R&B/ Soul

The Shirelles were an American girl group in the early 1960s, and were the very first girl group to have a number one single on the Billboard Hot 100. more...

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The members of the quartet were Shirley Owens (who was the main lead singer ), Doris Coley, who sang lead on Dedicated To The One I Love, Blue Holiday, Welcome Home Baby and a number of 'b' sides and album cuts, Beverly Lee, and Addie "Micki" Harris. The quartet formed in New Jersey in 1958, and went on to release a string of hits including Baby It's You (written by Burt Bacharach/Mack David/Barney Williams), Soldier Boy (Luther Dixon/Florence Greenberg), Mama Said, and the #1 Pop hits Will You Love Me Tomorrow (Gerry Goffin/Carole King) and Soldier Boy. Their Sha La La became an international hit when covered by the British group Manfred Mann, and Boys was covered by the Beatles (Ringo Starr singing lead).The Beatles also covered Baby It's You on their "Please Please Me" album.

The Shirelles were the first major female vocal group of the rock era, defining the so-called girl group sound with their soft, sweet harmonies and yearning innocence. Their music was a blend of pop and R & B, especially doo wop and smooth uptown soul that appealed to listeners across the board, before Motown ever became a crossover phenomenon with white audiences. Though the Chantels preceded them by several years, their international success was unprecedented, paving the way for legions of imitators; their inviting musical blueprint had an enduring influence not just on their immediate followers, but on future generations of female pop singers, who often updated their songs without losing their initial appeal. What's more, they provided some of the earliest hits for important Brill Building songwriters like Gerry Goffin & Carole King, Burt Bacharach & Hal David, and Van McCoy.

The Shirelles were originally formed in 1958 in Passaic, NJ, by four high school friends: Shirley Owens, Doris Coley, Addie "Micki" Harris, and Beverly Lee. Christening themselves "the Poquellos," the girls wrote a song called I Met Him on a Sunday and entered their school talent show with it. A school friend had them audition for her mother, Florence Greenberg, who ran a small record label; she was impressed enough to become the group's manager, and changed their name to The Shirelles by combining frequent lead singer Shirley's first name with doo woppers the Chantels. The Shirelles' recording of I Met Him on a Sunday was licensed by Decca and climbed into the national Top 50 in 1958. Two more singles flopped, however, and Decca passed on further releases. Greenberg instead signed them to her new label, Scepter Records, and brought in producer Luther Dixon, whose imaginative, sometimes string heavy arrangements would help shape the group's signature sound.

Read more at Wikipedia.org