The Girl Group Sound

The first major popular style associated primarily with women had its origin in the late 1950s when several vocal groups began performing songs that combined doo-wop with rhythm and blues(R + B), such as "Mr. Lee", by The Bobbettes and "Maybe" , by The Chantels, who were one of the first female groups to have several hits.

This musical genre flourished from 1961 to 1965, with its peak in 1963. (In this year alone, The Shirelles, The Crystals, The Marvelettes, Martha and The Vandellas, The Chiffons, The Raindrops, Ruby and The Romantics-I know the former two had male members, but they still had a girl group sound. Also The Cookies, The Jaynetts, The Angels, and The Ronettes ruled the charts, among many others, such as "girl group sounding" solo singers Lesley Gore, Little Peggy March, Darlene Love, and Doris Troy.) And it was every bit as important and influencial as the other major developments of the decade and in rock history.

The girl group sound was very dependent not just on the singers, but also on the efforts of the producers and songwriters. The producer, in particular, was a HUGE factor in a group's success: a case in point was Luther Dixon, the producer/songwriter who worked with The Shirelles.

These groups were often regarded as little more than singing puppets by some rock historians, who felt that because the producers, songwriters, and others played key roles, the groups were very moldable and interchangable. ( Phil Spector was known for this practice. He used Darlene Love"s voice on a couple of songs when the Crystals were out touring, I think. That's her singing lead on "He's A Rebel" and "He's Sure The Boy I Love", however, the song's credited to "The Crystals".)

But many of the performers were very young and naive. Many (like a lot of male singers, too!) simply wanted to be singing stars, and believed their best interests ( business and financial) were being taken care of .

And suprprisingly, the print media didn't really pubilize the groups very often. There wasn't much written about them in teen or mainstream magazines; every once in a while, but not regularly like their male counterparts.

It's been spectulated that racism could have been a factor, for most of these groups were black. And there was rampant sexism as well: female groups weren't regarded as "real talent." (Oh really?)

The Beatles and the other British Invasion singers would beg to differ. Many legendary and current stars owe a huge debt to these rock pioneers.

Ironically, the British Invasion would be one of the factors contributing to the demise of this genre. The music had also started to change by 1965. And there were other girl groups, some good, some so-so, that flooded the market ; the public became tired of the sound.

Besides the Brits and the other new genres coming out, Motown's female groups ( I personally think that The Marvelettes bridged the gap between their initial girl group sound and the more sultry, sophisticated (grown-up!) sound the group took on a few years later extremely well. But then again, most of the Motown records are timeless, don't you think?) would take the girl group sound to a whole new level, successfully competing with, and holding their own with the competition throughout the decade.