Girl Groups: Fabulous Females That Rocked the World

This is as close to a definitive book on the Girl Group genre as you are likely to find... unless John Clemente decides to write a sequel, including the groups he had to leave out due to space limitations.He corrects many of the mistakes made in Alan Betrock's book on the same subject. This book sets the record straight. The discographies are amazing. The interviews and rare pics are terrific. Any fan would be pleased.If I have a complaint, it's that some groups have been left out. How can you include the Go-Go's but not the Bangles? As I said, space must have been the issue. Let's hope there is a volume 2 in the works.

There have been a lot of books and videos about girl groups but all them involved large, really large, gaps of information, missing names, erroneous information and so on. John Clemente amazingly gets it all down, all correct and every little detail in. How he did it I don't know. This book is fabulous and endlessly rereadable. And you will love the rare photos.

The work that went into this book is astounding. As a girl-groups expert, I seldom find information that is new to me. However, author John Clemente painstakingly looked at the top girl groups and not only gives a narrative history, but a listing of group members over the various years and an exhaustive discography. Fun to read, fab pictures, and, if you're into collectibles, a good reference book, too.

What a great book! Not only does the author cover the usual suspects - the Supremes, Chiffons and Shirelles, but he gives extensive information on the less widely known, but no less (and often more) talented girl groups from coast to coast. For instance, records by Cincinnati's "Teardrops", whose raw talent and natural vocal blends made them a stand-out in that region, are still being collected from the US to the UK to Japan! Those girls never signed a major record deal, but their natural talents, unique sounds and inventive musical techniques were more "supreme" by far than some of their more famous, professionally produced counterparts. Luckily, this book goes to great lengths to include 60 of the girl groups who were most influential in the genre, not just rehash what we already know about the best-known handful. The Pre-British-Invasion sound of the 50s and 60s was largely influenced by girl groups, until the rise of their rich sound was eclipsed by an influx of first generation boy bands from across the sea. The sounds, styles and sentiments expressed through the girl group sound have never been matched. Girl groups made music because they loved singing. Many of them were in their early to late teens when they hit the limelight. They grew up singing together with friends on street corners, in gymnasiums or wherever else the acoustics were good for creating that distinct harmonic sound we know and love - often times without any instruments to back them up. That pure vocal magic has never been tapped again, as music has regrettably gone from passion to pop profit play. Finally, we have a book which explores the music and the makers of the last great era in heart-felt & soul-created music and gives us all a comprehensive understanding of how the groups came to be and where the girls who won our hearts are now. The discography and pricing guide for collectors is a great added bonus, which illustrates the ongoing value of the music made decades ago. Some of the records, especially those made by the lesser known groups, are "hot" collector's items, hard to come by -- even in bootleg -- because it just doesn't get any better than it was when the Girl Groups sang!

Not since Alan Betrock's "GIRL GROUPS: STORY OF A SOUND" have we had such a telling history laid out for us about this decidedly underrated genre! Through a host of photos in addition to interviews with original group members, Clemente effectively delivers the 411 on the mainstream girl groups and often sheds new light on thier histories. A special bonus is the inclusion of lesser known yet noteworthy girl group acts. This is a very important book for anyone who loves girl groups in general and girl group afficiandos in particular