Then and Now: Diana Ross

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Leslie Gore

Lesley Gore (born Lesley Sue Goldstein) is an American singer-songwriter of the "girl group era". She is perhaps best known for her 1963 pop hit "It's My Party", which she recorded at the age of 16. Following the hit, she became one of the most recognized teen pop singers of the 1960s.

Lesley was a junior at the Dwight School for Girls in nearby Englewood when "It's My Party" became a no. 1 hit. It was later nominated for a Grammy Award for rock and roll recording. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc.

Gore's first hit was followed by many other songs, including "Judy's Turn to Cry" - the sequel to "It's My Party", "She's a Fool", the proto-feminist "You Don't Own Me" which held at no. 2 for four weeks behind The Beatles' "I Want To Hold Your Hand", "That's the Way Boys Are", "Maybe I Know" and Grammy nominated for Contemporary Rock and Roll female vocal performance "Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows". Her record producer was Quincy Jones, who would later become one of the most famous producers in American music. "You Don't Own Me" also sold a million copies, and was awarded gold disc status.

Instead of accepting the television and movie contracts that came her way, Gore chose to attend Sarah Lawrence College in New York. This limited her public career to weekends and summer vacations and undoubtedly hurt her career. Nevertheless, throughout the mid 1960s Gore continued to be one of the most popular female singers in the United States and Canada.

Gore was given first shot at recording "A Groovy Kind of Love", but Shelby Singleton, a producer, recommended that she not record a song with the word "groovy" in it. The Mindbenders went on to record the song, and it went to no. 2 on the Billboard charts.

Gore announced in 2005 that she is a lesbian. Some commentators consider the lyric content of some albums to contain implicit references to Gore's sexuality. For example, she covered the song "You're the One That I Want" (from the film Grease), altering the line "'cause I need a man" to "'cause I need a friend". Leslie Gore currently lives with her partner of more than 23 years.


Source: wikipedia.org

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

Little Peggy March

Peggy March is an American pop singer, primarily remembered for her 1963 million-selling song "I Will Follow Him".

Her real name is Margaret Annemarie Battavio.. but why did she choose the name "Little Peggy March"? She was discovered at age thirteen singing at her cousin's wedding and was introduced to the record producer partnership Hugo & Luigi. They gave her this nickname because she was only 1.47 m (4'10") in height, she was only thirteen, the first record she did with them was "Little Me", and her birthdate was in the month of March.

In 1963, when she was only 14 years old, she released the single "I Will Follow Him", which soared to number one on the U.S. charts. March became the youngest female artist with a number one hit, a record that still stands for the Billboard Hot 100. The recording also took the number one spot in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Japan, and Scandinavia.

As in many cases, the success also came with financial trouble. She was a minor and the Coogan Law prevented her parents from managing her money. The responsibility was placed on her manager, Russell Smith. It was discovered in 1966 that he had squandered the fortune away, leaving her with $500. But she soon had a new manager, Arnie Harris, who later on became her husband.

Although she is remembered by some as a one-hit wonder, her singles "I Wish I Were a Princess" and "Hello Heartache, Goodbye Love" made the Top 30 in the United States. She began making a strong presence in the European and Asian music markets (you should see this video :)), and she moved to Germany in 1969. Her commercial success in Germany continued through much of the 1970s and she also tried her luck in representing Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1969, only to be placed second in the national final. March made another Eurovision attempt in 1975. Again she was placed second.

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