In the 1960s, social norms around race were heavily contested by a peak in racial violence. In response, Black music at the time became the soundtrack for desegregation, the Civil Rights Movement, and life within Black communities. Simultaneously, the women’s movement challenged gendered social norms and sexist boundaries that limited women’s opportunities. Due to their race and gender, Black female artists faced oppressive circumstances that influenced their treatment in the popular music industry. Black girl groups had to confront prevailing stereotypes of Black women being “mammies, whores, and sluts,” and subjugated to white beauty standards.1 Despite these barriers, Black girl groups garnered mass popularity in America. For example, students at the University of Maryland enjoyed listening to their songs through the WMUC airwaves and even had the Shirelles perform for the homecoming dance.
A Brief History of Girl Groups
Traces of the first girl groups date back to the 1920s. In the 1960s, several notable Black girl groups such as The Supremes, The Shirelles, The Ronettes, and The Crystals rose to prominence, gaining massive amounts of fame within the music industry. Most girl groups during this time period were comprised of young women—typically aged 13–17 at initial formation—who played an integral role in their image, as well as the lyricism and titles of their released hits. The lyrics written for the groups upheld the “teen girl” stereotypes of romance and love, allowing for commodification and exploitation of the female adolescent’s image within the media.2 Girl groups’ appearances in the 1960s lacked individuality. The concept of “leaderless conformity” highlights how girl groups such as The Supremes and Shirelles often appeared identical on certain covers, with matching outfits, identical hairstyles, and synchronized choreography.3
Song Analysis: “Be My Baby” and “Shout” by the Ronettes
Common elements in Black girl groups are reflected in the Ronettes’ 1966 performances of “Be My Baby” and “Shout” on The Big T.N.T. Show. All the members are wearing long bell-bottomed pantsuits and kitten heels. They also have the same teased beehive hairdo and cat eye mascara.
The lyrics of “Be My Baby” exemplify the teen-romance stereotypes common in girl group songs. Lines such as “the night we met, I knew I needed you” and “for every kiss you give me, I’ll give you three” align with heteronormative cliches that girls are supposed to fall in love more quickly and harder than their crushes.4 The chorus of the song exemplifies teenage girls’ desire for their feelings to be reciprocated by their crush. The song has an innocent quality, reflecting the naïveté of a young girl. The arraignment utilizes the “wall of sound” technique, a production style popularized and developed by Phil Spector and the Wrecking Crew.5 There is a pronounced reverb present in both the vocals and instrumentation, resulting in a full sound. Horns, bass, and drums are the primary instruments used in this live performance. The lyrics lack overt references to sexual intercourse and center on romantic yearning. Girls during this period were sexualized for the male gaze and unable to have personal agency over their own sexuality. They were deprived of their sexual image as there was an expectation that a girl should be submissive, chaste, and sexually appealing exclusively to men.6
The song “Shout” uses call-and-response, which is a noted musical element of Black Gospel music.7 This element is disguised as audience participation, making this racialized element more accessible to non-Black audience members. Further audience participation is encouraged by the Ronettes by singing “clap your hands,” and the audience’s handclapping adds another percussive element to the song.8 Within this one live performance, the Ronettes reflected an aspect of their Black heritage through “Shout” and their femininity through the love song, “Be My Baby.”
Radio Stations and Charts
The early American popular music industry was largely segregated in terms of race. During the 1920s through the early 1940s, recordings made by Black artists were classified as “race records,” therefore separated from the recordings by white artists, which were classified as either “pop” or “hillbilly.”9 Segregated charts resulted in the limitation of white listeners’ access to Black artists, rendering the music of Black artists to a small listener base. The term “race record” was eventually replaced with “Rhythm and Blues” or “R&B” by Jerry Wexler during his time working for Billboard magazine. For girl groups, the neutral labeling of their sound bypassed the racialized notions of rhythm & blues by using the gendered term “girl.” To avoid being relegated solely to Black stations, girl groups would attempt to “cross over” to white stations as a way to expand their listener base and enter multiple charts.10
While navigating racial structures, girl groups also had to confront sexism. The 1960s were the later period of “Black Appeal radio,” where local stations that were dedicated to Black music were hosted by mainly Black male disc jockeys.11 When a radio jockey was a Black woman, they typically would cover domestic topics rather than music, or they co-hosted with a man.12 White owners centralized Black music stations through the use of pre-planned playlists and merging Black-appeal stations into five soul music radio chains.13 Music made by Black girl groups had to appeal to white male station owners, Black and white male disc jockeys, and a multiracial public. They had to fit within Black and white conceptions of femininity to be considered for airplay.
