As a 16 year old with a Rolliecord an an electronic flash, I photographed Jerry Lee Lewis, The Coasters, The Ronettes, Jackie Wilson and Fats Domino, at the Long Pond Inn at Greenwood Lake New York. The manager, Gee Spivak was taking a chance letting me into his drinking establishment, as I was under age at the time. After I graduated high school and turned 18, they always let in for free. The New York State drinking age at that time was 18. Good times!
Ten years old in 1959 in Van Nuys, CA..Had a box record player and bought 45s at a record store..All the COASTERS, and many more...Spin-the-Bottle parties and then Friday afternoon dances in Jr.High, slow dancing until some teacher tapped you on the shoulder to break it up...Then Cruising the Blvd. on the weekends in High school...Nothing like it and those Drive In movie theaters, did they show movies? Well good times..
Nowdays all these songs would be auto-tuned within an inch of their life but back when they were first made everyone just belted them out with their own fantastic voices.
At 20:38 Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow by The Shirelles was NOT, quote: "the first recording by an all-girl group, to hit the top of the charts." We can say it's the first "rock & roll" recording to do so, and we can say it's the first by an all black girl group to do so, which is certainly a breakthrough achievement which should be respected it its own right. But the truth is all female vocal groups had been hitting the top of the charts with #1 records for a long time before this, with pop vocal and big band jazz recordings. The Andrews sisters had six #1 records alone. The Boswell Sisters had one. The Chordettes had either one or two depending on what charts you look at; one according to Billboard and two according to Cashbox (Mr. Sandman hit #1 on both charts and Lollipop only reached as high as #2 in Billboard). Those are three prior all-female groups off the top of my head, but there might even be a few more I'm not thinking of.
My mother was born in the early 40's she was a teen in the 50's and she had me in 1970. I can still remember her and the neighbors on Friday and Saturday nights hanging out and listening to a radio station that played this music. Funny how music made in the 50's and 60's, before I was born reminds me of my mom and my early childhood in the mid and late 1970's. Love you mom, thank you for the memories and I miss you.
Be My Baby, was one of the greatest Rock and Roll songs of all time! George Harrison felt this way too! According to the book, "The Girl Groups: the Story of A Sound", it's buried in a time capsule. Good!