The Story of African American Music by Andrew Pina

Author:Andrew Pina
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Greenhaven Publishing LLC

Girl Groups Ruled

The female equivalents to doo-wop singers were called girl groups. They were relatively rare in the mid-1950s, when doo-wop was strong, but girl groups began to dominate in the late 1950s. By the early 1960s, they were among the most successful of all doowop or similar groups.

Like their male counterparts, girl groups specialized in close harmonies. One big difference was that they did not sing a cappella, partially because the groups did not have a deep bass voice to provide a strong bottom for their sound. Instead, small combos or orchestras backed them.

Among the most prominent girl groups were the Chiffons, Chantels, Dixie Cups, Crystals, Ronettes, Toys, and Shangri-Las. One of the top groups was the Shirelles, whose powerful and popular 1960 recording of “Will You Love Me Tomorrow?” became the first number-one song by a girl group. This unprecedented hit was typical of the romantic love songs performed by girl groups. Others included “He’s So Fine” by the Chiffons and “Chapel of Love” by the Dixie Cups. However, not all girl groups focused on romance. Some were edgier, focusing on creating a “bad girl” image for themselves.

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