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Girl Groups of the 1960s

Bibliographic Data

ID5160844
AuthorsCynthia J Cyrus (0000-0001-7206-1177, corresponding author)
Year2003
Volume22
Issue2
Pages173-193
Publication date2003-05-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenuePopular Music (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0261-1430 • E-ISSN: 1474-0095
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s0261143003003118
OpenAlexW2130017352
LanguageEN
Citations received8
References cited1

This article considers the parameters and implications of the look of 1960s girl groups such as the Marvelettes, the Shirelles and the Shangri-Las through an examination of approximately two hundred images taken from title pages for songs, from LP covers, and from ads and publicity photos. An overwhelming majority of these visual images depict the members of an ensemble as equal and visually interchangeable, for the members dressed in the same clothes and accessories, sported the same hair style and stood in the same pose. This uniformity supported the chatty teenage dialogue which typified the girl group lyrics. Perhaps more importantly, it also invited the audience member to identify herself with the members of the group. Such a message of belonging was an important part of a marketing strategy aimed at the increasingly multiracial teen market of the period

Advertising · Art · Business · Clothing · Girl · Literature · Lyrics · Media studies · Political science · Publicity · Sociology · Style (visual arts · Visual arts · Gender, Feminism, and Media · Law · Media, Gender, and Advertising · Music History and Culture · Psychology

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