422 - Various Artists - The Best of the Girl Groups Volumes 1 & 2

These two albums (yeah, not a 2 disc set, but these are actually two separate albums...*sigh*) cover a bevy of songs that fit into the "girl group sound" although not all of the artists/groups included are strictly "girl groups" (The Essex, Cher, and Joanie Sommers). Not only does the collection show the talented singers that occupied the music scene between rock and roll's first wave and the Beatles, you also get good exposure to the talented Brill Building songwriters (plenty of Gerry Goffin/Carole King and Jeff Barry/Ellie Greenwich).

I hadn't remembered the theatricality of "Leader of the Pack:" the spoken word sections, sound effects, and the singing conversation between the girls. The same could be said about "Remember (Walking in the Sand)." Otherwise, it gave me a chuckle to hear so many uses of "shooby-dooby," "sha-la," and other examples of rock and roll scat.

This is an era I need to revisit more frequently.

Songs I knew I liked: "Leader of the Pack" by The Shangri-Las,"He's So Fine" by The Chiffons, "Chapel of Love" by The Dixie Cups, "The Boy from New York City" by The Ad Libs, "The Shoop Shoop Song (It's in His Kiss)" by Betty Everett, "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow" by The Shirelles, "Remember (Walking in the Sand)" by The Shangri-Las, "One Fine Day" by The Chiffons, "My Boyfriend's Back" by The Angels, "The Loco-Motion" by Little Eva, and "Tell Him" by The Exciters

Songs I didn't know but now like: "Popsicles and Icicles" by The Murmaids and "I Met Him on a Sunday" by The Shirelles

Songs I can go the rest of my life without hearing again: The second disc had fewer songs that I recognized and found interesting, but none particularly turned me off.