K SPECIAL VA - The 225 Greatest Girl Group Songs: 1954-1970 (Updated Expanded Remastered Super Deluxe Edition) [2024] (8 x CDs)

K SPECIAL

VA - The 225 Greatest Girl Group Songs: 1954-1970 (Updated Expanded Remastered Super Deluxe Edition) [2024] (8 x CDs)

Happy New Year to BB and all his visitors!

What better way to kick off the new year than with this all singing all dancing celebration of 70 years since the beginning of the golden age of girl groups. Here is my fully revised, expanded and remastered edition of the greatest girl group songs recorded and released in the original classic 1954-1970 era.

This newly updated set includes many better sounding and higher quality remasters, plus I have now expanded this compilation by another 100 songs making a 225 track collection.

VA - The 225 Greatest Girl Group Songs: 1954-1970 (Updated Expanded Remastered Super Deluxe Edition) [2024] (8 x CDs)

A girl group is a music act featuring several female singers who generally harmonize together. The term "girl group" is also used in a narrower sense in the United States to denote the wave of American female pop music singing groups, many of whom were influenced by doo-wop and which flourished in the late 1950s and early 1960s between the decline of early rock and roll and start of the British Invasion. All-female bands, in which members also play instruments, are usually considered a separate phenomenon. These groups are sometimes called "girl bands" to differentiate, although this terminology is not universally followed.

With the advent of the music industry and radio broadcasting, a number of girl groups emerged, such as the Andrews Sisters. The late 1950s saw the emergence of all-female singing groups as a major force, with 750 distinct girl groups releasing songs that reached US and UK music charts from 1960 to 1966. The Supremes alone held 12 number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100 during the height of the wave and throughout most of the British Invasion rivaled the Beatles in popularity.

In later eras, the girl group template would be applied to disco, contemporary R&B, and country-based formats, as well as pop. A more globalized music industry gave rise to the popularity of dance-oriented pop music led by major record labels. This emergence, led by the US, UK, South Korea, and Japan, produced popular acts, with eight groups debuting after 1990 having sold more than 15 million physical copies of their albums. With the Spice Girls, the 1990s also saw the target market for girl groups shift from a male audience to an increasingly female one.

1954-1970: The golden age of girl groups

As the rock era began, close harmony acts like the Chordettes, the Fontane Sisters, the McGuire Sisters and the DeCastro Sisters remained popular, with the first three acts topping the pop charts and the last reaching number two, at the end of 1954 to the beginning of 1955. Also, the Lennon Sisters were a mainstay on the Lawrence Welk Show from 1955 on. In early 1956, doo-wop one-hit wonder acts like the Bonnie Sisters with "Cry Baby" and the Teen Queens with "Eddie My Love" showed early promise for a departure from traditional pop harmonies. With "Mr. Lee", the Bobbettes lasted for 5+1⁄2 months on the charts in 1957, building momentum and gaining further acceptance of all-female, all-black vocal groups.

However, it was the Chantels' 1958 song "Maybe" that became "arguably, the first true glimmering of the girl group sound". The "mixture of black doo-wop, straight beat rock and roll, and white pop" was appealing to a teenage audience and grew from scandals involving payola and the perceived social effects of rock music. However, early groups such as the Chantels started developing their groups' musical capacities traditionally, through mediums like Latin and choir music. The success of the Chantels and others was followed by an enormous rise in girl groups with varying skills and experience, with the music industry's typical racially segregated genre labels of R&B and pop slowly breaking apart. This rise also allowed a semblance of class mobility to groups of people who often could not otherwise gain such success, and "forming vocal groups together and cutting records gave them access to other opportunities toward professional advancement and personal growth, expanding the idea of girlhood as an identity across race and class lines." The group often considered to have achieved the first sustained success in girl group genre is the Shirelles, who first reached the Top 40 with "Tonight's the Night", and in 1961 became the first girl group to reach number one on the Hot 100 with "Will You Love Me Tomorrow", written by songwriters Gerry Goffin and Carole King at 1650 Broadway. The Shirelles solidified their success with five more top 10 hits, most particularly 1962's number one hit "Soldier Boy", over the next two and a half years. "Please Mr. Postman" by the Marvelettes became a major indication of the racial integration of popular music, as it was the first number one song in the US for African-American owned label, Motown Records. Motown would mastermind several major girl groups, including Martha and the Vandellas, the Velvelettes, and the Supremes.

