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Shirelles, The

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.

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 baiĆ£o-style 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".

Birth and Death Data: Born Founded 1958, Died Ceased 1982

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1958

Roles Represented in DAHR: Musical group

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Decca 104308 2/7/1958 I met him on a Sunday Shirelles, The Musical group  
Decca 104309 2/7/1958 I want you to be my boyfriend Shirelles, The Musical group  
Decca 104811 4/22/1958 Slop time Shirelles, The Musical group  
Decca 104812 4/22/1958 I got the message Shirelles, The Musical group  
Decca 104813 4/22/1958 My love is a charm Shirelles, The Musical group  
Decca 104814 4/22/1958 Stop me Shirelles, The Musical group  

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Shirelles, The," accessed November 2, 2024, https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/343535.

Shirelles, The. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved November 2, 2024, from https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/343535.

"Shirelles, The." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 2 November 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/343535

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