Laura Flam

Emily Sieu Liebowitz

Featuring 300 hours of new interviews with 90+ subjects, an oral history of the Girl Groups (such as The Ronettes, The Shirelles, The Supremes, and The Vandellas) that redefined that 1960s The Girl Group Sound, made famous and unforgettable by acts like The Ronettes, The Shirelles, The Supremes, and The Vandellas, took over the airwaves by capturing the mix of innocence and rebellion emblematic of America in in the 1960s. As songs like "Will You Love Me Tomorrow," "Then He Kissed Me," and "Be My Baby" rose to number one, Girl Groups cornered the burgeoning post-war market of teenage rock and roll fans, indelibly shaping the trajectory of pop music in the process. But the story of the Girl Group Sound is also one of race and power. The women, most of whom were Black and many of whom were only teenagers when their first songs were recorded, were cultivated, packaged, and sold by a music industry that cut them out of the lion's share of their profits. And though the women's careers would take them on tour with Civil Rights leaders and to performances at some of the earliest desegregated concerts, many found themselves cast aside as trends shifted in favor of the largely white British Invasion of the mid to late '60s. While the voices of the Girl Group Sound have become essential to the American canon, many of the artists remain all but anonymous to most listeners. Weaving together over 300 hours of interviews across more than ninety subjects, But Will You Love Me Tomorrow: The Women of the Girl Groups gives voice to the many women of the era who have long been consigned to silence. Through the chorus formed by their collective voice in these pages, But Will You Love Me Tomorrow is a distinctly American coming-of-age story--it's a story of girls finding their footing as young women, of artistic success and struggle, and of the inequity faced by women of color in this country.

An Oral History of the '60s Girl Groups

But Will You Love Me Tomorrow?

Featuring 300 hours of new interviews with 90+ subjects, an oral history of the Girl Groups (such as The Ronettes, The Shirelles, The Supremes, and The Vandellas) that redefined that 1960s The Girl Group Sound, made famous and unforgettable by acts like The Ronettes, The Shirelles, The Supremes, and The Vandellas, took over the airwaves by capturing the mix of innocence and rebellion emblematic of America in in the 1960s. As songs like “Will You Love Me Tomorrow,” “Then He Kissed Me,” and “Be My Baby” rose to number one, Girl Groups cornered the burgeoning post-war market of teenage rock and roll fans, indelibly shaping the trajectory of pop music in the process. But the story of the Girl Group Sound is also one of race and power. The women, most of whom were Black and many of whom were only teenagers when their first songs were recorded, were cultivated, packaged, and sold by a music industry that cut them out of the lion’s share of their profits. And though the women’s careers would take them on tour with Civil Rights leaders and to performances at some of the earliest desegregated concerts, many found themselves cast aside as trends shifted in favor of the largely white British Invasion of the mid to late ‘60s. While the voices of the Girl Group Sound have become essential to the American canon, many of the artists remain all but anonymous to most listeners. Weaving together over 300 hours of interviews across more than ninety subjects, But Will You Love Me Tomorrow: The Women of the Girl Groups gives voice to the many women of the era who have long been consigned to silence. Through the chorus formed by their collective voice in these pages, But Will You Love Me Tomorrow is a distinctly American coming-of-age story—it’s a story of girls finding their footing as young women, of artistic success and struggle, and of the inequity faced by women of color in this country.

Emily Sieu Liebowitz

About

Books

Join the club