By softening more racialized aspects of their sound and topics, and subverting stereotypes of their appearance, Black girl groups could have a space in both white and Black music stations.14
Girl Group Activity @ UMD
The University of Maryland’s South Campus is the proud home of the WMUC radio station. This map provides a visual of where the WMUC is located, and can also be used to explore other girl group related activity occurring both on campus and in College Park.
Managers and Group Dynamics
Managers during this time period often overshadowed the success of their clients by serving as spokespeople. In the popular press, there would be little recognition of the artists themselves, but there would be entire paragraphs emphasizing managers, their responsibilities, and their contributions to their artists’ achievements. In our search of magazines and media related to 1960s girl groups and their experiences, a significant lack of coverage was found, despite their contemporaneous popularity. Rather, the articles that did feature Black girl groups only briefly discussed the ensemble, then quickly pivoted to the management boasting about how they were responsible for the fame their clients received.
Bacas, “ Top Tunes— Mama Said,” The Evening Star, c. 1961, SCPA.
The image above highlights how little girl groups were discussed in articles about them. The pink highlights show text in which The Shirelles are discussed, the purple is a mix of both managers and singers, and the blue shows how much space was dedicated to management.
“Top Tunes—Mama Said,” an artist profile on the Shirelles, was released by the Evening Star.15 Though appearing to be a feature on The Shirelles, the article only mentions the artists for a few short paragraphs before shifting focus to their management, Scepter Records. An artist profile can be an opportunity for members to have some agency over their image. By reducing the members’ voices in their own profile, their self-determination is limited, leaving them vulnerable to having ideals projected on them. Gendered expectations of the Shirelles are evident in the way they are framed as good girls, not deviating from social expectations. Scepter’s recording director, Luther Dixon, states:
“Unlike some other groups, they are not temperamental, they’re not wild and they always arrive on time.”16
A further example of the focus on male management is seen in a magazine article titled “Phil’s Fillies.” Instead of the article directly crediting the artists, the first sentence states that girl groups were raised to a “new peak” because of Phil Spector, implying that only he was able to achieve this “with” The Crystals and Ronettes, rather than stating that the Crystals and Ronettes achieved this success with the help of Phil Spector.17 This article’s title, while intended to be a witty play on words, describes the Crystals and Ronettes as “fillies,” a term describing young female horses. While this title is from a 1984 publication, it could demonstrate continued influence in terms of how girl groups were perceived and represented in relation to their management.
Oberman, “The Sure-Fire Trilogy—Spector, Gordy, Blavat,” The Diamondback, October 7, 1966, SCUA.
The 1966 Diamondback article “The Sure-Fire Trilogy—Spector, Gordy, Blavat” highlights the talents of managers Phil Spector and Berry Gordy, as well as disc jockey Jerry Blavat. These three men received more praise and recognition for their contributions, even though the article stated that “they would be virtual[ly] nowhere men were it not for airplay of [girl groups’] records.”18 While this article’s stated purpose is to discuss the three men rather than artists themselves, the fact that even this article states that the men would be “nowhere” without the girl groups’ popularity is significant.19 The Shirelles were one of the top vocal groups and constantly sold best-selling records. Even an article biased in the title towards the “sure-fire” trilogy of managers recognized that the girl groups themselves were a key ingredient to success.20
Case Study: The Shirelles @ UMD
On Saturday, October 27, 1962, The Les Elgert Orchestra and The Shirelles performed for the University of Maryland’s Homecoming Dance from 9:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. As reported in The Diamondback, “The Shirelles were obtained for $1,175, which was $225 less than their normal rate by Wayne Robertson, homecoming chairman.”21 That year, the homecoming committee was allocated $4,300 to spend; therefore the committee had sufficient funds to pay the Shirelles.22 Interestingly, the group was underpaid while also being highly praised and used for the main advertisement for the event’s drawing power. The article describes The Shirelles as “one of the top vocal groups in the country,” and mentions how each girl can “sing lead without the group losing the ‘Shirelle sound.’”23 Another Diamondback advertisement describes the Shirelles as a “best-selling rock and roll group.”24 The promotional graphic for the advertisement shows The Shirelles, not the Les Elgert Orchestra. Despite their name and image being used for student interest, The Shirelles were intentionally underpaid.
“$3,000 In Bands to Play at Homecoming Dance,” The Diamondback, October 24, 1962, SCUA.
