Choose Your Own Genre Adventure: Adventure #1, Girl Group - Music Diaries

bobbyb5

Gender: Male
Location: New York

Can't wait to hear that Caravelles one. I never heard of it. Sounds awesome.
I like how you picked the Paris Sisters as number two. Some people consider them part of 50s pop rather than girl group, but it's a great record. Another one I love that really isn't girl group sound but rather 50s pop is the McGuire Sisters Sincerely. They did that kind of precision singing that I love, but was really part of a different era. And they were awesome. Though hardly rock and roll.

And you can't argue with Sally Go Round the Roses or Locomotion. And The Toys Lover's Concerto I agree with you, it's one of the greatest ever. Or the Shangri-las either.

Off the top of my head I'm gonna try to make up my Top 10 all time greatest girl group hits right now. If I thought about a bit more would probably be different, but just off the top of my head.

1. Lover's Concerto....The Toys
2. Come See About Me... The Supremes
3. Sweet Talking Guy... The Chiffons
4. Walking in the Rain...The Ronettes
5. Maybe I Know ...Lesley Gore
6. Dedicated to The One I Love ...The Shirelles
7. Mr Lee... The Bobbettes
8. Someday We'll Be Together ... Diana Ross and The Supremes
9. I'm Into Something Good..The Cookies
10. The Loco-Motion.. Little Eva

Okay, I'm gonna keep going with a 70s girl group Top 10.

1. Up the Ladder to the Roof... Supremes
2. When Will I See You Again... The Three Degrees
3. I Met Him On a Sunday... Laura Nyro w/ LaBelle
4. One Monkey Don't Stop No Show... Honey Cone
5. Arabian Nights Medley...The Ritchie Family
6. Floy Joy.. The Supremes
7. Armed and Extremely Dangerous.. First Choice
8. Chapel of Love ...Bette Midler
9. Stone Love.. The Supremes
10. Leader of the Pack... Bette Midler

Jimmy Dread
Old skool like Happy Shopper

Location: 555 Dub Street

Moderator

Any list of greatest girl group hits that fails to mention Be My Baby really needs to hang its head in shame. So here's 5 obvious and 5 lesser-known girl group zingers from the head of Dread...

Be My Baby - The Ronettes
Leader Of The Pack - The Shangri-Las
Sweet Talkin' Guy - The Chiffons
My Boyfriend's Back - The Angels
Da Doo Ron Ron - The Crystals
______

Egyptian Shumba - The Tammys
Black & White Thunderbird - The Delicates
Quite A Reputation - The Chymes
Cryin' Inside - The Heartbeats
About My Baby (I Could Write A Book) - The Pandoras
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bobbyb5

Gender: Male
Location: New York

[quote="Jimmy Dread"]Any list of greatest girl group hits that fails to mention [i]Be My Baby[/i] really needs to hang its head in shame. So here's 5 obvious and 5 lesser-known girl group zingers from the head of Dread...

Be My Baby - The Ronettes
Leader Of The Pack - The Shangri-Las
Sweet Talkin' Guy - The Chiffons
My Boyfriend's Back - The Angels
Da Doo Ron Ron - The Crystals
______

Egyptian Shumba - The Tammys
Black & White Thunderbird - The Delicates
Quite A Reputation - The Chymes
Cryin' Inside - The Heartbeats
About My Baby (I Could Write A Book) - The Pandoras[/quote]

Man, I couldn't decide between Be My Baby, Then He Kissed Me, or Walking in the Rain. But I like Walking in the Rain best, so I picked that. I thought three was too many for The Ronettes. 2 would be reasonable though.
I love how you got My Boyfriend's Back. I forgot all about it.

baystateoftheart
Neil Young as a butternut squash

Age: 29
Location: Massachusetts

Good lists, but I'm going to hold off on mine until I've reached the end.

Instead of splitting it up into old stuff and new stuff, I've decided just to do the project totally in chronological order. Here is my master list, featuring four recs from bobby and one from Jimmy. Italics and asterisks indicate I'm having a hard time finding it so far (don't already have, not on music streaming or YouTube as an LP, and can't find a download). These may take me a long time to get to if physical copies are required.

