The State Theatre will host a hit-filled night of golden oldies
By Mike Morsch
From the Princeton Packet
The Shirelles had two singles for Decca Records that charted in the late 1950s — “I Met Him on a Sunday” in 1958 and “Dedicated to the One I Love” in 1959 — but neither broke into the Top 40.
One of the first all-girl groups of that era, the Shirelles showcased the voices of Shirley Owens (later Shirley Alston Reeves), Doris Coley, Addie “Micki” Harris and Beverly Lee. In the early 1960s, they were signed by Florence Greenberg for the newly formed Scepter Records.
“The record company didn’t ask us, it told us to do an album,” says Ms. Alston Reeves. “We were about to record in the studio and Florence Greenberg, who owned the label, said, ‘Why don’t you girls write another song?’ We had written ‘I Met Him on a Monday,’ our first record. And Florence said, ‘You can make money writing, so go home and write a song.’ I said, ‘When do you want us to do it?’ And she said, ‘Tonight.’ I said, ‘OK, tonight’s the night.’ And I went home and I wrote it. It was as simple as that.”
“Tonight’s the Night” would be the title track to the Shirelles’ debut album of the same name, released in 1961. It would be the first single from the album, and it cracked the Top 40 coming in at No. 39 on the U.S. Billboard Top 100 singles chart.
But it was the follow-up single from that album that put the Shirelles on the map. Written by Carole King and Gerry Goffin, “Will You (Still) Love Me Tomorrow” went all the way to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart and became a million-seller.
When she first heard “Will You (Still) Love Me Tomorrow,” Ms. Alston Reeves didn’t like it all that much.
“Carole came in and she played it on the piano and sang it for us. And I looked at Florence, and I said, ‘Let me tell you, that’s not a Shirelles record.’ She said, ‘What do you mean?’ I said, ‘I’m telling you, that’s country-western and we don’t do country-western. I don’t think it’s gonna work,’” said Ms. Alston Reeves. “But when I got to the studio with the girls and we got the music team and started with the strings and everything, we fell in love with the song. It was beautiful.”
That’s just one of the hits that will be featured at the Golden Oldies Spectacular show at the State Theatre in New Brunswick, Nov. 12. The show will feature eight all-stars acts, four of which have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Shirley Alston Reeves and the Shirelles, credited with being among the pioneers of the girl group genre, have seven Top 20 hits. In addition to “Will You (Still) Love Me Tomorrow,” “Soldier Boy,” “Mama Said,” “Baby It’s You,” “Dedicated to the One I Love” and “Foolish Little Girl.”
Charlie Thomas was a member of The Five Crowns that was performing at the Apollo Theater in 1958 when George Treadwell, who owned the Drifters trademark, fired his singers and replaced them with Mr. Thomas and The Five Crowns. The Drifters would go on have hits on the pop and rhythm and blues charts, including “There Goes My Baby,” “Save The Last Dance For Me,” “This Magic Moment,” “Up on the Roof” and “Under the Boardwalk.”
“They used to call the Shirelles the ‘female Drifters.’ We loved that because we loved their music,” said Ms. Alston Reeves. “If people would have said we were the female Beatles, we would have loved that, too.”
The Coasters started out in Los Angeles in the late 1950s and had hits with “storytelling” songs like “Yakety Yak,” “Charlie Brown,” “Poison Ivy,” “Little Egypt” and “Along Came Jones.” The group’s song “Young Blood” was performed by George Harrison and Leon Russell at the Concert for Bangladesh in 1971 and Bad Company’s version of the tune went to the Top 20 on the pop charts. Elvis Presley sang “Little Egypt” in the 1964 film “Roustabout.”
The Legendary Teenagers were the first integrated group to have a No. 1 with “Why Do Fools Fall in Love” in 1956, with the late Frankie Lymon singing lead. The Teenagers had six Top 10 R&B singles, including “I’m Not a Juvenile Delinquent” and “The ABCs of Love.”
Jay Siegel’s Tokens, a Brooklyn-based doo-wop group, had a No. 1 single with “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” in 1961. The song became popular again in 1994 after being used in the hit Disney film, “The Lion King.”
Also performing at the Golden Oldies Spectacular will be Jimmy Beaumont and The Skyliners, which had three Top 40 hits including “Since I Don’t Have You,” “This I Swear” and “Pennies From Heaven”; Jimmy Gallagher and The Passions, which had doo wop classics “Just to Be With You” and “I Only Want You”; and Larry Chance and The Earls, which charted with hits “Remember Then,” “I Believe” and “Life is But A Dream.”
Harry G – the “Duke of Doo Wop” — will emcee the show.
“I’ve been asked if I ever get tired of singing the songs and I say no I don’t because each time it’s a new audience. It’s just like my first show every time,” said Ms. Alston Reeves. “The music was just that good.”
The Golden Oldies Spectacular will be at the State Theatre, 15 Livingston Ave., New Brunswick, Nov. 12, 7 p.m. For tickets and information, go to statetheatrenj.org or call 732-246-7469.
The Princeton Packet and Greater Media Newspapers are part of the Newspaper Media Group.