| "Foolish Little Girl" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by The Shirelles | ||||
| from the album Foolish Little Girl | ||||
| B-side | "Not For All the Money in the World" | |||
| Released | March 1963 | |||
| Genre | R&B | |||
| Length | 2:19 | |||
| Label | Scepter 1248 | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Helen Miller, Howard Greenfield | |||
| Producer(s) | Luther Dixon, Stan Greenberg | |||
| The Shirelles singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Foolish Little Girl" is a song written by Helen Miller and Howard Greenfield and performed by The Shirelles. It reached No.4 on the Billboard Hot 100, No.9 on the R&B chart, and No.38 on the UK Singles Chart in 1963. The song appeared on their 1963 album, Foolish Little Girl and was ranked No.57 on Billboard magazine's Top Hot 100 songs of 1963.
Rival or cover versions of the original song were released by several groups that same year including Clara Wilson (aka Alpha Zoe Hall) and The Cleftones (April 1963), Don Mercedes (July 15, 1963), The Chiffons (September 1963), the father and four son Filipino group The Rocky Fellers (1963), and The Cookies (1963). Two additional covers were recorded decades later by Shirley "Lady Rose" Alston (1977) and Dionne Bromfield (October 12, 2009).
Background
Cash Box described it as "a most attractive, easy beat cha cha romancer." The song released as a single was a demo recorded at Associated Studios in NYC on 7th Avenue. The plan was to re-record it at the studios Scepter Records had access to at the time, but when their attempts at re-recording proved to be unsatisfactory, Luther Dixon sent out The Shirelles to lay down their vocals on the demo version at Associated, and that was the version that was released as a single and became a hit.
The song, which is a mini-opera, begins with the spoken recitation: "You Broke his heart and made him cry, and he's been blue since then, Now he's found somebody new, And you want him back again". Shirley Alston, being the mother, tells her daughter, being the Foolish Little Girl, Played by Beverly Lee, that she did not want him when he wanted her, and that tomorrow is his wedding day with a new girl, and that there was nothing that she can do about it. The Foolish Girl, hopelessly, still declares her love for him, while the mother angrily tells her to forget about him because he found somebody new.
Personnel
The Shirelles' version
- Lead vocals by Shirley Owens and Beverly Lee
- Spoken intro by Doris Coley
- Backing vocals by Addie "Micki" Harris, Doris Coley, and Beverly Lee
- Charles Macey: Guitar and Upright Bass
- Buddy Saltzman: Drums
- Leroy Glover: Organ.
Chart performance
| Chart (1963) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canada (CHUM Chart) | 8 |
| UK Singles (The Official Charts Company) | 38 |
| US Billboard Hot 100 | 4 |
| US Billboard Hot R&B Singles | 9 |
Other versions
- French-Vietnamese singer Tiny Yong released a French language cover of the song, Tais-toi petite folle, in 1963.
- Jin sampled the song on his song "Foolish Little Girls" from his 2005 album, The Emcee's Properganda.
- Dionne Bromfield included it on her 2009 album, Introducing Dionne Bromfield.
In media
- The song was used in Act II in the 2009 jukebox musical, Baby It's You!.
References
- The Shirelles, "Foolish Little Girl" Chart Positions Retrieved March 1, 2014
- The Shirelles, Foolish Little Girl Retrieved March 1, 2014
- "Billboard Top 100 - 1963". Archived from the original on November 29, 2013. Retrieved March 1, 2014.
- Zoe, Alpha. "Discogs". Discogs.
- Foolish Little Girl by The Shirelles, retrieved 2024-01-01
- "CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. March 23, 1963. p. 10. Retrieved 2022-01-12.
- "CHUM Hit Parade - May 6, 1963".
- Eric Brightwell, "Thiên Hương (aka “Tiny Yong”)", EricBrightwell.com. Retrieved 19 August 2020
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