1. **We Are The Chantels by The Chantels (1958)
2. 25 All-Time Greatest Hits by The Shirelles (1958-1964) writeup complete
3. The Best Of The Girl Groups Volume 2 by Various Artists (1958-1966) writeup complete
4. The Best Of The Girl Groups Volume 1 by Various Artists (1960-1966) writeup complete
5. Da Doo Ron Ron: The Very Best Of The Crystals by The Crystals (1961-1964)
6. The Ultimate Collection by The Marvelettes (1961-1969)
7. One Kiss Can Lead To Another: Girl Group Sounds Lost And Found by Various Artists (1961-1969)
8. **You Don't Have To Be A Baby To Cry by The Caravelles (1963)
9. A Christmas Gift For You by Various Artists (1963)
10. Sunshine, Lollipops & Rainbows: The Best Of Lesley Gore by Lesley Gore (1963-1967)
11. Chapel Of Love by The Dixie Cups (1964)
12. Presenting The Fabulous Ronettes Featuring Veronica by The Ronettes (1964)
13. Where Did Our Love Go by The Supremes (1964)
14. Girls In The Garage, Vol. 1 by Various Artists (1964-1967)
15. Dance Party by Martha And The Vandellas (1965)
16. Leader Of The Pack by The Shangri-Las (1965)
17. Shangri-Las - 65! by The Shangri-Las (1965)
18. More Hits By The Supremes by The Supremes (1965)
19. **Sweet Talkin' Guy by The Chiffons (1966)
20. Truth Gotta Stand by The Luv'd Ones (1966)
21. Watchout! by Martha And The Vandellas (1966)
22. The Supremes A' Go-Go by The Supremes (1966)
23. The Toys Sing "A Lover's Concerto" And "Attack!" by The Toys (1966)
24. **The Cake by The Cake (1967)
25. The Supremes Sing Holland-Dozier-Holland by The Supremes (1967)
26. **A Slice Of Cake by The Cake (1968)
27. A Go Go by Dara Puspita (1968)
28. Composes, Produces And Sings by Ellie Greenwich (1968)
29. Honey Ltd. by Honey Ltd. (1968)
30. *Nothing But A Heartache by The Flirtations (1969)
31. New Ways But Love Stays by The Supremes (1970)
32. Spring by American Spring (1972)
33. Spring Fever! by The Pussywillows (1988)
34. We Are The Pipettes by The Pipettes (2006)
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BeA Sunflower

Location: Forest Park

baystateoftheart wrote:

Good lists, but I'm going to hold off on mine until I've reached the end.

Instead of splitting it up into old stuff and new stuff, I've decided just to do the project totally in chronological order. Here is my master list, featuring four recs from bobby and one from Jimmy. Italics and asterisks indicate I'm having a hard time finding it so far (don't already have, not on music streaming or YouTube as an LP, and can't find a download). These may take me a long time to get to if physical copies are required.

1. **We Are The Chantels by The Chantels (1958)
2. 25 All-Time Greatest Hits by The Shirelles (1958-1964) writeup complete
3. The Best Of The Girl Groups Volume 2 by Various Artists (1958-1966) writeup complete
4. The Best Of The Girl Groups Volume 1 by Various Artists (1960-1966) writeup complete
5. Da Doo Ron Ron: The Very Best Of The Crystals by The Crystals (1961-1964)
6. The Ultimate Collection by The Marvelettes (1961-1969)
7. One Kiss Can Lead To Another: Girl Group Sounds Lost And Found by Various Artists (1961-1969)
8. **You Don't Have To Be A Baby To Cry by The Caravelles (1963)
9. A Christmas Gift For You by Various Artists (1963)
10. Sunshine, Lollipops & Rainbows: The Best Of Lesley Gore by Lesley Gore (1963-1967)
11. Chapel Of Love by The Dixie Cups (1964)
12. Presenting The Fabulous Ronettes Featuring Veronica by The Ronettes (1964)
13. Where Did Our Love Go by The Supremes (1964)
14. Girls In The Garage, Vol. 1 by Various Artists (1964-1967)
15. Dance Party by Martha And The Vandellas (1965)
16. Leader Of The Pack by The Shangri-Las (1965)
17. Shangri-Las - 65! by The Shangri-Las (1965)
18. More Hits By The Supremes by The Supremes (1965)
19. **Sweet Talkin' Guy by The Chiffons (1966)
20. Truth Gotta Stand by The Luv'd Ones (1966)
21. Watchout! by Martha And The Vandellas (1966)
22. The Supremes A' Go-Go by The Supremes (1966)
23. The Toys Sing "A Lover's Concerto" And "Attack!" by The Toys (1966)
24. **The Cake by The Cake (1967)
25. The Supremes Sing Holland-Dozier-Holland by The Supremes (1967)
26. **A Slice Of Cake by The Cake (1968)
27. A Go Go by Dara Puspita (1968)
28. Composes, Produces And Sings by Ellie Greenwich (1968)
29. Honey Ltd. by Honey Ltd. (1968)
30. *Nothing But A Heartache by The Flirtations (1969)
31. New Ways But Love Stays by The Supremes (1970)
32. Spring by American Spring (1972)
33. Spring Fever! by The Pussywillows (1988)
34. We Are The Pipettes by The Pipettes (2006)

Nice! Love how you're tackling this. Applause

baystateoftheart
Neil Young as a butternut squash

Age: 29
Location: Massachusetts

Quick update - I'm drowning in schoolwork because finals. I've listened to a lot more stuff for this project but I'm not sure when I'll be able to post about it. I will ASAP.
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BeA Sunflower

Location: Forest Park

baystateoftheart wrote:

Thanks for all the recs, bobby! I will pick a few of them to add to my new listening list when I get there. I have and love that Lesley Gore comp, but excluded it because it's solo.