Other songwriters and producers in the US and UK quickly recognized the potential of this new approach and recruited existing acts (or, in some cases, created new ones) to record their songs in a girl-group style. Phil Spector recruited the Crystals, the Blossoms, and the Ronettes, while Goffin and King penned two hit songs for the Cookies. Phil Spector made a huge impact on the ubiquity of the girl group, as well as bringing fame and notoriety to new heights for many girl groups. Phil Spector's so-called Wall of Sound, which used layers of instruments to create a more potent sound allowed girl groups to sing powerfully and in different styles than earlier generations. Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller would likewise foster the Exciters, the Dixie Cups, and the Shangri-Las. The Shangri-Las' hit single, "Leader of the Pack", exemplified the "'death disc' genre" adopted by some girl groups. These songs usually told the story of teenage love cut short by the death of one of the young lovers.

The Paris Sisters had success from 1961 to 1964, especially with "I Love How You Love Me". The Sensations, the Chiffons, the Angels, and the Orlons were also prominent in the early 1960s. In early fall 1963 one-hit wonder the Jaynetts' "Sally Go 'Round the Roses" achieved a mysterious sound quite unlike that of any other girl group. In 1964, the one-hit wonder group the Murmaids took David Gates' "Popsicles and Icicles" to the top 3 in January, the Carefrees' "We Love You Beatles" scraped the top 40 in April, and the Jewels' "Opportunity" was a small hit in December.

Over 750 girl groups were able to chart a song between 1960 and 1966 in the US and UK, although the genre's reach was not as strongly felt in the music industries of other regions. As the youth culture of western Continental Europe was deeply immersed in Yé-yé, recording artists of East Asia mostly varied from traditional singers, government-sponsored chorus, or multi-cultural soloists and bands, while bossa nova was trendy in Latin America. Beat music's global influence eventually pushed out girl groups as a genre and, except for a small number of the foregoing groups and possibly the Toys and the Sweet Inspirations, the only girl groups with any significant chart presence from the beginning of the British Invasion through 1970 were Motown girl groups with the Supremes being the only girl group to score number one hits. The distinct girl group sound would not re-emerge until the 21st century, where it would influence modern-day English-speaking pop-soul soloists who have been met with international success, such as Amy Winehouse, Adele, Duffy and Melanie Fiona among others. In addition to influencing individual singers, this generation of girl groups cemented the girl group form and sentiment and provided inspiration for many future groups.

After considerable and extensive online research, plus my own recollections and memories, here is my personal compilation of what I consider to be the 225 greatest girl group songs from the original golden age era of 1954-1970.

This fully packed 8CD set contains many extremely rare tracks. I put in hundreds of hours of research into compiling this collection and paid particular close attention into how the original singles were released, using many hard to find correct 7" single versions, edits and mono mixes.

* Referring back to albrecht koschnik's comment; all the Shangri-Las tracks included here are the original 7" mono 45 single versions.

Only the original studio versions are included. No later remixes, re-recordings or live versions here! Compiled as always using the very latest and highest quality digital remasters, with a considerable amount of tracks sourced from the original master tapes for superior sound quality and enjoyment.

Almost 10 hours of the greatest girl group songs ever recorded!

