In 1960, there were approximately 11.7 million girls between the ages of 12 to 17 in the United States. These young women earned, through allowance and babysitting, on average four dollars a week in discretionary income; they spent it on magazines, movies, records, clothing and make-up.
Also in 1960, The Shirelles’ “Tonight’s the Night” broke on to the Billboard Top 40 chart. A few months later, in January of 1961, The Shirelles would spend two weeks at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart with their hit “Will You Love Me Tomorrow.” It was the first time an African American all-female group would hit the number one spot. From the early to mid-1960s more than 1500 all-female groups would try to follow in the Shirelles’ footsteps. Some of the most successful of these groups would be: The Ronettes, The Crystals, The Shangri-Las, Martha and the Vandellas, The Chiffons, and The Supremes.
Research a few of these girl groups. Gather important details including: titles of songs, names of groups, and lyrics from songs. Think about why these groups were so popular. What could be seen as troubling to parents? Were the girl groups of the 1960s a reflection of traditional female roles or voices of empowerment?
Watch a few clips of these groups (using YouTube or other sources). Be sure to include these clips in your works cited list.
Write an essay using the information and details you gathered from your research above to answer the following questions.
During the early to mid-1960s, female pop music groups became wildly popular with American teenagers. Why do you think this was so?
Why was this music seen as dangerous to parents during this time?
Were the girl groups of the 1960s a reflection of traditional female roles or voices of empowerment?
Support your answers with specifics gathered from your research above. This paper should be 3-4 pages, in 7th APA style, utilizing the college’s library resources.
For writing assistance, please visit the Rasmussen College Writing Guide.
For help with APA, visit the Rasmussen College APA Guide.
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