Musical Episode #030 : Girl Group Sound v.2

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Afternoon everyone, happy to be back with another podcast for the world and to be revisiting the endlessly enjoyable “girl group sound.”

This mix is all 60’s 45s (as generally would be the case) and includes a few groups that weren’t all female- The Exciters, Brenda & The Tabulations, Barbara Greene’s back-up singers to name a few and many of the artists aren’t even groups. But the sounds all conform more or less to the airy production that can often belie serious and even subversive lyrics along with the usual playful songs that are common.

Ellie Greenwich’s “Baby” is favorite among her zillions of compositions, showing her brilliance as a performer (as does The Raindrops track which feature her and then husband/writing partner Jeff Barry) and not just behind the scenes writing and producing records.

I love the Mary and The Desirables but don’t know anything about it and they seem to only have this one 45 out under their name. The production looks like all the usual characters from the Chess studios but not sure where they came from or where they went unfortunately.

The George Kerr produced Florence Ballard single is a real beauty and a clear example of what an incredible career she had ahead of her before her personal troubles derailed her career and a heart attack ended her life so early.

The mix ends with one of the few sides Sonji Clay blessed us with. She’s often most known for being briefly married to Muhammad Ali when he was Cassius Clay but her three records that were put out after their marriage stand on their own. With a confident and sweet sounding voice it’s a shame there aren’t more recordings of her.

I hope you enjoy today’s mix and look forward to connecting again soon.

Peace,
-George / Snack Attack

Tracklist:
The Gambrells : Love Is In The Air (Cub, 1968)
Pearlean Gray : Don’t Rush Me Baby (DCP, 1965)
Felice Taylor : It May Be Winter Outside (Mustang, 1966)
The Cookies : Don’t Say Nothing Bad (About My Baby) (Dimension, 1963)
Lovelites : I Found Me A Lover (Bandera, 1967)
Barbara Greene : I Should Have Treated You Right (Renee, 1968)
Millie Small : Bloodshot Eyes (Atco, 1965)
The Gypsies : Jerk It (Old Town, 1965)
The Apollos : Mr. Creator (Warner Bros, 1967)
Barbara Dane : I’m On My Way (3 Trey, 1960)
Brenda & The Tabulations : Stop Sneaking Around (Top & Bottom, 1969)
Mary & The Desirables : Hurting Hurts (Checker, 1966)
Florence Ballard : Goin’ Out Of My Head (ABC, 1968)
Ellie Greenwich : Baby (Red Bird, 1965)
The Raindrops : Don’t Let Go (Jubilee, 1965)
Mae Young : No Ifs, No Ands, No Buts (Karate, 1966)
Candy and The Kisses : The 81 (Cameo, 1964)
The Exciters : He’s Got The Power (United Artists, 1963)
Gerri Diamond : Mama, You Forgot (Hanna-Barberra, 1965)
Gems : Let Your Hair Down (Chess, 1963)
The Shangri-Las : Sophisticated Boom Boom (Red Bird, 1966)
The Jelly Beans : I Wanna Love Him So Bad (Red Bird, 1964)
The Starlets : Better Tell Him No (Pam, 1962)
Sonji Clay : Nobody (Songee, 1969)

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