K

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Track lists

01 The Ronettes - Be My Baby 2:39

02 The Supremes - You Can't Hurry Love 2:54

03 The Shirelles - Will You Love Me Tomorrow 2:41

04 The Dixie Cups - Chapel of Love 2:46

05 The Supremes - You Keep Me Hangin' On 2:47

06 The Crystals - Then He Kissed Me 2:39

07 Martha and the Vandellas - Heat Wave 2:48

08 The Supremes - Where Did Our Love Go 2:33

09 Martha and the Vandellas - Dancing in the Street 2:40

10 The Shangri-Las - Remember (Walking in the Sand) 2:14

11 The Supremes - Baby Love 2:36

12 Martha and the Vandellas - Nowhere to Run 2:52

13 The Shangri-Las - Leader of the Pack 2:50

14 The Ronettes - Baby, I Love You 2:50

15 The Chiffons - He's So Fine 1:52

16 Martha and the Vandellas - Jimmy Mack 2:53

17 The Marvelettes - Please Mr. Postman 2:30

18 The Crystals - Da Doo Ron Ron 2:18

19 The Supremes - Stop! In the Name of Love 2:53

20 The Angels - My Boyfriend's Back 2:36

21 The Ronettes - Walking in the Rain 3:14

22 The Supremes - Come See About Me 2:41

23 The Shirelles - Tonight's the Night 1:57

24 The Supremes - My World Is Empty Without You 2:35

25 The Crystals - He's a Rebel 2:31

26 The Shirelles - Dedicated to the One I Love 2:04

27 The Cookies - Chains 2:32

28 The Chiffons - One Fine Day 2:07

29 Diana Ross & The Supremes - Reflections 2:52

30 The Crystals - Uptown 2:23

31 The Marvelettes - Beechwood 4-5789 2:11

32 The Shirelles - Soldier Boy 2:42

33 The Poni-Tails - Born Too Late 2:16

34 The Exciters - Tell Him 2:31

35 Martha and the Vandellas - Come and Get These Memories 2:28

36 The Supremes - I Hear a Symphony 2:42

37 The Marvelettes - Don't Mess with Bill 2:49

38 The Shangri-Las - Past, Present and Future 2:41

39 The Chiffons - Sweet Talkin' Guy 2:20

40 Martha and the Vandellas - Quicksand 2:46

41 The Marvelettes - Too Many Fish in the Sea 2:27

42 The Supremes - When the Lovelight Starts Shining Through His Eyes 3:06

43 The Shirelles - Boys 2:11

44 The Ronettes - Do I Love You? 2:55

45 Diana Ross & The Supremes - Love Child 2:59

46 The Shangri-Las - I Can Never Go Home Anymore 3:16

47 The Tammys - Egyptian Shumba 2:27

48 The Shirelles - Baby It's You 2:41

49 The Velvelettes - He Was Really Sayin' Somethin' 2:28

50 Diana Ross & The Supremes - Someday We'll Be Together 3:26

51 The Ronettes - I Can Hear Music 3:17

52 The Supremes - Back in My Arms Again 2:57

53 The Ronettes - (The Best Part of) Breakin' Up 3:02

54 The Marvelettes - The Hunter Gets Captured by the Game 2:49

55 The Exciters - Do-Wah-Diddy 2:25

56 The Ronettes - You Came, You Saw, You Conquered 2:48

57 The Marvelettes - I'll Keep Holding On 2:27

58 The Supremes - Love Is Here and Now You're Gone 2:49

59 The Shangri-Las - Give Him a Great Big Kiss 2:08

60 The Girlfriends - My One and Only, Jimmy Boy 2:18

61 The Chantels - Maybe 2:53

62 The Chordettes - Lollipop 2:07

63 The Orlons - Don't Hang Up 2:19

64 The Bobbettes - Mr. Lee 2:14

65 The Velvelettes - Needle In a Haystack 2:31

66 The Angels - Cry, Baby, Cry 2:50

67 The Toys - A Lover's Concerto 2:41

68 The Crystals - He's Sure the Boy I Love 2:45

69 The Exciters - He's Got the Power 2:22

70 Martha and the Vandellas - Third Finger, Left Hand 2:46

71 The Shirelles - Mama Said 2:08

72 Patti LaBelle and the Bluebelles - I Sold My Heart to the Junkman 2:25

73 The Cinderellas - Baby, Baby (I Still Love You) 2:37

74 The Marvelettes - The Day You Take One (You Have to Take the Other) 2:44

75 The Blossoms - That's When the Tears Start 2:25

76 The Paris Sisters - I Love How You Love Me 2:05

77 The Yum Yums - Gonna Be a Big Thing 2:27

