Girl Groups and their Lead Singers: 1960s Quiz

Answer: Martha Reeves

Martha Rose Reeves was born in 1941 in Eufaula, Alabama as the third of eleven children. The family moved to Detroit, where she grew up active in her grandfather's church and its vibrant musical life. She sang in nightclubs and was discovered by Motown talent agent Mickey Stevenson.

She finagled her way into an office job at the studio, then got her chance behind the mic when Mary Wells didn't show up for a scheduled session and she was ready to step in. She quickly established herself backed by The Del-Phis, a group she'd sang with in the late 1950s. Early sessions produced the songs "Heat Wave" and "Come and Get These Memories." These hits cemented the Vandellas as one of Motown's leading groups, and were followed by "Nowhere To Run," "Quicksand," "Jimmy Mack," and "I'm Ready For Love," among others. "Dancing in the Streets" was their biggest hit, reaching number two on the US charts in 1964.

Despite numerous personnel changes, Martha Reeves was always the leading presence with The Vandellas. Martha has stayed active in later life.

She was an elected council person in Detroit from 2005-2009, and has been an ardent champion of musicians' rights. Martha Reeves and the Vandellas were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1995.

Answer: Diana Ross

The Supremes reigned supreme at Motown Records during the 1960s. They had class, style, stage presence and the singing talent to back it up. And of course they also had Diana Ross, the ultimate diva. In the rigidly orchestrated world of hit making ruled by Berry Gordy, founder of the Motown label, they were anointed as the premier female singing act in the "stable." As a result, they got first crack at the most marketable material, and their records and concert tours received superior promotion. The famous song writing team of Holland/Dozier/Holland was responsible for most of their big hits.

The Supremes began their musical lives as the Primettes in 1959, with Florence Ballard, Mary Wilson and Betty McGlown joining Ross. From 1962-1967, the trio of Ballard, Wilson and Ross was The Supremes. Starting with "Where Did Our Love Go" in early 1964, the Supremes took twelve songs to number one on the Billboard US Hot 100 charts, far and away the most of any female group during the golden age of Rock & Roll. By 1970, the industry was changing. The girl group sound was pretty much played out and Diana Ross went solo. She continued to deliver successful singles and albums while also developing other career paths in acting and producing. She received a best actress Academy Award nomination for 1972's "Lady Sings The Blues," a poignant rendition of legendary 1940s singer Billie Holiday and her tragic life. Diana Ross and the Supremes were enshrined in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1988.

Answer: Shirley Owens

The Shirelles were another great female singing group of the 1960s, often credited with being the pioneers of the genre. The genesis of their name should be obvious. They were four teenage girls from Passaic, New Jersey, who just loved to sing. Shirley Owens was the lead singer with the distinctive voice. Perhaps their best known hit song was "Will You Love Me Tomorrow," penned by Carole King and Jerry Goffin. Given the mature, thoughtful and rather advanced way it addressed the theme of choices facing young lovers, this is an amazing song, especially considering the time it was released (1960).

It was the first song by an all girl group to reach number one in the United States. The group had several other top ten hits including "Mama Said" (1960), "Baby It's You" (1961), and "Soldier Boy" (1962), the latter of which also went to the top of the charts. Like many of the girl groups, their career as hit makers was relatively short lived, as British Invasion guitar groups started dominating the charts after the Beatles hit the USA.

Answer: Barbara Ann Hawkins

The Dixie Cups were a trio consisting of sisters Barbara Anne and Rosa Lee Hawkins, along with their cousin Joan Johnson. They all grew up in New Orleans and were singing together in grade school. Their debut single was "Chapel Of Love," which rose all the way to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in June of 1964. They never scored another number one hit, but did have a productive career and several other hits including "The People Say" and "Iko Iko." At one point they went by the name Little Miss and the Muffets, but fortunately some record executive changed that just before they released "Chapel Of Love." That song was written by crack Brill Building songwriters Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich, with Phil Spector collaborating, and it was originally intended for Spector's prize group, the Ronettes.

Many of these girl groups have had lasting legacies and loyal fan bases which has enabled them to come back and perform with varying degrees of success in their later years. The Dixie Cups, still featuring the Hawkins sisters, performed to large and enthusiastic crowds at the prestigious New Orleans Jazz Fest in 2010, more than 40 years after their initial run as hit makers.

Answer: Barbara Alston/Darlene Love

Most people identify Darlene Love as the lead singer of The Crystals. Based out of New York, they were another of the seminal and influential girl groups of the early 1960s. The biggest irony in their story is that their only number one hit, "He's a Rebel'" wasn't even them on the record.

The song was originally written by Gene Pitney for The Shirelles, who turned it down as too edgy. It was produced by the legendary "Wall of Sound" maestro Phil Spector (see Ronettes), who was not above manipulating his artists to further his musical vision and personal success. Concerned that another version of the song by Vicki Carr would beat him onto the charts, he rushed Darlene Love and her group, The Blossoms, into his Los Angeles studio and recorded the song, then released it (in October of 1962) under the name "The Crystals," who were under contract with him. Because it was such a smash, The Crystals were always expected to perform the tune at live shows, which they did reluctantly. Love and The Blossoms were also the artists on the follow up from early 1963, "He's Sure the Boy I Love." Group member Barbara Alston actually sang lead on The Crystals' first two top forty hits "There's No Other" (1961) and "Uptown" (1962). Delores "La La" Brooks took lead on their final top forty hit, 1963's "Then He Kissed Me."

