The Best of the Girl Groups

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The Best of the Girl Groups, Vol. 1
The Best of the Girl Groups, Vol. 1 cover
Compilation album by Various
Released 1990
Genre Girl group
Label Rhino
Producer Bill Inglot
Professional reviews
The Best of the Girl Groups, Vol. 2
The Best of the Girl Groups, Vol. 2

The Best of the Girl Groups is a 2-volume compilation series released by Rhino Records in 1990. The collection, compiling 36 of the better known tracks by girl groups of the 1960s, shares spot #422 in Rolling Stone Magazine's list of "Greatest Albums of All Time".[1] Music journalist Robert Christgau includes the compilation in his "core collection" for an essential rock library of music preceding 1980.[2] Entertainment Weekly described the first volume as "a veritable catalog of the era's romantic attitudes".[3] The New York Times recommends both volumes, in conjunction with Rhino's Girl Group Greats, for listeners seeking "the biggest girl-group hits".[4]

Contents

[edit] Song selection

The compilation collects a broad range of the era's well-known hits, featuring seven #1 hit singles and an additional 14 top ten hits among its 36 tracks, but it includes lesser-known material as well, enough—according to All Music—to "keep the collection interesting for more serious fans of girl group pop".[5] The collection includes two representative tracks of Ellie Greenwich, a prolific charting songwriter whose own material solo and with The Raindrops was often overlooked.[6] The included solo single "You Don't Know" was described by journalist Alan Betrock in his book Girl Groups: The Story of a Sound as "the kind of record that not only transcends and expands the boundaries that come to mind when someone says, 'Girl-group record,' but...also can stand alone, totally unique and unmatched by any other competition".[6] "I Can't Let Go", a 1966 song by Evie Sands which did not chart, was critically described as "superb" though the song failed to capture popular interest until covered by The Hollies a year later.[7] "The One You Can't Have" is one of several "outstanding" singles by popular backing vocalists The Honeys that failed to achieve commercial success.[8] Cher's brush with the girl group genre is also represented, by the 1965 "Dream Baby", a "girl group classic" if not a charting single.[9]

[edit] Track listing

[edit] The Best of the Girl Groups, Volume 1

# Title Composer Performer Chart Position Time
1 "Leader of the Pack" (Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich, Shadow Morton) Shangri Las #1 Black Singles
#1 Pop Singles[10]		 2:54
2 "He's So Fine" (Ronnie Mack) Chiffons #1 Black Singles
#1 Pop Singles[11]		 1:54
3 "Chapel of Love" (Barry, Greenwich, Phil Spector) The Dixie Cups #1 Black Singles
#1 Pop Singles[12]		 2:50
4 "The Boy from New York City" (George Davis, John T. Taylor) The Ad Libs #6 Black Singles
#8 Pop Singles[13]		 3:02
5 "The Shoop Shoop Song (It's in His Kiss)" (Rudy Clark) Betty Everett #6 Black Singles
#6 Pop Singles[14]		 2:16
6 "Sally Go Round the Roses" (Zell Sanders, Abner Spector) Jaynetts #4 Black Singles
#2 Pop Singles[15]		 3:16
7 "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" (Gerry Goffin, Carole King) The Shirelles #2 Black Singles
#1 Pop Singles[16]		 2:44
8 "Remember (Walking in the Sand)" (Morton) Shangri Las #5 Black Singles
#5 Pop Singles[10]		 2:20
9 "One Fine Day" (Goffin, King) Chiffons #6 Black Singles
#5 Pop Singles[11]		 2:10
10 "Party Lights" (Claudine Clark) Claudine Clark #3 Black Singles
#5 Pop Singles[17]		 2:24
11 "People Say" (Barry, Greenwich) The Dixie Cups #12 Black Singles
#12 Pop Singles[12]		 2:46
12 "He's Got the Power" (Elle Greenwich, Tom Powers) The Exciters #57 Pop Singles[18] 2:24
13 "I Can't Stay Mad at You" (Goffin, King) Skeeter Davis #2 Adult Contemporary
#14 Country Singles
#7 Pop Singles[19]		 2:09
14 "I Wanna Love Him So Bad" (Barry, Elle Greenwich) The Jelly Beans #9 Black Singles
#9 Pop Singles[20]		 2:45
15 "Dream Baby" (Sonny Bono)[21] Cher — 2:59
16 "Baby It's You" (Burt Bacharach, Hal David, B. Williams) The Shirelles #3 Black Singles
#8 Pop Singles[16]		 2:40
17 "Give Him a Great Big Kiss" (Morton) Shangri Las #18 Pop Singles[10] 2:12
18 "I Can't Let Go" (Al Gorgoni, Chip Taylor)[22] Evie Sands — 2:08