78 Reparata and the Delrons - Whenever a Teenager Cries 2:49

79 The Murmaids - Popsicles and Icicles 2:31

80 Gigi and the Charmaines - I Don't Wanna Lose Him 2:26

81 Kelli and the Kittens - What Mama Don't Know 1:54

82 The Blossoms - Stoney End 3:13

83 The Hearts - Lonely Nights 2:37

84 The Orlons - Mama Didn't Lie 2:05

85 The Chantels - The Plea 2:56

86 The Honey Bees - One Wonderful Night 2:19

87 The Blossoms - Lover Boy 2:22

88 The Shirelles - Foolish Little Girl 2:19

89 The Jelly Beans - I Wanna Love Him So Bad 2:40

90 The Crystals - There's No Other (Like My Baby) 2:30

91 The Cookies - Don't Say Nothin' Bad (About My Baby) 2:45

92 Candy and the Kisses - The 81 2:31

93 The Rag Dolls - Society Girl 2:54

94 The Jaynettes - Sally Go Round the Roses 3:01

95 The Chantels - He's Gone 2:28

96 The Dixie Cups - Iko Iko 2:01

97 The Chordettes - Mr. Sandman 2:25

98 The Toys - Can't Get Enough of You Baby 2:43

99 The Breakaways - He Doesn't Love Me 1:58

100 The Orlons - The Wah-Watusi 2:35

101 The Raindrops - The Kind of Boy You Can't Forget 2:10

102 The Bonnie Sisters - Cry Baby 2:26

103 The Hearts - Disappointed Bride 2:25

104 The Chantels - I Love You So 2:19

105 The Cookies - I Never Dreamed 2:36

106 The Crystals - He Hit Me (And It Felt Like a Kiss) 2:32

107 Shirley Gunter and the Queens - Oop Shoop 2:15

108 The Raindrops - What a Guy 2:21

109 The Orlons - South Street 2:12

110 The Angels - 'Til 2:28

111 The Chiffons - I Have a Boyfriend 2:07

112 The Shangri-Las - Out in the Streets 2:47

113 The Cinderellas - Please Don't Wake Me 2:42

114 The Honeys - The One You Can't Have 1:57

115 The Marvelettes - When You're Young and in Love 2:39

116 The Chantels - Look in My Eyes 2:19

117 The Exciters - All Grown Up 2:22

118 Patti LaBelle and the Bluebelles - All or Nothing 2:23

119 The Raindrops - Another Boy Like Mine 2:32

120 The Marvelettes - As Long As I Know He's Mine 2:32

121 The Jelly Beans - Baby Be Mine 3:13

122 The Cake - Baby That's Me 2:47

123 The Avons - Be Good to Your Baby 2:58

124 The Sweethearts - Beauty Is Just Skin Deep 2:13

125 The Tammys - The Big Time 2:49

126 The Velvelettes - A Bird in the Hand (Is Worth Two in the Bush) 2:52

127 The Exciters - Blowin' Up My Mind 2:47

128 The Ronettes - Born to Be Together 2:59

129 The Dynells - Call on Me 2:04

130 The Flirtations - Change My Darkness Into Light 2:50

131 The Marvelettes - Danger Heartbreak Dead Ahead 2:23

132 The Shirelles - Don't Go Home (My Little Darlin') 2:24

133 The Lollipops - Don't Monkey with Me 2:02

134 Annette and the Vonnair Sisters - Dreamin' About You 2:06

135 The Shangri-Las - Dressed in Black 2:49

136 The Charmaines - Eternally 2:24

137 The Chiffons - Every Boy and Every Girl 1:46

138 The Shirelles - Everybody Loves a Lover 2:42

139 The Flirtations - Everybody Needs Somebody (To Love in the End) 2:46

140 Vala Reegan and the Valarons - Fireman 2:41

141 The Chiffons - The First and Last 2:08

142 The Charmaines - G.I. Joe (1966 Fraternity Records 7" Mono Fast Version) 2:31

143 The Shangri-Las - Give Us Your Blessings 3:16

144 Rita and the Tiaras - Gone With the Wind Is My Love 3:09

145 The Blossoms - Good, Good Lovin' 2:46

146 The Sapphires - Gotta Have Your Love 2:14

147 Gigi and the Charmaines - Guilty 2:29

148 The Ronettes - He Did It 2:29

149 The Marvelettes - He's a Good Guy (Yes He Is) 2:34

150 The Mirettes - He's Alright with Me 2:19

151 The Shangri-Las - Heaven Only Knows 2:06

152 The Darlettes - Here She Comes 2:19

153 Martha Reeves and the Vandellas - Honey Chile 2:57

154 The Flirtations - How Can You Tell Me 3:00

155 The Satisfactions - I Didn't Have Any Summer Romance 2:32