Answer: Judy Craig/Sylvia Peterson

The Chiffons, formed in 1960 and hailing from the Bronx, NY, burst on the music scene into the big time in 1963 with their biggest hit, "He's So Fine." The tune, which made number one, was written by Ronald Mack, who did the legwork getting the song on the air, and refused to let the group give up despite their lack of initial motivation to "make it." They had so much fun making the record and seeing the result, that they committed to their career, becoming one of the more successful groups of the era. Their other top ten hits were "One Fine Day," written by Carol King and "Sweet Talkin' Guy," from 1966.

Other group members were Patricia Bennett, Barbara Lee, and Sylvia Patterson, with Craig handling most of the lead work. They were on the bill for the Beatles' first US tour in 1964. "We opened for them at the Washington Coliseum. It was so chaotic. Everyone would just do their show and get out." - Judy Craig ("One Fine Voice" NJ.com). Most of these girl groups toured with and became friends with a wide variety of male acts and performers, and they were thrust into a music business even more dominated by males than it is today. This sometimes resulted in exploitation of the young female singers, with many of the women experiencing professional burnout or worse, and groups often not receiving promised royalties or compensation commensurate with the income they generated.

Answer: Gladys Horton/Wanda Young

One of the more underrated groups, the Marvelletes produced many hits and other lesser known gems during their checkered career. Before being eclipsed by the Supremes, they were considered Motown's top female group. As such they worked with many of the label's stars, such as Smokey Robinson and Marvin Gaye.

The latter was the drummer on most of their early hits. Two group members married into the Motown family; Georgianna Tillman with Billy Gordon of the Contours, and Wanda Young with Bobby Rogers of the Miracles. Horton was the lead singer on their earlier songs, including their breakthrough hit, "Please Mr. Postman," which hit number one in December of 1961, and "Playboy" which got to number seven in 1962.

However, she suffered from severe stage fright, and Young often took all the leads during live shows.

When the group made something of a comeback in 1966-1968, Young was the lead singer on "Don't mess With Bill" (number seven -1966), "The Hunter Gets Captured by the Game" (number 13-1967), and "When You're Young and in Love" (number 17-1967).

Answer: Mary Weiss

"The leader of the pack...(vroom, vroom)...look out, look out, look out..." Who can forget one of the great teen tragedy songs of all time? - the angst filled teen age girl, the rebel boyfriend she must break up with, then he takes off too fast on his motorcycle and dies in a wreck. A follow up to "Remember (Walking in the Sand)", "The Leader of the Pack" was the Shangri-Las' biggest hit, reaching number one for a week in October 1964. It even inspired a goofy comedy answer song entitled "The Leader of the Laundromat" by The Detergents. The Shangri-Las were two pairs of sisters; Mary and Betty Weiss, and twins Mary Ann and Marge Ganser. Mary was the blonde with the come hither look and the combination of innocence and defiance in her voice and attitude. She was only fifteen when they performed with the Beatles and also toured with the Rolling Stones in the fall of 1964. They were all minors so their parents had to sign their first record deal with Red Bird Records in April of that year.

The group had a persistent reputation as the "bad girls" of the era, supposedly inspiring and influencing later punk-rock era bands like Blondie, The New York Dolls, and The Go-Gos, who covered some of their songs. One of my favorite rumors, which Mary Weiss never totally denied, has her fending off an intruder in her hotel room while on tour, buying a gun for protection, then being put on an FBI watch list for transporting the weapon across state lines. Gotta love Rock & Roll.

Answer: Patti LaBelle

Philadelphia born Patricia Louise Holt, stage name Patti Labelle, defied the stereotype of the young, vulnerable girl group singer who gets used up by the heartless music industry. In a fifty year career, she has become her own business. Along the way she shepherded her 1960s group The Bluebelles into and through the disco era, sold more than fifty million records, earned multiple Grammy awards, and was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Without exaggeration, her bio lists her as singer, songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. She's appeared on stage, in her own television show, and in movies, for example as Big Mary in "A Soldiers Story"(1984).

Patti and the Bluebelles had a few minor hits in the 1960s, most notably "I Sold My Heart to the Junkman." Her big break came in 1974 when the group signed with Epic Records and made an album with New Orleans musician Allen Toussaint producing. He jazzed up their sound and changed their name to Labelle. The album, "Nightbirds," featured the number one single "Lady Marmelade," and got them on the cover of "Rolling Stone" magazine.

Answer: Ronnie Spector

Veronica Yvette Bennett was born August 10, 1943. As much as anyone, she literally survived Rock & Roll and came out the other side. She was married to record producer Phil Spector from 1968-1974, and he was certainly the force responsible for her career as a singer. Phil Spector is presently serving nineteen years to life in prison for the 2003 murder of actress Lana Clarkson, and Ronnie describes her time with him as being held captive in his Los Angeles mansion. Whether the sad and sordid unraveling of his life diminishes the appreciation of his musical productions is debatable. The power and innovation of his unprecedented "Wall of Sound" recording technique is not, and "Be My Baby," the 1963 number two hit from The Ronettes, remains its signature example. The song is credited, legitimately, to Spector as well as Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich, who actually wrote the words and music. In 2004, "Rolling Stone" magazine voted it number 22 on its list of top 500 Rock & Roll songs. The Ronettes were a trio comprised of Ronnie and her sister Estelle, along with cousin Nedra Ross.

Ronnie pursued a solo career all through the 1970s, '80s and '90s, mostly as an oldies act. Like some other 1960s musicians, her career received a big boost from an association with Bruce Springsteen. His E Street Band backed her on a number of songs and she dueted with Southside Johnny on "You Mean So Much To Me" in 1976, a song written by Springsteen. The Ronettes reunited for the first time in 2007, when they were finally inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.