Harmonizing with the Shirelles Quiz

Answer: Baby It's You

The song was written by Burt Bacharach, Luther Dixon and Mack David for the Shirelles. It was a top ten pop single in the U.S. and got to number 3 on Billboard's Rhythm & Blues chart. Because of the success of the single it was the title of a later album by the group.

Answer: Dedicated To The One I Love

The song was released twice by the Shirelles, first in 1959 where it struggled to reach number 83 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the U.S. Then, after some success by the group it was released again in 1961 and became a number three hit for the them.

The song was a cover of one written by a member of, and performed by, The 5 Royales in 1957. The Mamas and the Papas also had a hit with it in 1967.

Answer: I Met Him On A Sunday

The Shirelles were among the first, and one of the most successful, of the "girl groups", a term that would probably be frowned upon today. They wrote and recorded the 1958 song while they were in high school. Each member of the group got to sing lead on a verse, which was, and still is, unusual.

Answer: Soldier Boy

The song was written for the Shirelles by their manager, Florence Greenberg and their producer, Luther Dixon, who was responsible for writing several of their songs. It became a number one hit on the Billboard Hot 100 for them.

I don't know what the impetus was for writing the song but there was a buzz about the military after Elvis Presley was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1958. Over the years the song was used in a few movies, notably 1989's anti-war movie "Born on the Fourth of July".

Answer: New Jersey

Three of the group members were from North Carolina, one was from Passaic, New Jersey. By their high school years the four were going to Passaic High School, where they enjoyed singing together and were talked into entering a school talent show. They won and a classmate convinced them to audition for a record label her mother owned.

They auditioned in the friend's living room and were signed to a contract.

Answer: Will You Love Me Tomorrow

"Will You Love Me Tomorrow" was the first girl group song to reach number one. It did so in 1960 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, was number two on Billboard's Rhythm & Blues chart and one of their few songs to chart in the UK, reaching number four on the UK Singles Chart.

Answer: Mama Said

The basic theme of the song was not to worry about things because mama said bad days would pass. It was a top five hit for the group and has been covered by several artists as well as being the inspiration for "Days Like This" by Van Morrison. Billboard magazine ranked it number 44 on their list of the 100 Greatest Girl Group Songs of All Time.

Answer: The Poquellos

Poquello translates loosely from Italian as "little bit of that." The reason the group picked that name can't be found but their manager changed it to Shirelles, taking part of the group's Shirley Owens' first name and adding part of the female doo wop group the Chantels' name.

Answer: Tiara

Tiara was the small label owned by their high school classmate's mother, Florence Greenberg. When "I Met Him on a Sunday" became a local hit in 1958 she sold the group's contract to Decca Records. She used that money to start Scepter Records. The Shirelles were let go by Decca in 1960 and returned to Greenberg and her Scepter label.

Answer: two

Though the group had twelve top 40 hits only two, "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" and "Soldier Boy" made it to number one on the US Billboard Hot 100. They, like many of the first wave of rock and roll singers faded away and went on to other things, like family life. Their last record was "Last Minute Miracle" in 1967.

The British Invasion changed the face of rock music and while groups like the Shirelles were replaced they weren't entirely forgotten. Of the British groups, Manfred Mann recorded one of their songs, "Sha-La-La" and the Beatles recorded two, "Baby It's You" and "Boys."