156 The Vel-Vets - I Got to Find Me Somebody 2:19

157 The Flirtations - I Wanna Be There 3:05

158 The Ronettes - I Wish I Never Saw the Sunshine 3:51

159 The Ronettes - I Wonder 2:51

160 The What Four - I'm Gonna Destroy That Boy 2:06

161 Martha and the Vandellas - I'm Ready for Love 2:54

162 The Apollas - I'm Under the Influence of Love 2:57

163 The Sapphires - I've Got Mine, You Better Get Yours 2:41

164 Martha and the Vandellas - In My Lonely Room 2:31

165 The Ronettes - Is This What I Get for Loving You? 3:22

166 The Cinderellas - It's a Wonderful Night 2:00

167 The Apollas - Jive Cat 2:50

168 The Apollas - Just Can't Get Enough of You 2:24

169 The Flirtations - Keep on Searching 3:04

170 The Velvelettes - Let Love Live (A Little Bit Longer) 2:36

171 The Crystals - Little Boy 3:04

172 The Marvelettes - Locking Up My Heart 2:24

173 The Velvelettes - Lonely, Lonely Girl Am I 2:11

174 The Yum Yums - Looky Looky (What I've Got) 2:35

175 Martha and the Vandellas - Love (Makes Me Do Foolish Things) 2:55

176 The Supremes - Love Is Like an Itching in My Heart 2:54

177 Martha and the Vandellas - A Love Like Yours (Don't Come Knocking Everyday) 2:30

178 The Apollas - Mr. Creator 2:38

179 Martha and the Vandellas - My Baby Loves Me 3:07

180 The Flirtations - Need Your Loving 2:54

181 The Crystals - No One Ever Tells You 2:20

182 The Chiffons - Nobody Knows What's Going On (In My Mind But Me) 2:26

183 The Apollas - Nobody's Baby (Am I) 2:27

184 The Supremes - Nothing But Heartaches 2:42

185 The Ronettes - Paradise 3:40

186 The Marvelettes - Playboy 2:46

187 The Ivories - Please Stay 2:29

188 The Shangri-Las - Right Now and Not Later 2:38

189 The Spandells - Say No Girl 2:19

190 Ginger and the Snaps - Seven Days in September 2:11

191 The Ronettes - Silhouettes 2:21

192 The Sapphires - The Slow Fizz 2:25

193 The Honey Bees - Some of Your Lovin' 3:13

194 The Marvelettes - Someday, Someway 2:36

195 The Flirtations - Someone Out There 3:02

196 The Chiffons - Stop, Look and Listen 2:46

197 The Marvelettes - Strange I Know 2:38

198 The Sapphires - Thank You for Loving Me 2:30

199 The Orchids - That Boy Is Messin' Up My Mind 2:50

200 The Raindrops - That Boy John 2:13

201 The Velvelettes - These Things Will Keep Me Loving You 2:26

202 Goldie and the Gingerbreads - Think About the Good Times 2:38

203 The Sweethearts - This Couldn't Be Me 2:12

204 The Flirtations - This Must Be the End of the Line 2:56

205 The Shangri-Las - The Train from Kansas City 3:22

206 The Shangri-Las - What's a Girl Supposed to Do 3:02

207 The Flirtations - What's Good About Goodbye My Love 3:06

208 The Four Pennies - When the Boy's Happy (The Girl's Happy Too) 2:14

209 The Sapphires - Who Do You Love? 2:41

210 The Ronettes - Why Don't They Let Us Fall in Love 2:40

211 The Cake - World of Dreams 2:24

212 Patti LaBelle and the Bluebelles - You Forgot How to Love 2:22

213 The Dixie Cups - You Should Have Seen the Way He Looked at Me 2:30

214 The Ronettes - You, Baby 2:57

215 The Apollas - You're Absolutely Right 2:20

216 Martha and the Vandellas - You've Been in Love Too Long 3:00

217 The Fascinations - Girls Are Out to Get You 2:06

218 The Butterflys - Good Night Baby 2:52

219 The Shirelles - I Met Him On a Sunday (Ronde Ronde) 2:15

220 The Royalettes - It's Gonna Take a Miracle 3:15

221 The Dixie Cups - People Say 2:34

222 Reparata and the Delrons - I'm Nobody's Baby Now 2:43

223 The Flirtations - Nothing But a Heartache 2:41

224 The Breakaways - That's How It Goes 2:26

225 The Supremes - Stoned Love 3:00

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