numerous honors, including the Pioneer Award from the Rhythm and Blues Foundation , as well as being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996 and named one of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time by Rolling Stone in 2004. Two of their songs, " Will You Love Me Tomorrow " and " Tonight's the Night ", were selected by Rolling Stone on its list of

4752-403: The end of the year they had changed their name to the Shirelles, a combination of the first syllable of Owens's given name and -el, reminiscent of then-popular group the Chantels , after briefly using the name the Honeytunes. That year, they released their first song, "I Met Him on a Sunday"; after local success, it was licensed to Decca Records for national broadcast and charted at #50. The song

4840-410: The era, including the Flans , Pandora and Fandango. In Japan, all-female idol groups Candies and Pink Lady made a series of hits during the 1970s and 1980s as well. The Japanese music program Music Station listed Candies and Pink Lady in their Top 50 Idols of All Time (compiled in 2011), placing them at number 32 and number 15, with sales exceeding 5 and 13 million in Japan, respectively. With

4928-514: The first girl group in Billboard history to have two consecutive number-one albums, as their self-titled debut album (2006) and their second album Welcome to the Dollhouse (2008) both topped the U.S. Billboard 200 . Girl groups have now been more popular compared to the early 2000s. Girl groups continued their success in the 2010s. Miami -based girl group Fifth Harmony formed in 2012 on The X Factor USA . They reached international success with their debut album Reflection , which featured

5016-414: The first true glimmering of the girl group sound". The "mixture of black doo-wop, rock and roll, and white pop" was appealing to a teenage audience and grew from scandals involving payola and the perceived social effects of rock music . However, early groups such as the Chantels started developing their groups' musical capacities traditionally, through mediums like Latin and choir music. The success of

5104-402: The girl group form and sentiment and provided inspiration for many future groups. Entering the 1970s, the Supremes had continued success with top 10 hits " Up the Ladder to the Roof " and " Stoned Love " along with six other singles charting on Billboard's top 40. Only two other girl groups made top 10 chartings through 1974 with " Want Ads " by Honey Cone and " When Will I See You Again " by

5192-713: The greatest songs of all time . In 2022, their debut album Tonight's the Night was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Recording Registry as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". The group that later became the Shirelles was formed in 1957 by four teenage girls from Passaic , New Jersey , under the name the Poquellos (or Pequellos). The founding members, Shirley Owens (born June 10, 1941, Henderson, NC), Doris Coley (August 2, 1941, Goldsboro, NC– February 4, 2000, Sacramento, CA), Addie "Micki" Harris (January 22, 1941, High Point, NC – June 10, 1982, Atlanta, Georgia), and Beverly Lee (born August 3, 1941, Passaic, NJ), entered

5280-522: The group, Greenberg asked songwriter Luther Dixon , who had previously worked with Perry Como , Nat King Cole , and Pat Boone and co-written the 1959 hit " 16 Candles ", to write for and produce songs for them. Dixon accepted. Their first single produced with Dixon, " Tonight's the Night ", was released in 1960 and peaked at #39. The success of "Tonight's the Night" led to the girls being booked to perform with several major artists, such as Etta James and Little Richard , and facilitated Scepter's move to

5368-461: The hit " Worth It ". " Work from Home ", the lead single from their second studio album , became the first top-five single in the U.S by a girl group in a decade, following the September 2006 peak of " Buttons " by The Pussycat Dolls at number three. "Worth It" and "Work from Home" remain the most-viewed girl group music videos on YouTube . In the early 1990s, the British music scene was dominated by boy bands. The only girl group making an impact on

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5456-564: The idea of girlhood as an identity across race and class lines." The group often considered to have achieved the first sustained success in girl group genre is the Shirelles , who first reached the Top 40 with " Tonight's the Night ", and in 1961, became the first girl group to reach number one on the Hot 100 with " Will You Love Me Tomorrow ", written by songwriters Gerry Goffin and Carole King at 1650 Broadway . The Shirelles solidified their success with five more top 10 hits, most particularly 1962's number one hit " Soldier Boy ", over

5544-411: The late 1950s and early 1960s between the decline of early rock and roll and start of the British Invasion . All-female bands , in which members also play instruments, are usually considered a separate phenomenon. These groups are sometimes called "girl bands" to differentiate, although this terminology is not universally followed. With the advent of the music industry and radio broadcasting,

5632-411: The next two and a half years. " Please Mr. Postman " by the Marvelettes became a major indication of the racial integration of popular music, as it was the first number one song in the US for African-American owned label, Motown Records . Motown would mastermind several major girl groups, including Martha and the Vandellas , the Velvelettes , and the Supremes . Other songwriters and producers in