[edit] The Best of the Girl Groups, Volume 2

# Title Composer Performer Chart Position Time
1 "My Boyfriend's Back" (Bob Feldmam, Jerry Goldstein, Richard Gottehrer) The Angels #2 Black Singles
#1 Pop Singles[23]		 2:39
2 "Sweet Talkin' Guy" (Elliot Greenberg, Doug Morris) Chiffons #10 Pop Singles[11] 2:27
3 "The Loco-Motion" (Goffin, King) Little Eva #1 Black Singles
#1 Pop Singles[24]		 2:27
4 "A Lover's Concerto" (Sandy Linzer, Denny Randell) The Toys #4 Black Singles
#2 Pop Singles[25]		 2:42
5 "The Kind of Boy You Can't Forget" (Barry, Greenwich) The Raindrops #27 Black Singles
#17 Pop Singles[26]		 2:11
6 "You Don't Know" (Barry, Greenwich, Morton)[27] Ellie Greenwich — 3:17
7 "Chains" (Goffin, King) The Cookies #17 Black Singles
#6 Pop Singles[28]		 2:32
8 "Popsicles and Icicles" (David Gates) The Murmaids #2 Adult Contemporary
#3 Pop Singles[29]		 2:33
9 "The One You Can't Have" (Brian Wilson)[8] The Honeys — 2:00
10 "Tell Him" (Bert Russell) The Exciters #5 Black Singles
#4 Pop Singles[18]		 2:39
11 "Don't Say Nothin' Bad (About My Baby)" (Goffin, King) Cookies #3 Black Singles
#7 Pop Singles[28]		 2:45
12 "I Met Him on a Sunday" (Doris Coley, Addie Harris, Beverley Lee, Shirley Owens) Shirelles #49 Pop Singles[16] 2:16
13 "Wonderful Summer" (Perry Botkin, Jr., Gil Garfield) Robin Ward #23 Black Singles
#14 Pop Singles[30]		 2:29
14 "It Might as Well Rain Until September" (Goffin, King) Carole King #22 Pop Singles[31] 2:25
15 "You Don't Have to Be a Baby to Cry" (Bob Merrill, Terry Shand) The Caravelles #2 Adult Contemporary
#3 Pop Singles[32]		 2:02
16 "Easier Said Than Done" (Larry Huff, William Linton) The Essex #1 Black Singles
#1 Pop Singles[33]		 2:12
17 "I Love How You Love Me" (Larry Kolber, Barry Mann) The Paris Sisters #5 Pop Singles[34] 2:09
18 "Johnny Get Angry" (Hal David, Sherman Edwards, Donald Meyer) Joanie Sommers #7 Pop Singles[35] 2:32

[edit] Personnel

[edit] Performance

[edit] Production

[edit] References

  1. ^ The Best of the Girl Groups: Volumes 1 and 2 Rolling Stone Magazine online. (November 1, 2003). Accessed November 1, 2007.
  2. ^ Christgau, Robert. (1990) Rock library before 1980 Excerpted from Christgau's Record Guide: The '80s. Christgau official website. Accessed November 1, 2007.
  3. ^ Recordings at a glance EW.com. (September 28, 1990). Accessed November 1, 2007.
  4. ^ Staff. (November 25, 2005). The good, the rare and the nostalgic in boxed sets The New York Times. Accessed November 1, 2007.
  5. ^ The Best of the Girl Groups, Vol. 1 at Allmusic
  6. ^ a b You Don't Know at Allmusic
  7. ^ The Best of the Girl Groups at Allmusic
  8. ^ a b The Honeys at Allmusic
  9. ^ The Best of the Girl Groups at Allmusic
  10. ^ a b c d Shangri Las at Allmusic
  11. ^ a b c d Chiffons at Allmusic
  12. ^ a b c The Dixie Cups at Allmusic
  13. ^ a b The Ad Libs at Allmusic
  14. ^ Betty Everett at Allmusic
  15. ^ a b Jaynetts at Allmusic
  16. ^ a b c d The Shirelles at Allmusic
  17. ^ Claudine Clark at Allmusic
  18. ^ a b c The Exciters at Allmusic
  19. ^ Skeeter Davis at Allmusic
  20. ^ a b The Jelly Beans at Allmusic
  21. ^ Cher at Allmusic
  22. ^ I Can't Let Go at Allmusic
  23. ^ a b The Angels at Allmusic
  24. ^ Little Eva at Allmusic
  25. ^ a b The Toys at Allmusic
  26. ^ The Raindrops at Allmusic
  27. ^ Ellie Greenwich at Allmusic
  28. ^ a b c The Cookies at Allmusic
  29. ^ The Murmaids at Allmusic
  30. ^ Robin Warn at Allmusic
  31. ^ Carole King at Allmusic
  32. ^ a b The Caravelles at Allmusic
  33. ^ a b The Essex at Allmusic
  34. ^ a b The Paris Sisters at Allmusic
  35. ^ Joanie Sommers at Allmusic