Bring on the girls!

[Hepcat]

Here are my essential fifty Girl Group hits:

Ad-Libs - Boy From New York City

Angels - My Boyfriend's Back

Marcie Blane - Bobby's Girl

Chiffons - He's So Fine

Chiffons - One Fine Day

Claudine Clark - Party Lights

Cookies - Chains

Crystals - He's a Rebel

Crystals - Then He Kissed Me

Skeeter Davis - End of the World

Dixie Cups - Chapel of Love

Dixie Cups - Iko Iko

Patty Duke - Don't Just Stand There

Shirley Ellis - Clapping Song

Shirley Ellis - Name Game

Essex - Easier Said than Done

Betty Everett - The Shoop Shoop Song (It's in His Kiss)

Exciters - Tell Him

Shelley Fabares - Johnny Angel

Flirtations - Nothing but a Heartache

Connie Francis - Lipstick on Your Collar

Connie Francis - Never on Sunday

Lesley Gore - It's My Party

Lesley Gore - Maybe I Know

Lesley Gore - She's a Fool

Lesley Gore - You Don't Own Me

Little Eva - The Loco-Motion

Little Peggy March - I Will Follow Him

Marvelettes - Please Mr. Postman

Marvelettes - Playboy

Murmaids - Popsicles and Icicles

Paris Sisters - I Love How You Love Me

Ronettes - Be My Baby

Ronettes - Walking in the Rain

Ruby & the Romantics - Our Day Will Come

Linda Scott - I've Told Every Little Star

Shangri-Las - Leader of the Pack

Dee Dee Sharp - Mashed Potato Time

Shirelles - Baby It's You

Shirelles - Soldier Boy

Shirelles - Will You Love Me Tomorrow?

Nancy Sinatra - These Boots Are Made for Walking

Joanie Sommers - Johnny Get Angry

Supremes - Baby Love

Supremes - The Happening

Supremes - Stop! In the Name of Love

Supremes - Where Did Our Love Go?

Supremes - You Can't Hurry Love

Teddy Bears- To Know Him Is to Love Him

Toys - A Lover's Concerto



Any more suggestions?

[Haunted hearse]

Peggy Lee-Fever
Joanie Mitchel-Both Sides Now

[Hepcat]

Hey! Why settle for a single shot?

9 Double Shot (of my baby's love) - The Goodees (1969)

[Flower]

The Velvelettes ~


The Velvelettes - "Needle In A Haystack" (1964)

Velvelettes - Your Heart Belongs To Me

THE VELVELETTES should i tell them

[Hepcat]

The Velvelettes received no air play whatsoever in my neck of the woods during my school years.

[Flower]

From Wikipedia ~

Early years and establishment ... ]The group was founded in 1961 by Bertha Barbee McNeal and Mildred Gill Arbor, students at Western Michigan University. Mildred recruited her younger sister Carolyn (also known as Cal or Caldin), who was in 9th grade, and Cal's friend Betty Kelly, a junior in high school. Bertha recruited her cousin Norma Barbee, a freshman at Flint Junior College. Cal was chosen as the group's lead singer.

A classmate at Western Michigan University, Robert Bullock, was Berry Gordy's nephew, and he encouraged the group to audition for Motown Records. The group signed to Motown in late 1962 and started recording in January 1963. They recorded at the Hitsville USA studio and "There He Goes" and "That's The Reason Why" produced by William Stevenson was released as a single via the IPG label (Independent Producers Group). The recordings included a young Stevie Wonder playing harmonica. While the group awaited their chance at stardom, they recorded for many producers, some of which were re-recorded by other artists including fellow labelmates Martha and the Vandellas and The Supremes. The Velvelettes were not used to provide backing vocals since Motown already had its in-house backing group, The Andantes.

The Velvelettes got their break chartwise in the spring of 1964 thanks to young producer Norman Whitfield, who produced "Needle In A Haystack" as a single for the group, on Motown's VIP Records imprint. "Needle In A Haystack" peaked at number 45 on the Billboard Hot 100 in mid 1964. The group recorded its follow-up, "He Was Really Sayin' Somethin'", with Whitfield again producing, and spent time on various Motown-sponsored tours as a support act. In September 1964, after recording "Dancing In The Street" earlier in June, Betty Kelly officially left the group to join Martha and the Vandellas, and the quintet became a quartet.

Later years and dissolution ... The Velvelettes continued performing, with various members leaving and rejoining, as family matters dictated. By 1967, Millie, Norma and Bertha had decided to devote all of their time to raising their families. Cal recruited two new members for concert performances: future Vandella Sandra Tilley (who was introduced by her friend Abdul Fakir of The Four Tops), and Annette Rogers-McMillan.

With a song on the charts and a place on several concert tours, an album project was started using songs already recorded. However, with the growing success of another Motown group, The Supremes, Motown's attention was diverted and the project was left unfinished.