5720-482: The prevalence and popularity of the girl group form. As the rock era began, close harmony acts like the Chordettes , the Fontane Sisters , the McGuire Sisters and the DeCastro Sisters remained popular, with the first three acts topping the pop charts and the last reaching number two, at the end of 1954 to the beginning of 1955. Also, the Lennon Sisters were a mainstay on the Lawrence Welk Show from 1955 on. In early 1956, doo-wop one-hit wonder acts like

5808-424: The remaining three original members performed "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" with Warwick on her album How Many Times Can We Say Goodbye . Today, the original members tour in different, separate groups, although the trademark to the Shirelles name was eventually acquired by Lee. One of the versions of the group had member Geraldine Crowell, who was the daughter of David Jones of The Rays . Shirley Owens performed on

5896-443: The same year. The use of their likenesses without permission led to Lee, as well as the estates of Coley and Harris, to sue Warner Bros. 54 40 — b/w "Things I Want to Hear (Pretty Words)" 107 — — b/w "Love Is a Swingin' Thing" (from Give a Twist Party ) 109 — — b/w "Mama, Here Comes the Bride" 104 — — b/w "It's Love That Really Counts (In the Long Run)" 102 — — b/w "Not for All

5984-555: The single " Kiss in the Dark ", Pink Lady was also one of only two Japanese artists to have reached the Billboard Top 40 . With their 1990 eponymous debut album , the trio Wilson Phillips sold over 5 million copies worldwide and reached five major US hit singles, four of which cracked the Top 10, with three peaking at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 . After the rise of new jack swing , contemporary R&B and hip hop , American girl groups such as En Vogue , Exposé and Sweet Sensation all had singles which hit number one on

6072-417: The soundtrack of the film It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World ; "31 Flavors" was also used to promote Baskin-Robbins . However, later in 1963, the Shirelles learned that the trust , holding their royalties, that they were supposed to receive from Scepter on their 21st birthdays, did not exist. In response, they left the label, and later filed a breach of contract suit against the company. Scepter met this with

6160-421: The stage were Sarah Vaughan , Dinah Washington , Sammy Davis Jr. , James Brown , Lena Horne , Lionel Hampton , The Supremes , Stevie Wonder , and Dionne Warwick , Martha Reeves & The Vandellas, Marvin Gaye and Mary Wells The 1968 riots , which followed the April 4 assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. , caused the venue a great deal of harm. The riots, coupled with desegregation , contributed to

6248-409: The theater during World War II . These balls featured performers like Danny Kaye , Abbott and Costello and Cesar Romero , among others. Also in the 1940s, Pearl Bailey made her debut at the Howard Theatre. The Howard Theatre turned into a house for rock 'n' roll and rhythm and blues during the 1950s and 1960s, when many important acts from both genres played there. Among the acts to grace

6336-490: The theater featured orchestra and balcony seats and eight proscenium boxes, with a lavishly decorated interior. No less extravagant was the exterior, which combined elements of the Beaux-Arts , Italian Renaissance , and neoclassical styles. The whole was surmounted by a larger than life statue of Apollo playing his lyre . Andrew Thomas served as the theater's manager during its early years. Beginning in 1922 it

6424-490: The theater to its former glory. The theater reopened on April 9, 2012 to headline acts including Wanda Sykes , Blue Öyster Cult , and Chaka Khan , all of whom appeared in the first month after its reopening. Constructed in 1910, the theater was founded and owned by the National Amusement Company, a white-owned group. When built, it had a capacity of more than 1,200. Designed by J. Edward Storck,

6512-603: The theater was known for catering to an African-American clientele, and had played host to many of the great Black musical artists of the early and mid-twentieth century. The Howard Theatre was billed as the "Theater of the People", and supported two theatrical organizations, the Lafayette Players and the Howard University Players. In September 2010 extensive renovations were started to restore

6600-613: The theater's difficulty in attracting patrons, and the theater closed in 1970. Three years later, in 1973, the Howard Theatre Foundation was organized to reopen the venue. It was this organization which succeeded, in 1974, in gaining the building historic landmark status. In April 1975, the New Howard Theatre Corporation presented an evening of entertainment to salute the reopening of the theater. Redd Foxx and Melba Moore were among

6688-530: The theater's reputation as an entertainment hotspot. This rebirth was helped along by Shep Allen, the building's new manager. In the 1930s Allen introduced an amateur contest that was used as a springboard to stardom by Billy Eckstine and Ella Fitzgerald . The Howard Theatre lost its original ornate facade in 1941 when it was redone in the then-fashionable Streamline style. Franklin Delano Roosevelt and his wife Eleanor would attend balls at

