By Thomas Sellers Jr.
Last week I swallowed a bitter pill and gave The Best Sellers’ List spotlight to boy bands.
It is only fair I give the ladies equal billing and countdown my ranking of the best girl groups of all time. Unlike the guys, a girl group isn’t about age or target audience. A girl group is a music act featuring several female singers who generally harmonize together. In U.S. America a girl group can normally be found in the pop and R&B categories. The pioneers of the genre were the Andrews Sisters in the 1950s. Then Motown Records shined a television spotlight on the concept with The Supremes and other acts.
Now girl groups are a vital part of music around the world. The act has been made global with the popularity of dance-oriented pop music. In addition to the United States, the United Kingdom, South Korea, and Japan, produced popular acts since the 1990s.
Just like boy bands, girl groups depend on the female consumer for popularity and success. The key difference is girls try to emulate their styles, singing and success.
As for my ranking, I’m going to include those three “S”s and one crucial “T” — talent. Here are a few notable groups that just missed out on my top 10: The Bangles, Martha & The Vandellas, Apollonia 6, Klymaxx, Mary Jane Girls, Wilson Phillips, Blaque, 702, Total, Sister Sledge and Labelle.
10. The Go-Go’s
The sound of the 1980s is easy to identify. And The Go-Go’s exemplify the high-energy, new wave style that was sweeping airwaves on FM radio back in the day. The Go-Go’s were formed in Los Angeles as a rock band in 1978. The band consisted of Charlotte Caffey on lead guitar and keyboards, Belinda Carlisle on lead vocals. In addition Gina Schock was on drums, Kathy Valentine on bass guitar, and Jane Wiedlin on rhythm guitar.
In the early 1980s, The Go-Go’s found success with album “Beauty and the Beat.” The group’s three biggest hits came courtesy of that debut record.
“Our Lips Are Sealed” went to No. 20 on the Billboard charts and “We Got the Beat” went to No. 1. I still love those tunes when I am doing cardio and need a boost during my time at the gym.
9. Bananarama
A group with a similar sound to The Go-Go’s was Bananarama. The English pop group from London formed in 1980 with friends Sara Dallin, Siobhan Fahey and Keren Woodward.
How good was Bananarama? The group holds the Guinness World Records for achieving the world’s highest number of chart entries by an all-female group. Between 1982 and 2009, they had 30 singles reach the Top 50 of the UK Singles Chart.
Now the essential Bananarama tune is “Cruel Summer.” Released in 1983, the song reached new heights in popularity as a part of the “The Karate Kid” soundtrack. Around every July, I play the song to be the perfect soundtrack to the Memphis heat but give my heart a much needed boost.
8. The Supremes
I am not a big fan of The Supremes. But I can’t deny their spot on this countdown. The trio of Diana Ross, Mary Wilson, Florence Ballard and later Cindy Birdsong changed the game for girl groups forever. They ushered in the style, charisma and vocal discipline female ensembles use today. The Supremes are one of the most successful girl groups of all time with classics like “Baby Love,” “Stop! In The Name Of Love,” “Come See About Me,” “You Keep Me Hangin’ On,” and “Where Did Our Love Go.”
7. Spice Girls
The Spice Girls are my guilty pleasure. Back in the mid-1990s, the collection of British talent Mel B (“Scary Spice”), Melanie Chisholm, or Mel C (“Sporty Spice”), Emma Bunton (“Baby Spice”), Geri Halliwell (“Ginger Spice”), and Victoria Beckham (“Posh Spice”) were the subject of late-night jokes. It was not cool to enjoy the music of the Spice Girls in inner city Memphis in 1996.
But I found myself sneaking to listen to their CD and I acted like I was giving a harsh critique of their music whenever the video would come on to just listen to the full song. My favorite Spice Girls tune is “2 Become 1.”
6. The Pointer Sisters
One of my favorite R&B groups of time are The Pointer Sisters. The actual siblings were from Oakland and hit the nationwide scene in the 1970s and 80s. Their sound went beyond just R&B with a mixture of pop, disco, jazz,electronic and blues. The Pointer Sisters have won three Grammy Awards and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1994.
