Vocal Groups With Female Lead, Male Backups

[sunshineonacloudyday]

...Gladys Knight & The Pips is probably the best known but please list others, including those from the Doo-Wop era.

Here are a few more:

The Sensations [[Yvonne Mills Baker)
The Essex [[Anita Humes)
The Elgins [[Saundra Mallett/Edwards)

[mark speck]

Brenda and the Tabulations [[the earlier songs)
Patti and the Emblems
Ruby and the Romantics

Best,

Mark

[mowest]

Ad Libs [["Boy From New York City")

[blueskies]

The Sapphires

[robb_k]

2137
Cynthia & Imaginations [[the best of such groups).
Carmen Taylor & Boleros [[Cues)
LaVern Baker & Gliders [[Cues)
Platters -[[When member Zola Taylor led)
Miracles-[[When member Claudette Rogers led)
Irma & Fascinations
Irma & Larks
Mary Wells & Love-Tones
Barbara Lewis & Dells
Barbara Green & Dells
Varetta Dillard & various male groups [[Roamers, etc.)
Little Esther & Roamers
Majestics-[[When Member Sandra Fagin led)
Monitors-[[When Member Sandra Fagin led)
Little Esther & Dominoes
Feathers-when female member led
Superbs-when female member led [[half their songs)
Elgins-[[Saundra Mallett/Edwards)
Vows- [[George Motola's group-long before Motown)
Mellows [[Lillian Leach)
Yvonne Carroll & male group [[Challenge)
Ruby Yates & Swingin' Rocks
Linda Griner & Love-Tones
Linda Hayes & Platters
Letha Jones & Rivals
Barbara Jean & Lyrics

I'm sure there are many more I'm forgetting right now [[more to come).

[blueskies]

Rosie and the Originals

[blueskies]

http://www.history-of-rock.com/kathy_young_and_the_innocents.htm

[sunshineonacloudyday]

Wow, thanks guys! I have looked for a list on the Web before, but found more names in one short afternoon from SDF members. Thank you all!

And Robb, thanks for mentioning the ladies' names as they certainly deserve recognition. It also helps clear up confusion with other groups who used the same name.

The Pretenders [[Valerie Scott, then Patricia Tandy)
Alice Jean and the Mondellos
Barbara Mason and The Larks [[her earliest recordings)

[luke]

Patty and the Emblems.

[marv2]

Rufus featuring Chaka Khan

[robb_k]

2146
Shirley Gunter and The Flairs

[nomis]

From the 80s...

Atlantic Starr
Lisa Lisa And the Cult Jam
Miami Sound Machine

[sunshineonacloudyday]

Here is modern tune [[1978) with some lovely old-school style vocal harmonies, thanks likely to the influence of writer & producer, ED TOWNSEND...

Denise Kelly & Fame - I'd Like To Get Into You

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLpUssO8HGs

[robb_k]

2158

The Sapphires
What Sapphires were one woman on lead, backed by all men? Certainly not The Sapphires who recorded for Swan and ABC Records [[who consisted of all females). For which record labels did they record?

[roger]

2158

What Sapphires were one woman on lead, backed by all men? Certainly not The Sapphires who recorded for Swan and ABC Records [[who consisted of all females). For which record labels did they record?

Well Robb .. I too thought they were an all girl group until I got the "Best of The Sapphires" CD that Sequel issued in the UK back in 1994. The photo of the group on the cover shows two males and a female and we are told they are the lead singer CAROL JACKSON plus her two backups GEORGE GARNER and JOE LIVINGSTON.

The notes for the CD release also include a photo of them with [[ most probably ) KENNY GAMBLE as a member too ..

Roger

[roger]

Here is the cover of the "Best of The Sapphires" CD ..

Wish i could get the hang of making things big enough to make them easy to read.

Roger

[sunshineonacloudyday]

^ Yes Robb , the early Philly Sapphires consisted of lead, Carol Jackson with George Garner, and Joe Livingston on background vocals. In fact, the booklet to the '94 Sequel CD, The Best of The Sapphires, includes a photo of the group with a third male believed to be a young Kenny Gamble, who did vocal arrangements and may have contributed to background singing [[from Rob Hughes' liner notes)

Girl singers were used on one single in '64 "I Found Out Too Late", then regularly on the ABC recordings.

Incidently, I remember reading somewhere that it was also Kenny Gamble who sung backup for Barbara Mason on her early Arctic recordings.

[sunshineonacloudyday]

Lol, I agree with Roger...

[roger]

Hello all ..

Another one we could add to the list is BARBARA ACKLIN ..when she was backed by THE CHI-LITES .. just listen to her version of "More Today Than Yesterday" to hear what I mean ... :)

http://il.youtube.com/watch?v=e-UWijkkyMw

Roger

[uptight]

Brainstorm
Chic

[glencro]

Mother's Finest
The Undisputed Truth
Rose Royce
DeBarge [[Bunny wasn't lead singer but only female)

[blueskies]

Jeena and the Roommates
The Majors
http://www.crystalballrecords.com/catalog/sweet-jeena-roomates-p-2746.html

[sunshineonacloudyday]

The Chestnuts w/Ruby Whitaker
Gwen Edwards & the Co-Eds

[arrr&bee]

You all covered the bases here,but whenever male groups with a female lead is mentioned i gotta give a shoutout to my fav...ruby and the romantics[yes i know they're mentioned]but one of the great but very underrated groups in soul music history,although thier songs were more in the[pop]vein there could still bring it with the best of em..anyone who's ever heard..[young wings can fly]can testify to thier greatness!!

[topdiva1]

Could we include the Fifth D'S in this grouping???

[waldo]

not on all cuts but...

S.O.S. Band - Mary
Mtume - Tawatha
Starpoint - Renee
Atlantic Starr - Sharon
Midnight Star - Belinda
Rotary Connection - Minnie
Earthquire - Tata
East Coast - Gwen

[robb_k]

2163

Jeena and the Roommates
The Majors
http://www.crystalballrecords.com/catalog/sweet-jeena-roomates-p-2746.html

As far as I know, The Majors from Philadelphia, who sang "Wonderful Dream", were all male with a falsetto lead.

Kenny Gamble sang background to Barbara Mason, but he almost always also used a male group [[his Romeos, The Volcanos? or others, maybe including his colleagues [[Leon Huff, etc.).

I first saw The Sapphires in 1964. It must have been after they switched to becoming an all female group. I do remember hearing at least one male voice in Who Do you Love and their earliest Swan cuts.