The Shirelles
 Had
Shirley Owens and Beverly Lee not become bored while babysitting,
the first Girl Group may never have
existed.
Forming as high school classmates in New Jersey, The Shirelles
came under the wing of manager Florence Goldberg, who also ran the
Scepter label.
The Shirelles were instrumental in defining the girl group
sound and were one of the genre's most successful acts between
1960 and 1963, when they placed six singles in the US Top Ten.
Bridging Doo Wop and uptown New
York pop-soul, the group projected a beguiling mixture of
tenderness and innocence that was grounded in R&B as much as
pop.
Many of their classic early songs featured innovative,
string-laden production by Luther Dixon who also penned several of
their greatest hits.
Powered by Shirley's emotional voice (from whom they had
taken their name), the girls were responsible for the magnificent
and much-copied singles stretching from Tonight's The
Night (1960) to Soldier Boy (1962), and taking in such
classics as Will You Love Me Tomorrow? and Dedicated
To The One I Love.
Top Brill Building
songwriters like Goffin/King, Van McCoy and Bacharach/David
supplied the group with material but they also cut a number of
delightful less-famous tunes, including Boys (which
like Baby It's You was covered by The
Beatles on their first LP).
After mid-1963, The Shirelles were unable to dent the Top 40,
although they recorded some excellent songs, including the
original version of Sha La La Lee (covered as a hit by Manfred
Mann).
The group recorded well into the 1970s, updating their sound
into a more soul-oriented mode that was lacking by comparison to
their earlier work.
Alston left for a solo career in 1975. Harris died of a heart
attack in June 1982 following a performance in Atlanta. The
Shirelles were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in
1996.
Now go and listen to Amy Winehouse and acknowledge how many
elements of The Shirelles she pilfered . . .
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