The group struck gold with popularity in the 1980s with the lineup of June, Ruth, and Anita. Here is a rundown of their hit songs including a couple of Grammy winners: “Automatic” (1984), “Jump (For My Love)” (1984), “Fire” (1979), “He’s So Shy” (1980), “Slow Hand” (1981), the remixed version of “I’m So Excited” (1984), and “Neutron Dance” (1985).
5. En Vogue
I consider this group the Boyz II Men of girl groups. They are super talented and make music for all generations. And they’ve gone from four members to a trio.
En Vogue is an R&B/pop vocal group whose original lineup consisted of singers Terry Ellis, Dawn Robinson, Cindy Herron, and Maxine Jones. Also formed in Oakland, En Vogue started in 1989 and blossomed to dominate the 1990s.
En Vogue reached No. 2 on the US Hot 100 with the single “Hold On,” from their 1990 debut album Born to Sing. Their second album spun three mega hits with “My Lovin’ (You’re Never Gonna Get It),” “Giving Him Something He Can Feel,” and “Free Your Mind”.
En Vogue has sold more than 30 million records worldwide and won numerous awards like MTV Video Music Awards, Soul Train Awards and American Music Awards, to go along with seven Grammy nominations.
4. Xscape
The female Jodeci of my lifetime was Xscape. The quartet from Atlanta had a funky edge with a sex appeal. They wore the uniform of the hip-hop generation but still wanted to be gurl. Xscape was made up of Kandi Burruss, Tameka “Tiny” Cottle, LaTocha Scott, Tamera Coggins-Wynn, and Tamika Scott over time. The group released their debut album Hummin’ Comin’ at ‘Cha in 1993, which spawned two of their biggest hits “Just Kickin’ It” and “Understanding.”
My personal favorite Xscape song is “Who Can I Run To,” from their sophomore album “Off the Hook” in 1995. These girls were the soundtrack of my high school life and I truly appreciate their contributions to my growing up. Their music helped girls bridge the communication gap with us fellas. Xscape gave girls the confidence to express their feeling to us.
3. The Emotions
This girl group I’ve always heard in the background of my life. They accompanied the legendary band Earth, Wind and Fire for many songs. The Emotions had humble beginnings as a gospel outfit known as the Hutchinson Sunbeams. Under the guidance of their father Joe Hutchinson, the sisters Pamela, Wanda, Jeanette and Sheila made a national splash on the gospel music circuit.
Then the girls gravitated toward the R&B/Soul genre. The girls from Chicago changed their name and signed with the Memphis-based Volt imprint of Stax Records in the late 1960s
With modest success, The Emotions took off with the hit “So I Can Love You.”
The release of their second and third albums, The Emotions found their groove and had a signature sound. Most will know their voices as a part of EWF’s Boogie Wonderland. But to really embrace the contribution of The Emotions to music, listen to “Walking the Line.”
2. TLC
One of the most popular girl groups of all time was TLC. The trio of Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins, Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes and Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas were formed in Atlanta in the early 1990s. These girls were really crazy, sexy and cool. They took the blueprint of The Supremes and added some 1990s energy. TLC scored nine top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, including four No. 1 singles “Creep,” “Waterfalls,” “No Scrubs,” and “Unpretty.”
TLC was so good, the album CrazySexyCool received a diamond certification from the Recording Industry Association of America. TLC also became the first R&B group in history to receive the Million certification from the Recording Industry Association of Japan for “FanMail.”
Countless awards from the Grammy Awards to American Music Awards validates their awesomeness and ability to crossover while being themselves the whole time.
1. SWV
Sisters With Voices could have been named TLC with the members Cheryl (Coko) Gamble, Tamara (Taj) Johnson and Leanne (Lelee) Lyons. Beaten to the name, the girls from New York had to settle with SWV.
The reason why SWV ranks No. 1 on my list is their pure hit-making power. Their hits include “Weak,” “Right Here (Human Nature Remix),” “I’m So into You,” and “You’re the One.”
SWV sold than 25 million records worldwide, making them one of the best-selling girl groups of all time. Another reason I rank them the best of all time is their appeal on stage, unique sound, great videos, cultural impacting songs and their music is still enjoyable almost 30 years later.
THOMAS SELLERS JR. is the editor of The Millington Star and both the sports editor and a weekly personal columnist for West 10 Media/Magic Valley Publishing. Contact him by phone at (901) 433-9138, by fax to (901) 529-7687 and by email to [email protected].