Motown released two additional singles, "Lonely Lonely Girl Am I" and "A Bird In The Hand" on their VIP imprint. Both singles did not reach the same chart levels as their predecessors. The Velvelettes continued to record new material until September 1967, with the Nick Ashford and Valerie Simpson song "Bring Back The Sunshine", which was retitled "Dark Side Of The World" when Diana Ross later released a version of the song. The final Velvelettes single release was "These Things Will Keep Me Loving You", which was #43 on the R&B charts. Carolyn Gill began dating Richard Street, lead singer of The Monitors, who would later join The Temptations. Sandra Tilley joined Martha Reeves and the Vandellas, replacing Rosalind Ashford. Carolyn married Street in November 1969 and he dissuaded her from continuing with the Velvelettes -preferring that his wife care for the home- so Gill decided to break up the group and it disbanded.

In 1971, "These Things Will Keep Me Loving You" became a hit in the United Kingdom, peaking at number 34 on the UK Singles Chart. Despite the new success, the group did not reunite until 1984, following a rare concert appearance by the cousins and the sisters at the request of Bertha. Together the Gill sisters and Barbee cousins then went on to re-record their original hits and some new songs for the album One Door Closes for Motorcity Records. The group continues to tour today.

Three decades after the group left Motown, the company released a CD, The Very Best of the Velvelettes, featuring 15 tracks, including four previously unreleased selections. A 19-track CD The Velvelettes: The Best Of was released in the UK in 2001. The 2005 The Velvelettes: The Motown Anthology is a double album with 48 tracks.

In 2006, the Velvelettes contributed to the double CD Masters of Funk, Soul and Blues Present a Soulful Tale of Two Cities. Lamont Dozier, Freda Payne, George Clinton and Bobby Taylor recorded remakes of songs from Philadelphia International Records. The Velvelettes sang "One Of a Kind Love Affair", originally recorded by the Spinners.

[Hepcat]

Cool! Here's another of my very favourite girl groups performing their signature hit:

Dixie Cups - Iko Iko (stereo)

Interesting but they never set out to record the tune. They were just playing around in the studio but the recording engineer decided to keep the tape running.

[Flower]

Sugar and the Spices ...


Sugar & The Spices-Boys Can Be Mean

[CreepysFan]

Some groovy ladies that I dig, starting with the first 45 I ever owned.

     

The Seekers - Georgy Girl (1966)

   

PETULA CLARK- " I KNOW A PLACE "

   

Patty Duke - Don't Just Stand There

[Flower]

A little known group .. Denise & Company


Denise & Company - Boy, What'll You do Then?

Denise Kaufman was formerly with the Ace of Cups and any 'Denise & Company' 45's known to exist are going for big bucks because not many were pressed.

[Unknown Primate]

Chicks, man!

[Hepcat]

Some groovy ladies that I dig:

PETULA CLARK- " I KNOW A PLACE "

Patty Duke - Don't Just Stand There

Two of my favourites!

Now here's Shirley Ellis performing a couple of her signature hits!

shirley ellis - the name game

Shirley Ellis - The Clapping Song (stereo)

Dig the frantic dancers on The Clapping Song!

[Flower]

Goldie and the Gingerbreads .. this tune was written for them, charted #25 in the U.K. but the same (Mickey Most) tune was released by Herman's Hermits in the U.S.  two weeks before their U.S. release and they were over shadowed.


GOLDIE & THE GINGERBREADS - CAN'T YOU HEAR MY HEARTBEAT AGY


The Kinks gave "Look for me Baby" to Goldie & the Gingerbreads when they were opening for the Kinks in Europe.


Goldie & The Gingerbreads - Look For Me Baby

Goldie Zelkowitz a.k.a. Genya Ravan has started a fan page on Goldie and the Gingerbreads ..  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Official-Goldie-And-the-Gingerbreads-Fan-Page/128196350550245

[Hepcat]

Goldie and the Gingerbreads .. this tune was written for them, charted #25 in the U.K. but the same (Mickey Most) tune was released by Herman's Hermits in the U.S.  two weeks before their U.S. release and they were over shadowed.

GOLDIE & THE GINGERBREADS - CAN'T YOU HEAR MY HEARTBEAT AGY

That's a great old video! They seem so "restrained" by even late sixties standards.

Check out the almost unsettling act of the Cake:

The Cake -- Mockingbird

[Flower]

The Dr. John connection is very interesting ...

From Wikipedia ~

Following the break-up of The Cake in 1968, Jacobs and Barooshian toured with Dr John, who was one of the session musicians on their albums, and subsequently moved to the UK, where they became part of Ginger Baker's Air Force. Barooshian also recorded an album in Japan with Tetsu Yamauchi.

Jacobs married Chris Wood of the English group Traffic in 1969. Jeanette Jacobs-Wood died on January 1, 1982, aged 32.

The Kevin Ayers song 'Eleanor's Cake (which ate her)' from the LP 'Joy of a Toy' released in 1970 was written about Barooshian.