Like Darlene Love and Cissy Houston, Dee Dee Warwick's considerable gifts as a soul singer were mostly confined to session work. And like Aretha Franklin's sisters, Dee Dee had to struggle with the shadow of a superstar sibling, Dionne Warwick. Certainly she had the talent to compete as an artist in her own right, but she only had a sporadic run... [+] Read More

Yes No

Strictly speaking, Phil Spector wasn't even a performer -- he's a musician, but he very rarely released records under his name. However, as a producer -- and, to a significant extent, songwriter, label owner, and session player -- he has influenced the course of rock & roll for more than all but a handful of performers. The Wall of Sound that he... [+] Read More

Yes No

Ronnie Spector, born Veronica Bennett on August 10, 1943, in New York, NY, became famous as a member of the Ronettes, a girl group featuring her sister Estelle Bennett and cousin Nedra Talley. Her powerful and unique voice was a main strength of the band, as was their exotic and glamorous look. The group began as dancers at the Peppermint Lounge... [+] Read More

Yes No

One of the very first girl groups, the Chantels are best-known for their 1957 hit "Maybe." Between 1957 and 1963, the trio racked up a number of hit singles, but none of them was ever as popular as "Maybe," which came to be regarded as one of the definitive singles of the genre.

All five members of the Chantels -- Arlene Smith, Lois... [+] Read More

Yes No

One of the best early-'60s New York girl groups, combining sassiness and innocence on several of the style's greatest classics. The Chiffons had some singles under their belt when they reached number one with "He's So Fine," whose classic "doo-lang, doo-lang" riff was appropriated by George Harrison in 1970 for his own chart-topper, "My Sweet... [+] Read More

Yes No

Among aficionados of the girl group sound, there can't be five acts more beloved than the Crystals. Their best-known songs, which include "He's a Rebel," "Uptown," "Da Doo Ron Ron," "Then He Kissed Me," and "There's No Other Like My Baby," are among the finest examples of the best that American rock & roll had to offer in the period before the... [+] Read More

Yes No

The Jelly Beans were a mixed voice quintet (later a quartet) comprised of one man (Charles Thomas) and four women (Alma Brewer, Diane Taylor, Elyse Herbert, Maxine Herbert) who got together while attending high school in Jersey City, NJ. That was where their manager discovered them in 1963, and he brought them to the attention of songwriters... [+] Read More

Yes No

The Ronettes weren't the most commercially successful girl group, but their music was some of the most groundbreaking in the field, thanks to their association with the legendary Wall of Sound producer Phil Spector. Their biggest hit, "Be My Baby," is widely regarded as one of the crowning achievements of Spector's oeuvre, and of girl-group pop... [+] Read More

Yes No