'60s Choreography

Watch and learn!

I wonder why...

"I Wonder Why" is a doo-wop song, written by Maxwell Anderson and Ricardo Weeks, and first recorded by Dion and the Belmonts in 1958. The song was used in the film, A Bronx Tale, in the pilot episode of the television series The Sopranos and in John Carpenter's film adaption of Stephen King's "Christine". (Source: Wikipedia.org)

Dion & The Belmonts




The Chiffons

Shout!

"Shout" is a popular and influential popular song, originally recorded by The Isley Brothers. Released in 1959, it was written by the brothers themselves. The song was inducted to the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999. It ranked #118 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time list. (Source: Wikipedia.org)

The Isley Brothers




The Shangri-Las




The Beatles

Three of my favourite songs

Gerry and The PaceMakers - I like it



The Beach Boys - Wouldn't it be nice



The Crew Cuts - Life could be a dream

Then and Now: The Righteous Brothers

The Dixie Cups

The Dixie Cups are an American pop music girl group of the 1960s. They are best known for their 1964 million selling disc, "Chapel of Love". The group hit the top of the charts in 1964 with "Chapel of Love," a song that Phil Spector, Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich had originally written for The Ronettes. The trio consisted of sisters Barbara Ann and Rosa Lee Hawkins, plus their cousin Joan Marie Johnson, . They first sang together in grade school. Originally they were to be called Little Miss and the Muffets :), but were named The Dixie Cups just prior to their first release.

By 1963 the trio had decided to pursue a career in music and began singing locally as the Meltones. Within a year Joe Jones, a successful singer in his own right with the Top Five 1960 single "You Talk Too Much," became their manager. After working with them for five months, Jones took them to New York, where record producers / songwriters Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller signed them to their new Red Bird Records.

Their first release, "Chapel of Love," proved to be their biggest hit, although they had other hits with "People Say" (no. 12, 1964), "You Should Have Seen the Way He Looked at Me" (no. 39, 1964), "Iko Iko" (no. 20, 1965), and "Little Bell" (no. 51, 1965). "Chapel of Love" sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc.

Source: wikipedia.org

The Shirelles

The Shirelles, an American girl group in the early 1960s, were the first to have a number one single on the Billboard Hot 100. They were the first major female vocal group of the rock and roll era, preceding Motown as a crossover phenomenon with white audiences. The members of the quartet were Shirley Owens, Doris Coley (who sang lead on "Dedicated to the One I Love"), Beverly Lee, and Addie 'Micki' Harris.

The quartet formed in New Jersey in 1958 and went on to release a hit after hit including "Mama Said", "Baby It's You","Foolish Little Girl", and the no. 1 Pop hits "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" and "Soldier Boy".

Their "Sha La La" became an international hit when covered by the British group Manfred Mann, giving them a Top 5 hit in 1965, and the song "Boys" was covered by The Beatles. The Beatles also covered "Baby It's You" on their album Please, Please Me in 1963.

Other artists that recorded The Shirelles' hits were Cher, Aretha Franklin, Amy Winehouse, Pattie LaBelle, Neil Diamond or Dionne Warwick.

Source: wikipedia.org

The Rubettes

The Rubettes were an English pop band of the 1970s. As a trademark, they were wearing on stage white suits and cloth caps. Their first release, "Sugar Baby Love", was an instant hit remaining at number one in the UK for four weeks in May 1974 and remains their best-known record. The album "Sugar Baby Love" was sold in around 500,000 copies in the UK and three million copies globally. Two million copies were sold in France alone, an achievement matched by no other British group! Maybe their French style caps contributed a little bit :)

In 2008, "Sugar Baby Love" was declared to be the most successful oldie of all times by the German television station RTL!

They also had other hits, but none of them reached the success of "Sugar baby Love".

Here are two that I particularly like: "Juke Box Jive" and "Tonight" :)

Source: wikipedia.org

The Ronettes - a family business :)

The Ronettes were a 1960s girl group from New York City: singer Veronica Bennett, her sister, Estelle Bennett, and their cousin Nedra Talley. They reached the peak of their success after releasing "Presenting the Fabulous Ronettes Featuring Veronica" in 1964.

They began singing together as teenagers in Washington Heights, Manhattan. The sisters grew up listening to rock and pop and their grandmother encouraged them to harmonize. Their grandmother was the one that entered them into a talent show at the Apollo Theatre in 1959 as The Darling Sisters, which they subsequently won. Phillip Halikus, who was to become their manager, saw their potential and promoted the group's early appearances at hops and charity shows.

The group's first four singles had little success. They released their first single, "I Want A Boy", during the summer of 1961, under their new name, Ronnie and the Relatives. :)

In 1963 they came to the attention of producer Phil Spector. He loved Veronica's voice and style and wanted to sign her as a solo artist, but the three girls refused to be broken up. As Spector's new protégées, they assumed the image of the first “bad girls of rock and roll,” with beehive hairdos, heavy eyeliner and tight skirts. Their songs were addressed directly to their subjects, giving them a more seductive manner, using lyrics such as “I love you” instead of “I love him.” :)

And the rest is history: hits like "Be My Baby" or "Baby, I Love You" and opening the 1966 Beatles' tour.

The saddest thing is that, in 1968, Ronnie Bennett married Phil Spector and retired from performance for several years under his oppressive control. In 1988, the original Ronettes sued Spector for nonpayment of royalties. In 2001, a New York court announced a verdict in favor of The Ronettes, ordering Spector to pay nearly three million dollars in back royalties.

The Ronettes' influence on music was significant: Billy Joel and Bruce Springsteen have both cited Veronica Bennett as an influence.

Source: wikipedia.org