The Girl Group Sound – 1956-66
In-person – Tuesday 1:10 pm – 2:50 pm
Sept. 19, 26, Oct. 3, 10, 17, 24, 31 Nov. 7
We take an in-depth look at the emergence and increasing popularity of what came to be called The Girl Group Sound. Along the way, we discuss, listen to, and view rare performances by artists including Connie Francis and Brenda Lee, The Chantels and The Shirelles, The Crystals and The Ronettes, The Marvelettes and The Supremes, The Dixie Cups and The Shangri-Las, Lesley Gore and many, many others. We also pay special attention to the role that producers like Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, their protégé Phil Spector, his protégé George “Shadow” Morton and Motown’s Berry Gordy played in the development of the sound (and exploitation of its artists!), as well as the contributions made by the famous Brill Building group of songwriters (including Carole King, Neil Sedaka and Ellie Greenwich), the famous group of L.A. studio musicians who came to be known as The Wrecking Crew and the equally famous Detroit musicians called The Funk Brothers. Finally, we look at the demise of The Girl Group Sound, as well as its tremendous influence on artists ranging from The Beatles, The Beach Boys, The Mamas & The Papas, to Bruce Springsteen, Bette Midler and The Go-Go’s.
- Week 1: Roots of the Girl Group Sound—both in white pop and black R&B.
- Week 2: Brenda Lee—from country/rockabilly to pop-rocker and “Girl Group” balladeer.
- Week 3: Connie Francis—the most successful and influential female performer of the rock’n’roll era.
- Week 4: The first superstar girl group, The Shirelles, and the importance of The Brill Building’s producers and songwriters.
- Week 5: The “Mad Maestro” Phil Spector and his “stars” Darlene Love and The Ronettes.
- Week 6: Motown and the Girl Group Sound, including The Marvelettes, The Supremes and many more.
- Week 7: The Red Bird label and later Girl Group artists, including The Shangri-Las, The Dixie Cups and Leslie Gore.
- Week 8: The demise of the Girl Group Sound, and its tremendous—and lasting—influence on pop music.
Gary Carlson earned BS and MS degrees from Southern Connecticut State University, an MFA from Warren Wilson College and is a retired Professor of English at Norwalk Community College. Gary taught for 25 years at NCC and for 10 years before that at SCSU; he also served as an adjunct professor at several local colleges. During his time at NCC, Gary created and taught a wide variety of courses on writing, literature, film and pop culture. A published writer of fiction, non-fiction, film and music criticism, he also hosted several local radio programs on music history and was the founder and host of NCC’s long-running “Movie-of-the-Month Film Series.”