Back in the day, female vocal groups looked beautiful in their satin dress, high heels, and bouffant hairstyles while delivering perfect harmonies to welcoming audiences. The names of the groups are familiar to many. It was The Angels, The Blossoms, The Chantels, The Dixie Cups, Martha and the Vandellas, The Marvelettes, The Ronettes, The Shirelles, The Supremes, The Velvelettes, and many more. They performed on small to mid-sized stages with other singing groups and solo artists, backed by precision musicians. It was quite a life for these young singers.
Behind the scenes, it was a different story. The book “But Will You Love Me Tomorrow?” looks at the success and challenges of Black and White female vocal groups from the 1950s to the 1970s. Co-authored by Laura Flam and Emily Sieu Leibowitz, this book is an oral history compilation of narratives from over 300 hours of new interviews with more than 100+ subjects. Though both Black and White girl groups were discussed in the book, the majority of the groups were young Black women.
“We wanted to make sure it was accessible in multiple ways,” said Leibowitz about presenting the book as an oral history. “We wanted to honor the women in the project by letting their voices lead.”
The Difference for Girl Groups
In exploring popular American music history, we have heard about young Black males singing “doo-wop” on the corner or at school, hoping to be discovered by a record producer. The “girl group” sound is a musical genre, but it’s also a complex system of relations covering race, class, and gender that doesn’t quite fit into any boxes we like to see our pop culture fit into.
“These were teenage girls in school who were not going to be on the streets,” said Flam.
For example, The Chantels were friends in Catholic school. As students, they were taught to sing in Gregorian Chant, an unaccompanied sacred song in Latin of the Roman Catholic Church. They brought that training to their popular music style, particularly the song “I Love You So.”
“Girl groups were actually the first pop stars,” Flam continued. “It started out in “doo-wop” and R&B then changed into something unique that was its own and is now known as pop music.”
Writing the Songs and Receiving Credit
White writers wrote many early hits recorded by the girl groups. For example, Carole King and her ex-husband, the late Gerry Goffin, wrote “One Fine Day,” recorded by The Chiffons, and “Will You Love Me Tomorrow,” recorded by The Shirelles. Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich, and Phil Spector wrote “Be My Baby” by The Ronettes. Atlantic Records did open a publishing company for one of their groups, The Bobbettes, a Harlem, New York-based group that recorded the hit “Mr. Lee.”
Usually, credit for songs written by the women in these groups was in their manager’s name. Further, they did not get the credit if a song was certified a gold record. Motown Records had a stable of writers where only if the singer also recorded the song, which was when the writing credit was shared.
Today, the lack of recognition continues. Few girl groups have made it to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The Supremes, Martha and the Vandellas, The Shirelles, and The Ronettes are in the Hall. Some of those notable girl groups are missing, such as The Chantels, The Crystals, The Bobbettes, and The Dixie Cups.
“This year is the 60th anniversary of ‘Chapel of Love’ by The Dixie Cups,” said Leibowitz. “Barbara Ann Hawkins, an original Dixie Cup, still performs. In fact, she will do the New Orleans Jazz Festival this year.”
Flam and Leibowitz leave readers with an important message “But Will You Love Me Tomorrow?”
“The singers and certain songwriters of the Girl Group Sound are at risk of erasure from the canon of pop music history,” said the co-authors in a joint statement. “We hope people will remember them and their contributions.”
“But Will You Love Me Tomorrow?” was published by Hachette Books and can be obtained through your favorite bookseller.