The Best of the Girl Groups

The Best of the Girl Groups, Vol. 1
Compilation album by Various
Released 1990
Genre Girl group
Label Rhino
Producer Bill Inglot
The Best of the Girl Groups, Vol. 2
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
(Vol.1) Allmusic[1]
(Vol. 2)Allmusic[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".[3] Music journalist Robert Christgau includes the compilation in his "core collection" for an essential rock library of music preceding 1980.[4] Entertainment Weekly described the first volume as "a veritable catalog of the era's romantic attitudes".[5] The New York Times recommends both volumes, in conjunction with Rhino's Girl Group Greats, for listeners seeking "the biggest girl-group hits".[6]

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 AllMusic—to "keep the collection interesting for more serious fans of girl group pop".[7] The collection includes two representative tracks of Ellie Greenwich, a prolific charting songwriter whose own material both solo and with The Raindrops was often overlooked.[8] 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".[8] "I Can't Let Go", a 1965 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.[9] "The One You Can't Have" is one of several "outstanding" singles by popular backing vocalists The Honeys that failed to achieve commercial success.[10] 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.[11]

Track listing

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) The Shangri-Las #1 Black Singles
#1 Pop Singles[12]		 2:54
2 "He's So Fine" (Ronnie Mack) The Chiffons #1 Black Singles
#1 Pop Singles[13]		 1:54
3 "Chapel of Love" (Barry, Greenwich, Phil Spector) The Dixie Cups #1 Black Singles
#1 Pop Singles[14]		 2:50
4 "The Boy from New York City" (George Davis, John T. Taylor) The Ad Libs #6 Black Singles
#8 Pop Singles[15]		 3:02
5 "The Shoop Shoop Song (It's in His Kiss)" (Rudy Clark) Betty Everett #6 Black Singles
#6 Pop Singles[16]		 2:16
6 "Sally Go 'Round the Roses" (Zell Sanders, Abner Spector) The Jaynetts #4 Black Singles
#2 Pop Singles[17]		 3:16
7 "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" (Gerry Goffin, Carole King) The Shirelles #2 Black Singles
#1 Pop Singles[18]		 2:44
8 "Remember (Walking in the Sand)" (Morton) The Shangri-Las #5 Black Singles
#5 Pop Singles[12]		 2:20
9 "One Fine Day" (Goffin, King) The Chiffons #6 Black Singles
#5 Pop Singles[13]		 2:10
10 "Party Lights" (Claudine Clark) Claudine Clark #3 Black Singles
#5 Pop Singles[19]		 2:24
11 "People Say" (Barry, Greenwich) The Dixie Cups #12 Black Singles
#12 Pop Singles[14]		 2:46
12 "He's Got the Power" (Elle Greenwich, Tom Powers) The Exciters #57 Pop Singles[20] 2:24
13 "I Can't Stay Mad at You" (Goffin, King) Skeeter Davis #2 Adult Contemporary
#14 Country Singles
#7 Pop Singles[21]		 2:09
14 "I Wanna Love Him So Bad" (Barry, Elle Greenwich) The Jelly Beans #9 Black Singles
#9 Pop Singles[22]		 2:45
15 "Dream Baby" (Sonny Bono)[23] Cher — 2:59
16 "Baby It's You" (Burt Bacharach, Hal David, B. Williams) The Shirelles #3 Black Singles
#8 Pop Singles[18]		 2:40
17 "Give Him a Great Big Kiss" (Morton) The Shangri-Las #18 Pop Singles[12] 2:12
18 "I Can't Let Go" (Al Gorgoni, Chip Taylor)[24] Evie Sands — 2:08

The Best of the Girl Groups, Volume 2

# Title Composer Performer Chart Position Time
1 "My Boyfriend's Back" (Bob Feldman, Jerry Goldstein, Richard Gottehrer) The Angels #2 Black Singles
#1 Pop Singles[25]		 2:39
2 "Sweet Talkin' Guy" (Elliot Greenberg, Doug Morris) The Chiffons #10 Pop Singles[13] 2:27
3 "The Loco-Motion" (Goffin, King) Little Eva #1 Black Singles
#1 Pop Singles[26]		 2:27
4 "A Lover's Concerto" (Sandy Linzer, Denny Randell) The Toys #4 Black Singles
#2 Pop Singles[27]		 2:42
5 "The Kind of Boy You Can't Forget" (Barry, Greenwich) The Raindrops #27 Black Singles
#17 Pop Singles[28]		 2:11
6 "You Don't Know" (Barry, Greenwich, Morton)[29] Ellie Greenwich — 3:17
7 "Chains" (Goffin, King) The Cookies #17 Black Singles
#6 Pop Singles[30]		 2:32
8 "Popsicles and Icicles" (David Gates) The Murmaids #2 Adult Contemporary
#3 Pop Singles[31]		 2:33
9 "The One You Can't Have" (Brian Wilson)[10] The Honeys — 2:00
10 "Tell Him" (Bert Russell) The Exciters #5 Black Singles
#4 Pop Singles[20]		 2:39
11 "Don't Say Nothin' Bad (About My Baby)" (Goffin, King) The Cookies #3 Black Singles
#7 Pop Singles[30]		 2:45
12 "I Met Him on a Sunday" (Doris Coley, Addie Harris, Beverley Lee, Shirley Owens) The Shirelles #49 Pop Singles[18] 2:16
13 "Wonderful Summer" (Perry Botkin, Jr., Gil Garfield) Robin Ward #23 Black Singles
#14 Pop Singles[32]		 2:29
14 "It Might As Well Rain Until September" (Goffin, King) Carole King #22 Pop Singles[33] 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[34]		 2:02
16 "Easier Said Than Done" (Larry Huff, William Linton) The Essex #1 Black Singles
#1 Pop Singles[35]		 2:12
17 "I Love How You Love Me" (Larry Kolber, Barry Mann) The Paris Sisters #5 Pop Singles[36] 2:09
18 "Johnny Get Angry" (Hal David, Sherman Edwards, Donald Meyer) Joanie Sommers #7 Pop Singles[37] 2:32

Personnel

Performance

Production

References

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