25 All-Time Greatest Hits by The Shirelles

First up in my re-listening list, this is probably the best and most comprehensive Shirelles collection, arranged mostly in chronological order and selected mostly based on chart success. This comprehensiveness, while an asset, can work against the compilation. Some fairly mediocre material finds its way on, especially toward the end. Whenever things fall short, it is usually not the fault of the vocal or instrumental performances, but rather weak or cliched songwriting. One exception is the shrill organ solo in "Baby, It's You", which mars an otherwise near-perfect song. The Shirelles started out as a female doo-wop group in 1957, releasing their debut single in 1958. Stylistically, they changed with the times toward a more pop soul sound. In contrast to many other girl groups, Spector-produced and otherwise, the arrangements are not colossal walls of sound, but generally more understated, although there are some nice string sections. The most interesting arrangement comes on "It's Love That Really Counts (In The Long Run)." To summarize, the highs on this collection are phenomenal - some of the best songs of the girl group movement, and some of the best songs period. The lows are fairly middling, but never below average.

Top 3 Tracks:

1. Will You Love Me Tomorrow (1960) 5/5
An utter masterpiece about an eternal human question. One of the greatest songs ever made. Written by Carole King & Gerry Goffin, it was the first girl group song to go to #1.

2. Mama Said (1961) 5/5
Maybe the hardest rocking single they made, but one that is also emotionally potent, with its reassurance that even the now-lonely will one day find love. Written by Luther Dixon & Willie Denson, it went to #4.

3. Baby, It's You (1961) 4.5/5
Both the single and album versions appear here, with minor differences. Sadly, that piercing organ is in both. A soulful, slow burning song that's almost perfect. Written by Burt Bacharach, Luther Dixon & Mack David, it went to #8.

Unweighted Track Average: 3.85
Time-Weighted Track Average: 3.86
Top 40 Minutes Track Average: 4.16
Overall Rating: 3.96

This was a very good re-listen. I'm unsure about whether to subsequently delve into their albums or not, as I'm concerned there may be a lot of filler.

Thanks for introducing me to this great band. I couldn't find this particular album, but I found this...

https://www.besteveralbums.com/phpBB2/v...177#496177

... And it may work even better for me. I think 25 tracks is too long for this kind of sound whereas the 14 or 15 on this, is pretty much a perfect length. Plus, it's "all killer no filler."

baystateoftheart
Neil Young as a butternut squash

Age: 29
Location: Massachusetts

Tilly wrote:

Thanks for introducing me to this great band. I couldn't find this particular album, but I found this...

https://www.besteveralbums.com/phpBB2/v...177#496177

... And it may work even better for me. I think 25 tracks is too long for this kind of sound whereas the 14 or 15 on this, is pretty much a perfect length. Plus, it's "all killer no filler."

Glad I could help. Your writeup was awesome by the way! Calling The Shirelles proto-punk might be a stretch. But you're absolutely right that it was influential (as were bubblegum pop, surf rock, etc.). I just listened to New York Dolls for the first time last week and noticed they copied an intro from The Shangri-Las.
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BeA Sunflower

Location: Forest Park

baystateoftheart wrote:

Tilly wrote:

Thanks for introducing me to this great band. I couldn't find this particular album, but I found this...

https://www.besteveralbums.com/phpBB2/v...177#496177

... And it may work even better for me. I think 25 tracks is too long for this kind of sound whereas the 14 or 15 on this, is pretty much a perfect length. Plus, it's "all killer no filler."

Glad I could help. Your writeup was awesome by the way! Calling The Shirelles proto-punk might be a stretch. But you're absolutely right that it was influential (as were bubblegum pop, surf rock, etc.). I just listened to New York Dolls for the first time last week and noticed they copied an intro from The Shangri-Las.

I know! I heard that song by The Shangdi-Las for the first time two years ago & was floored.

lol. You're probably right that The Shirelles are not photo-punk per se, but it's a lot closer than I ever thought. And totally essential stuff if you're into port-punk imo.

Going to check out those Rhino albums next. Very Happy

mickilennial
The Most Trusted Name in News

Gender: Female
Age: 35
Location: Detroit

Those early punk bands and garage groups were influenced by rockabilly, doo wop, and girl group standards, so it isn't really that much of a surprise is it?