[sHiRelles]

when shirley alston reeves, addie "micki" harris, doris coley (who would later become doris kenner-jackson) and beverly lee banded together to form the shirelles, they could not have known that they—four african-american school girls from new jersey—would wind up changing the course of music history. by 1957, when the shirelles were born, the united states supreme court had determined that separate was not equal, but integration had failed to provide true equality. though job opportunities for black americans were increasing, legendary entertainers such as patti labelle & the bluebelles, mary wells and the supremes had yet to make their mark on the music industry, making dreams of stardom nothing more than flights of fancy…or so it would seem.

"discovered" by one of their classmates, whose mother, florence greenberg, was the head of scepter records, the shirelles had a hit with the single "i met him on a sunday" within a year of their formation. the following years provided the girls with several more hits in the form of "dedicated to the one i love" and "tonight's the night". with songs provided by many members of the famous brill building writing team—carole king, burt bacharach, hal david, etc.—and innovative production by the likes of luther dixon, the shirelles were on a roll. hits such as "baby it's you", "foolish little girl", "mama said" and "soldier boy" were minor successes in comparison to their all-time biggest hit and most enduring contribution to modern music, "will you love me tomorrow". the song, which established the shirelles as the first female group to reach number one on the charts—they were also the second to accomplish this feat, with "soldier boy"—would eventually be covered by such distinguished artists as roberta flack, cher and carole king. other songs of theirs have been covered by dionne warwick, aretha franklin, the mamas & the papas, patti austin, laura nyro, peaches & herb, and bernadette peters.

the shirelles hold the distinction of being the first female group to ever sell one million albums and of being the first pop act, male or female, to be featured in a radio commercial for coca-cola. their most lasting contribution, however, may be having paved the way for subsequent girl groups like the ronettes, brenda & the tabulations, the bobettes and martha & the vandellas, as well as solo artists such as brenda holloway and dusty springfield. mary wilson, of the supremes, reflected, in 1996, "[the shirelles] definitely made a way for girl groups because, prior to that, it was all guys. they showed that it could work." dionne warwick holds the shirelles in similar esteem and credits them with having taught her stage presence.

kenner-jackson left the group for seven years beginning in 1968. though various permutations of the shirelles have performed and recorded consistently since the 1960s, founding member micki harris died in 1982; the three surviving members recorded together for the last time in 1983. on 4 february 2000, the world lost another shirelle as doris kenner-jackson succumbed to breast cancer in sacramento, california. it was kenner-jackson who sang lead on "will you love me tomorrow" and "dedicated to the one i love".

the shirelles have performed at virtually every major venue in the united states. they have performed for three u.s. presidents. they have been voted best female group by both billboard and cash box for five consecutive years, presented with awards from bmi, the rhythm & blues foundation, the rock & roll hall of fame, the uso, the vitenam veterans of america and the united states army. they introduced the world to the songwriting skill of carole king, gerry goffin, ashford & simpson, burt bacharach, hald david and others. they were the first group to headline an integrated show in alabama and aided in the integration of shows in many other states, throughout their careers. they were also among the first celebrities to lend a hand in the fight against aids. surely, the contributions made to music and the world, in general, by these four black girls from new jersey is felt not only by members of groups such as en vogue, brownstone, eternal, ex-girlfriend and xscape, but by anybody who has ever listened to the radio. in 1996, for the first time in history, there were more women featured on billboard music charts than men; that could not have happened if the brownstone had not, first, wrested the number spot from them. divastation.com mourns the loss of both micki harris and doris kenner-jackson, as we are eternally indebted to these four original funky divas.