Top girl groups of all time

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January 14, 2019
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Top girl groups of all time

From Diana Ross and the Supremes to the Spice Girls and Haim, there is a long line of girl groups topping the Billboard charts and shaping the future of pop music. Yet as recently as the '50s the music industry was very much a boy's club, with girls relegated to background vocals and piano accompaniments. Starting in the '60s, women began to find themselves center stage, leading the show instead of watching from the wings. They haven't let up since.

Last year, put together a list of the top girl groups of all time, from Motown to modern day. The rankings are based on actual performance on the weekly Billboard Hot 100 chart through July 22, 2017. Billboard assigned points to each position on the Hot 100 chart, and each girl group's collected songs that charted over the course of their career were aggregated to determine the final ranking. Certain time frames were weighted to account for the difference between turnover rates from those years, allowing for a more equitable and fair representation.

麻豆原创 has taken a closer look at these girl groups, highlighting when they broke onto the scene, their famous hits, and how they impacted the industry as a whole. Counting down from 10, learn a little bit more about the top girl groups of all time and rediscover some classic hits.

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#10. Martha & The Vandellas

Billboard Hot 100 hits: 24

Billboard Hot 100 top 10 hits: 6

Billboard Hot 100 #1 hits: 0

Martha & The Vandellas signed their first  in 1962, and a year later their runaway hit 鈥淗eat Wave鈥 made them one of the studio's biggest acts. While Martha & The Vandellas have , the faces and voices have changed over the years. The original group included Martha Reeves, Rosalind Ashford, and Annette Beard, but Betty Kelly, Lois Reeves, and Sandra Tilley were all members of the group at different times. The group had , including 鈥淐ome and Get These Memories,鈥 鈥淨uicksand,鈥 鈥淛immy Mack,鈥 鈥淏less You,鈥 and 鈥淒ancing in the Street,鈥 which was their signature single. The counterpoint to Diana Ross and the Supremes, Martha & The Vandellas' major contributions to R&B won them an induction into the (R&B music was a major precursor to rock 'n' roll) in 1995. In 1971, when Motown moved west, Martha & The Vandellas disbanded, reuniting briefly in the early 鈥80s for Motown's 25th anniversary TV special. Each of the girls tried their hand at a solo career, most of which were short-lived, before moving into semi-retirement.

#9. En Vogue

Billboard Hot 100 hits: 14

Billboard Hot 100 top 10 hits: 6

Billboard Hot 100 #1 hits: 0

En Vogue's debut album 鈥淏orn to Sing鈥 . Instantly , the group differentiated themselves by sharing vocal parts equally and never assigning a lead singer. The original line up included Terry Ellis, Cindy Herron, Maxine Jones (who left the group in 2001), and Dawn Robinson. The group went on to record six albums, as well as a Christmas album, and had several chart-topping singles including 鈥淗old On,鈥 鈥淢y Lovin' (You're Never Gonna Get It),鈥 鈥淒on't Let Go,鈥 and 鈥淔ree Your Mind.鈥 Some believe that En Vogue for girl groups to follow, . In April 2018, an En Vogue incarnation composed of Terry Ellis, Cindy Herron, and Rhona Bennett released a new their first album in 14 years, titled 鈥淓lectric Cafe,鈥 with the singles 鈥淒eja Vu,鈥 鈥淚'm Good,鈥 鈥淗ave a Seat,鈥 and 鈥淩ocket.鈥

#8. Expos茅

Billboard Hot 100 hits: 12

Billboard Hot 100 top 10 hits: 8

Billboard Hot 100 #1 hits: 1

Ann Curless, Jeanette Jurado, and Gioia Bruno make up the Latin freestyle/dance group Expos茅. Their first record 鈥淓xposure鈥 was released in 1987 to much fanfare. The group became the first in history to have four top-10 hits on their debut album, including the runaway hit 鈥淪eason's Change,鈥 eclipsing records set by The Beatles and The Supremes. For the next decade鈥攗ntil 1996鈥攖he group continued to record music and tour, eventually citing . Expos茅  and embarked on a tour that began in Miami. The group, credited with bringing dance music to the mainstream, still tours and records together today.

#7. Wilson Phillips

Billboard Hot 100 hits: 7

Billboard Hot 100 top 10 hits: 4

Billboard Hot 100 #1 hits: 3

The members of Wilson Phillips are . Sisters Carnie and Wendy Wilson are the daughters of Beach Boy leader Brian Wilson, while Chynna Phillips is the progeny of John and Michelle Phillips of The Mamas & the Papas. The group was formed in 1990 when Chynna suggested that they come together with other children of famous musicians to make a charity record. While the record never came to fruition, the girls stuck together, releasing their wildly successful debut album 鈥淲ilson Phillips.鈥 Their three singles from the album, 鈥淗old On,鈥 鈥淩elease Me,鈥 and 鈥淵ou're In Love鈥 topped the charts for weeks. However, their subsequent work never quite compared, and . Wilson Phillips has reunited twice since the split, recording three additional albums and continuing to tour. A large portion of their work has been comprised of covers, but their pop-folk-rock sound definitely had a major influence on 鈥90s music.