6776-424: The theatre. To oversee management of the facility, Ellis Development created the nonprofit Howard Theatre Restoration Inc. In September 2010, groundbreaking for extensive renovations of the theater was held. The project's goals were to restore the Howard Theatre to 600 seats, complementing developments at the adjacent Progression Place. Martinez + Johnson Architecture and Marshall Moya Design were responsible for

6864-461: The way for the "confessional" songs of 70s singers like Joni Mitchell and Carole King . Musically, their works with Dixon were influenced by Brazilian baião and featured numerous instances of syncopation . Steve Huey of AllMusic notes that the Shirelles defined "the so-called girl group sound with their soft, sweet harmonies and yearning innocence", with their songs predating Motown in their widespread crossing of racial demographics, both in

6952-417: The write-up, wrote that the girl-group sound, originated by them, was "everything to [him]"; he also described their impromptu performance of "Soldier Boy" as inspiring. They also included two of the Shirelles' songs, " Will You Love Me Tomorrow " and " Tonight's the Night ", on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time . In the 2010 edition, "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" was ranked 126th, while "Tonight's

7040-452: The years. In the 1990s through the present, with the prevalence of such groups as the Spice Girls, there has been a strong emphasis on women's independence and a sort of feminism. At the very least, the music is more assertive lyrically and relies less on innuendo. This more recent wave of girl groups is more sexually provocative as well, which makes sense within pop music within this time frame as well. Howard Theatre In its heyday,

7128-529: The youth culture of western Continental Europe was deeply immersed in Yé-yé , recording artists of East Asia mostly varied from traditional singers, government-sponsored chorus, or multi-cultural soloists and bands, while bossa nova was trendy in Latin America. Beat music 's global influence eventually pushed out girl groups as a genre and, except for a small number of the foregoing groups and possibly

7216-420: Was 1967's "Last Minute Miracle", which peaked at #99. After the commercial failure of their most recent releases, Coley left the group in 1968 to focus on her family. The remaining three Shirelles recorded songs for several labels, including Bell Records , RCA Victor , and United Artists until 1971. Afterwards, they toured singing their older songs, and participated in the filming of the 1973 documentary Let

7304-518: Was also a popular subject because of an emerging audience of young girls listening to and buying records. Adolescence was also reinforced by girl groups in cultivation of a youthful image, since "an unprecedented instance of teenage girls occupying center stage of mainstream commercial culture". An example of this youth branding might be Baby Spice from the Spice Girls . This was shown through flourishes like typically matching outfits for mid-century girl groups and youthful content in songs. Girl groups of

7392-529: Was born." As the girl group structure persisted through further generations, popular cultural sentiments were incorporated into the music. The appearance of " girl power " and feminism was also added, even though beginning groups were very structured in their femininity. It would be simplistic to imply that girl groups only sang about being in love; on the contrary, many groups expressed complex sentiments in their songs. There were songs of support, songs that were gossipy, etc.; like any other musical movement, there

7480-536: Was influenced by doo-wop , but infused with pop melodies. Tiara Records, along with the Shirelles' contract, was sold to Decca Records in 1959 for $ 4,000; Greenberg stayed as the manager, securing performances for the group, including one at the Howard Theatre in Washington D.C. After two singles did poorly, including their first release—with Coley as lead vocalist—of " Dedicated to the One I Love ",

7568-519: Was leased and run by actor, producer, and entrepreneur Sherman Dudley . It was taken over in 1926 by Abe Lichtman, the white owner of a chain of movie theaters that were frequented by Blacks. With the onset of the Great Depression , the building became a church for a time under the direction of Elder Michaux. In 1931, as part of the venue's return to its original purpose, Duke Ellington appeared with his band at "the Howard", helping also to cement

7656-514: Was much variation in what was being sung. A prominent theme was often teaching "what it meant to be a woman". Girl groups would exhibit what womanhood looked like from the clothes they were wearing to the actual lyrics in their songs. Of course this changed over the years (what the Supremes were wearing was different from the Spice Girls), but girl groups still served as beacons and examples of certain types of identities to their audiences through

7744-485: Was producing. Songs also had a penchant for reflecting the political and cultural climate around them. For instance, songs with abusive undertones were somewhat common during the 1950s–1970s. One notable example was the song " He Hit Me (And It Felt Like a Kiss) " by the Crystals . During the "golden age of girl groups", lyrics were disparate, ranging from songs about mean dogs to underage pregnancy. However, common sentiments were also found in ideas like new love, pining after

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