Other advertisements for the dance focus on the Les Elgart Orchestra and notably doesn’t use a photograph of them, despite them being considered the main act.25
In spite of the excitement on campus for the performance, the festiveness was greatly dampened by the poor execution of the event. An attendee of the homecoming dance, Judith Prichard, noted that the conditions of the event were subpar, stating:
“It is my opinion that if a university as large as Maryland is going to go all at the expense of hiring a big band, it should at least provide the atmosphere and surroundings that are desirable and generally expected. This includes a nice dance floor (one that has been at least been dusted if not waxed), decorations, proper ventilation, and chairs and tables around the rim of the dance floor.”26
Through using the members’ images for advertising, underpaying them despite having sufficient funds, and making them perform in a less-than-ideal venue, the Shirelles were effectively exploited. The University of Maryland—a predominantly white institution—would have had ample power to provide better treatment towards the Shirelles. While this shortcoming could be attributed to the homecoming committee, students like Prichard argued that such a shortcoming is a further extension of the image of the school, pointing to a contemporaneous awareness of social structures.
Despite Black girl groups of the 1960s garnering massive popularity, they encountered oppression and exploitation within the music industry. Additionally, these groups had to navigate an industry that was designed against them during a time when these issues were not publicly disclosed. Girl groups also had to face and challenge the way mass media portrayed Black women’s image, treatment, and hardships relating to performances. Other systems, such as popular music charts, radio stations, and management, dictated what these girl groups could and could not be. Groups attempted to bypass limitations by de-racializing their image, adopting a conformist image, and using heteronormative tropes in their music. Their rebellion against oppressive structures is rooted in their international success, dominating the charts with their hits year after year. Members of girl groups deserve to be at the forefront of popular music history. Their lives, voices, and contributions should not be eclipsed by the men who used them.
Bibliography
Primary Sources
Bacas, Harry. “Top Tunes– ‘Mama Said.’’ The Evening Star. circa 1961. Box 9: Artists Bios: Washington Star Teen Section Biographies: M-Z [2 of 2]. Folder 7–8. Series 6: Research Materials. Hugo Keesing Collection on Popular Music and Culture. Special Collections in Performing Arts, Michelle Smith Performing Arts Library, University of Maryland Libraries.
“$3,000 In Bands to Play at Homecoming Dance.” The Diamondback. October 24, 1962. Digital Collections, University of Maryland Libraries. https://digital.lib.umd.edu/student-newspapers-old/id/47ed9fc9-01c4-42d7-a416-b6a383053462?query=%22The%20Shirelles%22
“Homecoming,” 36–39. In Terrapin, co-edited by Janice Montgomery and John F. Rogers. Vol. 61. Undergraduate Student Body of the University of Maryland, 1962. Yearbooks. Digital Collections, University of Maryland Libraries.
“Homecoming Tickets Go On Sale On Monday.” The Diamondback. October 5, 1962. Digital Collections, University of Maryland Libraries. https://digital.lib.umd.edu/student-newspapers-old/id/f52d259f-c2ed-4c94-bb18-107bb4bfe2fc
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Obermon, Mike. “The Sure-Fire Trilogy–Spector, Gordy, Blavat.” The Diamondback. October 7, 1966. Digital Collections, University of Maryland Libraries. https://digital.lib.umd.edu/student-newspapers-old/id/75722e4d-527a-4953-ac28-44b54ae0d951?relpath=pcdm&query=The%20Supremes
Brown, Geoff. “Phil’s Fillies.” The History of Rock– The Spector Sound (1984): 513–515. Box 44, Folder 14. Series 4: Periodicals 1969–1996. Hugo Keesing Collection on Popular Music and Culture. Special Collections in Performing Arts, Michelle Smith Performing Arts Library, University of Maryland Libraries.
Prichard, Judith. “Backtalk.” The Diamondback. November 1, 1962. Digital Collections, University of Maryland Libraries. https://digital.lib.umd.edu/student-newspapers-old/id/fa369d7d-9f9f-46fa-8194-d859053ee6f7?relpath=pcdm
SGA Allocations 1961–1964. Box 1. Folder 12. Series 1: Student Activities, 1962–1978. Robert O. Felter Class of 1966 Collection. Special Collections and University Archives, Hornbake Library, University of Maryland Libraries.
The Ronettes. “Be My Baby and Shout.” Performed on The Big T.N.T. Show in Los Angeles, California. 1966. Rohan Vilchez, posted on January 16, 2018. Video of live performance. https://youtu.be/_3QA2ATgIb0
WMUC. The Terp Top Twenty. April 20, 1967. Box 13, Folder 1: Radio Station-Historical Information & Documents, 1961–1987 and Undated. Series 1: Administrative Records, 1948–2011. WMUC Records. Special Collections and University Archives, Hornbake Library, University of Maryland Libraries.
WMUC. WMUC Top 100 of the 1968–1969 School Year. Box 3, Folder 4, Series 1: Administrative Records, 1948–2011. WMUC Records. Special Collections and University Archives, Hornbake Library, University of Maryland Libraries.
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