#6. The Shirelles

Billboard Hot 100 hits: 24

Billboard Hot 100 top 10 hits: 6

Billboard Hot 100 #1 hits: 2

The Shirelles are a testament to the fact that childhood dreams really can come true. In 1957, Shirley Owens, Doris Coley, Addie Harris, and Beverly Lee formed a group to perform at their . The original song they sang that night, "I Met Him on a Sunday," became their first official single, licensed by Decca Records. Eventually, the group moved over to Scepter Records and began working with Luther Dixon. The sound he helped them create led to The Shirelles becoming "one of the first and most emotionally affecting" girl groups, The New York Times . Their song "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" topped pop charts, another first for an all-female vocal group. The group began to break up in 1967, when Shirley Owens left, making their final appearance in 1983. In 1996, they were inducted into the .

#5. The Bangles

Billboard Hot 100 hits: 8

Billboard Hot 100 top 10 hits: 5

Billboard Hot 100 #1 hits: 2

, The Bangles topped charts with classics like 鈥淲alk Like an Egyptian,鈥 鈥淢anic Monday,鈥 and 鈥淓ternal Flame.鈥 When Susanna Hoffs, Vicki Peterson, and Debbi Peterson came together in the early 1980s, they until a legal issue forced them to add the "-les." Mixing British Invasion guitar pop with the energy of the new wave and punk rock, The Bangles were one of the only female bands in the 鈥80s to achieve both commercial and critical success. They disbanded in 1990 to pursue solo projects, coming back together in 1998 to record songs for the 鈥淎ustin Powers鈥 soundtrack and launching a tour in 2000. The Bangles released an album full of remastered songs in 2014 from an early EP as well as other rarities, titled 鈥淟adies and Gentlemen鈥 The Bangles.鈥 They still tour together occasionally today.

#4. The Pointer Sisters

Billboard Hot 100 hits: 26

Billboard Hot 100 top 10 hits: 7

Billboard Hot 100 #1 hits: 0

Growing up, the Pointer Sisters鈥擱uth, Anita, Bonnie, and June鈥攈ad preachers for from the family home. But that didn't stop the girls from pursuing their dream of superstardom. Initially, the group only consisted of Bonnie and June, who performed in clubs all over San Francisco in the late 1960s. It wasn't until Ruth and Anita joined The Pointer Sisters, however, that the group began to find real commercial success. In 1975, they won their first Grammy Award for the country-western hit 鈥淔airytale,鈥 and they were  to perform at the Grand Ole Opry. Bonnie left the group in 1976, and the trio began moving towards a more rock 'n' roll sound, which culminated in their multi-platinum album 鈥淏reak Out鈥 and the honor of being one of the first African-American acts to have their videos played on MTV. June Pointer lost her battle to lung cancer in 2006, but the remaining sisters still perform together today.

#3. Destiny's Child

Billboard Hot 100 hits: 14

Billboard Hot 100 top 10 hits: 10

Billboard Hot 100 #1 hits: 4

The most well-known incarnation of Destiny's Child, the one that became one of the most popular R&B groups in the 鈥90s and early 鈥00s, was made up of Beyonc茅 Knowles, Kelly Rowland, and Michelle Williams. There were other early members (LeToya Luckett, LaTivia Roberson, and Farrah Franklin), but Beyonc茅, Kelly, and Michelle behind albums like 鈥淪urvivor鈥 and singles like 鈥淏ootylicious.鈥 Destiny's Child officially formed in 1990, but it wasn't until 1997鈥攚hen they signed a contract with Columbia鈥攖hat the group really hit it big. Eventually, personnel changes and drama (at one point their feuds filled tabloids) and burgeoning solo careers (Beyonc茅 is unarguably one of the biggest stars in the world) splintered the group, but they , like their performance at Super Bowl XLVII in 2013.

#2. TLC

Billboard Hot 100 hits: 16

Billboard Hot 100 top 10 hits: 9

Billboard Hot 100 #1 hits: 4

Formed in 1991, Tionne 鈥淭-Boz鈥 Watkins, Lisa 鈥淟eft-Eye鈥 Lopes, and Rozonda 鈥淐hilli鈥 Thomas didn't know that TLC would record three multi-platinum albums with nine top-10 hits; they were just excited to have a record deal. It was their sophomore album, 鈥淐razySexyCool,鈥 released in 1994, that launched them into superstardom with singles like 鈥淐reep鈥 and 鈥淲aterfalls.鈥 When Left-Eye died in an automobile accident in 2002, it seemed as if TLC's days were numbered. However, T-Boz and Chilli have performed together a number of times over the last 17 years and released (鈥淭LC鈥) in 2017.

#1. The Supremes

Billboard Hot 100 hits: 45

Billboard Hot 100 top 10 hits: 20

Billboard Hot 100 #1 hits: 12

With a whopping 20 top-10 hits, and 12 number one hits, The Supremes are Billboard's top girl group of all time. At their peak, , and they were undoubtedly Motown's most commercially successful group. Florence Ballard, Diana Ross, and Mary Wilson sang in a style that bridged the worlds of pop and soul, creating their own genre of music. While success wasn't instantaneous for the group, , including "Where Did Our Love Go?," "Stop! In the Name of Love," "Come See About Me," and "You Keep Me Hanging On." In 1970, Diana Ross left the group, and in 1977 the group disbanded for good. The success of Diana Ross and The Supremes has been credited with to find their own commercial success. Meaning, that if the Supremes hadn't existed, music today wouldn't be the same.

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