GIRL GROUPS

In the wake of the recent regurgitation of SPICEMANIA! I was thinking a lot about girl groups lately.... Obviously I love a girl group. Throughout the history of pop music there has always been a GIRLS vs BOYS attitue, hell, thats what Xfactor and Pop Idol hav survived on for the past few years! But without a shadow of a doubt my fave girl groups, and indeed my of my fave music, are from the 50s and 60s...

Starting with the MOTHER of all girl groups: The Supremes....!!! Yeah way before the toocoolforschoolskatestore we had the holier than thou ultimate girl group, complete with hairpieces, eyelash extensions and bitching and backstabbing...Low that wack DREAMGIRLS movie though...what a travesty againnst the great Motown name...


Frankly its impossible to pick one favourite song, or even a big hit - they were all amazing! Check out how glam they are in "Come See About Me"



Next up with have a lesser known (amongst the youngsters at least) group called Martha and the Vandellas featuring Rosalind Ashford, Betty Kelly and Martha Reeves. It became the done thing that one girl would lead the group and be known as X and the Ys, that sorta titling still goes on today...


I first heard this song on a Strictly Soul mixtape I stole from an old boss in Camden Market. Immediately this song grabbed me, its exactly the kind of passion and emotion, mixed with danceability (official term) that I love in my music - Love is Like A Heatwave. I'm telling you this tune is heavvvvvvvvvy!!! This clip features a mini interview with Martha herself - the hair is gravitiy defying! i love how she says that a member left the band because "she got married, that happens in girl groups."



Move over Destiny's Child - The Ronettes SMASHED IT!!!! The hair! the make up!! Oh la la!


Led by Veronica Bennett (a.k.a. Ronnie Spector), her sister Estelle Bennett, and their cousin Nedra Talley they tore it up with the classic "Be My Baby". When you're at a party, or on the train or something and you hear those drums come in, you know the next 3 mins are going tp be golden...



The good WAH girls who watched that video all the way to the end will note The Ronettes performed a second track, "Shout" which was on The Shangri Las album "Leader of the Pack. I love The Shangri La's, they were so cool a sorta rejection to the ultra galm groomed imaged of the rest of the girl groups. They were very much angsty teenge types, dealing with boys, perids, spots etcetera...it always sounded really dramatic, as I guess teenagers always are. every songs sounds like a mini movie soundtrack.


Not many people know that they actually were FOUR members of the Shangri Las - two sets of sisters: Mary Weiss and Elizabeth "Betty" Weiss, and identical twins Marguerite "Marge" and Mary Ann Ganser. They usuallly appeared in public as a trio though, because Betty Weiss hated the spotlight.


One of their most dancey, ravey, jump up and down tracks: SHOUT! Wait for the breakdown...



The Chantels were real early, a lotta people say their 1958 single "Maybe" was the fruit of the birth of the girl group. It set the standard for harmonies, a catchy name and tales of love and woe. I love their churchgirl outfits and dope album artwork.


I love the naivety of this song "Maybe if I pray eery day you'll come back to me..." ah the good old days, when a quick call to God was all you needed to sort your love life out *sigh*



I lurve The Shirelles!


Even though still doing the old tales-of-love-and-woe thing, they had a womanly attitude, I really believed they had been in love and one point and lost it. They had a big hit with Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow...



I dont know this next group very well, but The Angels have a dope track called "My Boyfriends Back".


Most of thes songs have self explanatory titles, but this one intrigued me a bit. I love it! Its a total hand clapped, middle finger up tp the dick who's been hassling you just because you're not out with your dude.



These talented teenage girls formed The Three Degrees in 1963, as many a black girl did in the early 60s seeing a career path for themselves that didnt include streetcorners or clocking in and out.... The Three Degrees started off with some heavy soulful sexy songs and unfortunately got sucked into the disco era of the 70s...


Some hip hop heads will recognise them as the source of the AMAZING TUNE "Maybe", which Dilla sampled for Ghostfaces Fishscale album...In fact most of the above ladies have been sampled to death...Here they are with Love Train. A bit too disco for my liking but most of their earleir stuff isn't available on the net..They look beautiful though....time for crate diggin...



So Ladies, there you have it have it. Forget the Spices when you have a wealth of mega talent at your fingertips via youtube and old record stores. (I'll still be going to see the geriatric girls at 02 obviously!) Any other suggestions please let me know. We'll do more girl groups next week...