The Shirelles
The Shirelles were an American girl group formed in Passaic, New Jersey in 1957. They consisted of schoolmates Shirley Owens (later Shirley Alston Reeves), Doris Coley (later Doris Kenner-Jackson), Addie "Micki" Harris (later Addie Harris McFadden), and Beverly Lee.
The Shirelles
- The Poquellos
- Shirley & the Shirelles
Passaic, New Jersey, U.S.
1957–1982
- Shirley Owens
- Doris Coley
- Addie Harris
- Beverly Lee
Founded in 1957 for a talent show at their high school, they were signed by Florence Greenberg of Tiara Records. Their first single, "I Met Him on a Sunday", was released by Tiara and licensed by Decca Records in 1958. After a brief and unsuccessful period with Decca, they went with Greenberg to her newly formed company, Scepter Records. Working with Luther Dixon, the group rose to fame with "Tonight's the Night". After a successful period of collaboration with Dixon and promotion by Scepter, with seven top 20 hits, the Shirelles left Scepter in 1966. Afterwards, they were unable to maintain their previous popularity.
The Shirelles have been described as having a "naive schoolgirl sound" that contrasted with the sexual themes of many of their songs. Several of their hits used strings and featured the influence of Brazilian baião music. They have been credited with launching the girl group genre, with much of their music reflecting the genre's essence. Their acceptance by both white and black audiences, predating that of the Motown acts, has been noted as reflecting the early success of the Civil Rights Movement. They have received numerous honors, including the Pioneer Award from the Rhythm and Blues Foundation, as well as being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996 and named one of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time by Rolling Stone in 2004. Two of their songs, "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" and "Tonight's the Night", were selected by Rolling Stone on its list of the greatest songs of all time. In 2022, their debut album Tonight's the Night was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Recording Registry as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".[1]
Current versions of the group[edit]
Today, the original members tour in different, separate, groups,[6] although the trademark to the Shirelles name was eventually acquired by Lee. One of the versions of the group had member Geraldine Crowell who was the daughter of David Jones of "The Rays". [22] Shirley Owens performed on the Doo Wop 51 PBS special in 2000. She continued to tour under the name 'Shirley Alston Reeves and her Shirelles. Shirley retired in 2020. Lee currently tours with new members, billed as "The Shirelles". Doris Coley died in Sacramento, California, on February 4, 2000, of breast cancer.[9][13]
Deaths[edit]
Addie Harris died from a heart attack at the age of 42 on June 10, 1982.[23]
Doris Coley died of breast cancer at the age of 58 on February 4, 2000.[24]
Style[edit]
Wadhams, Nathan, and Lindsay describe the style of the Shirelles early work as "tight, almost doo-wop harmony".[25] Owens's vocals, described by rock n' roll writer Alwyn W. Turner as being "wonderfully expressive", were capable of sounding "almost, but not quite" out of tune, which in his opinion lent Owens an innocent sound in her songs;[26] music critic Albin Zak describes her vocals as being able to intone desire and vulnerability.[11] The other members, singing backup, also convey what Michael Campbell, a professor of music at Western Illinois University, calls a "naive schoolgirl sound".[5] The lyrics sung by the Shirelles tended to be fairly simple and "barely" concealed the subtexts of the songs. The songs were implicitly directed at female listeners, with the male subjects of songs being referred to as "he" instead of "you";[26] this was a change from previous female-written songs, which tended to be more gender neutral, and helped pave the way for the "confessional" songs of 70s singers like Joni Mitchell and Carole King.[5][27]
Musically, their works with Dixon were influenced by Brazilian baião and featured numerous instances of syncopation.[11]
Influence[edit]
Steve Huey of AllMusic notes that the Shirelles defined "the so-called girl group sound with their soft, sweet harmonies and yearning innocence", with their songs predating Motown in their widespread crossing of racial demographics, both in the US and in Britain. He also notes that they spawned "legions of imitators", and laid a blueprint for future female pop stars to follow.[6] Turner writes that the Shirelles "launched [the girl group] genre", noting that their early work already included "the essence" of the genre;[26] Alwyn Zak expands on the statement, noting that the influx of female groups started after the success of "Will You Love Me Tomorrow".[28]
Michael Campbell notes that the Shirelles' success reflected the Civil Rights Movement. He indicates that works such as "Will You Love Me Tomorrow", written by a white couple, produced by an African-American man, with vocals by young African-American women and strings sounding like they were targeted at a white audience, conveyed a "color-blind" message on top of its more obvious sexual one.[5]
The Beatles were large admirers, according to George Harrison, "We always loved those American girl groups, like the Shirelles and the Ronettes, so yeah we developed our harmonies from trying to come up with an English, male version of their vocal feel."[29] Their debut album, Please Please Me included cover versions of two songs by the Shirelles, "Baby It's You", and "Boys", and a third song from the album, "P.S. I Love You" was according to John Lennon, Paul's attempt at "trying to write a "Soldier Boy" like the Shirelles."[30]
Accolades[edit]
In 1994, the Shirelles were honored by the Rhythm and Blues Foundation with the Pioneer Award for their contributions to music.[31] The award was accepted by Owens, Lee, and Kenner. As Coley was accepting her award, she said "This is dedicated to the one I love", and sang an impromptu rendition of "Soldier Boy" together with Owens and Lee.[7] Two years later they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, together with Gladys Knight & the Pips. At the ceremony in the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York, the three surviving members sang a medley of songs after being presented the awards by Merry Clayton, Marianne Faithfull, and Darlene Love.[32] In 2002, they were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame. Lee and Owens accepted the award.[33]
In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked them #76 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. Paul Shaffer, who did the write-up, wrote that the girl-group sound, originated by them, was "everything to [him]"; he also described their impromptu performance of "Soldier Boy" as inspiring.[7] They also included two of the Shirelles' songs, "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" and "Tonight's the Night", on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. In the 2010 edition, "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" was ranked 126th, while "Tonight's the Night" was ranked 409th.[34] The Shirelles' 1963 Greatest Hits album was included in Robert Christgau's "Basic Record Library" of 1950s and 1960s recordings, published in Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981).[35]
In September 2008, the Shirelles' hometown of Passaic honored the group by renaming a section of Paulison Avenue between Passaic and Pennington Avenues (the section where Passaic High School is located) "Shirelles Boulevard". The dedication ceremony was attended by both surviving Shirelles. Owens said that it was different from they were inducted into the Hall of Fame, as it was their home town. She noted that "the people who loves [sic] us and we loved are right here."[36]
In 2022, their debut album Tonight's the Night was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Recording Registry as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".[1]
Stage musical[edit]
The Shirelles' story was shown in Baby It's You! (a musical revue written by Floyd Mutrux and Colin Escott), which follows the story of Greenberg and Scepter Records.[37] The revue played on Broadway for 148 performances, opening at the Broadhurst Theatre on April 27, 2011, and closing on September 4 of the same year.[38] The use of their likenesses without permission led to Lee, as well as the estates of Coley and Harris, to sue Warner Bros.[22]