The Flirtations

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The Flirtations (previously The Gypsies) were an all-female musical group who recorded from the early 1960s through the late 1980s.

In 1962, in New York, four women from South Carolina formed The Gypsies. They were Lestine Johnson and sisters Ernestine, Shirley and Betty Pearce.

In 1964 they signed to Old Town records, where they released their debut single "Hey There, Hey There." The song only achieved local airplay, but their next single was more successful. "Jerk It" was a major hit for the quartet in 1965, after the song charted at #111 (Pop Chart) and #33 (R&B). Despite the small success Lestine Johnson left, being replaced by Viola Bullips. Only two more singles were released on Old Town records through 1966, giving them a grand total of four.

That year, now on Josie Records, the four women redubbed themselves The Flirtations and released the classic Northern Soul song "Change My Darkness Into Light". Despite it being a great ballad (unlike the forgettable B-side "Natural Born Lover"), it was ignored by DJ's and taken for granted in sales. After the release flopped, they moved to Festival records where they released the now-famous songs "Stronger Than Her Love" and "Settle Down" as a single. Unfortunately, this song also failed to spark much interest (sounding old-fashioned at the time).

Betty Pearce left the group, reducing the Flirtations to a trio. Packing up their bags and heading for England after winning a small local talent contest in 1968 to see who could sound the most like the Supremes, they signed to the Parrot label. Tom Jones was signed to the label at that time. Their only release was "Someone Out There" b/w "How Can You Tell Me." Although the song got much more airplay and much more recognition than their others, it still did little.

Next the trio went to Deram Records in late 1968 and released a catchy Jefferson Airplane styled number, "Nothing But A Heartache". The B-Side was a Christmas song entitled "Christmastime Is Here Again." The record was then re-released in early 1969 with another B-side ("How Can You Tell Me") in the United States. In March the song entered the chart and entered the Billboard Hot Top 40 in May, peaking at #34. The song also made #31 in Cash Box.

The follow-up was not as much of a dance tune as the first single was. "South Carolina" was a mere inferior ballad that only made #111 pop in July 1969. In 1970 "Keep On Searching" was released and did nothing, bubbling under the Hot 100 at #133. However, this is partially due to confusion over whether the newest single was "Searching" or "What's Good About Goodbye My Love". "What's Good About Goodbye My Love" rocketed quickly to #17 R&B in early 1970 but it did not chart in the Billboard Hot 100 or Billboard Bubbling Under chart. In July 1970 they scored another hit with the original version of Tom Jones' "Can't Stop Loving You". The song bubbled under the Top 100 in the US at #101 and made #96 in Cash Box.

1971 saw their sixth and last Deram single, "Give Me Love". It was not one of the best songs on their 1970 LP "Sounds Like the Flirtations", and so did not do well on the charts, making only #105 Billboard. The rest of their singles were not released in the U.S.

Throughout the Seventies they released classics on various labels like "Little Darling (I Need You)" & "Take Me In Your Arms (& Love Me)" & "Hold On To Me Babe" and "Love A Little Longer" on Polydor in 1971 and 1972. In 1973 releases were seen on Mojo Records with "Why Didn't I Think of That". In 1975 RCA saw three more singles: "Dirty Work", "Mr. Universe", and "One Night of Love" which could have been hits with the right promotion but gained enough sales and airplay for another LP entitled "Love Makes the World Go Round" just before 1976. 1977 saw a disco song "Earthquake", which had a 12-inch version that was a big hit in 1983. Loretta Noble replaced Viola Bullips in 1972. Viola Bullips had a solo career as Vi and as Pearly Gates.

The Flirtations sang high energy songs like "Time," "Earthquake," "Read All About It" and "Back On My Feet Again" through 1989 as they continued their long career.

It is ironic that these women were not more successful. However, they have been rediscovered in the Disco and Northern Soul circuits of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the UK and the U.S..