The Bobbettes
- Composer
- Soundtrack
The Bobbettes were a female vocal group that formed in New York City's Harlem in 1955, consisting of eight girls who sang in the glee club at PS 109. Originally calling themselves The Harlem Queens, they ranged in age from nine to 11, and soon began singing in local amateur night contests. They went through some personnel changes and eventually became a quintet. They managed to get on the bill on amateur night at Harlem's famed Apollo Theater; they didn't win but that appearance got them better known in the community, and they began gaining a sizable following. They got a manager, James Dailey, who didn't think "Harlem Queens" was an appropriate name for girls so young, so he changed it to The Bobbettes. Dailey got them a recording contract with Atlantic Records in 1957. They recorded a single called "Mr. Lee", which the girls wrote and which was named after one of their teachers in school--whom they actually disliked; the song was severely critical of him, but Atlantic executives requested that it be toned down, so the girls revised the lyrics to be more complimentary to him--and it made the Top Ten shortly after its release (it shot to #1 on the R&B charts). They couldn't tour to promote the record--they were far too young to go out on the road--so they did some local "one-nighters" and also sang uncredited background vocals for records by such artists as Clyde McPhatter and Ivory Joe Hunter.
Unfortunately their follow-up records to "Mr. Lee" went nowhere. They left Atlantic in 1959 and signed with Triple X Records, but their luck was no better there. They recorded for other labels--Gallant, End, Gone, Diamond--but nothing seemed to work. The closest thing they got to a hit was singing backup on 1963's "Loop de Loop" by Johnny Thunder on Diamond, which hit #4 on the pop charts. They recorded for a variety of labels over the next several years, but nothing broke for them. They remained together as a group into the 1970s, appearing in a variety of "oldies reunion" shows. Group member Reatha Dixon died of a heart attack in 2014.
Unfortunately their follow-up records to "Mr. Lee" went nowhere. They left Atlantic in 1959 and signed with Triple X Records, but their luck was no better there. They recorded for other labels--Gallant, End, Gone, Diamond--but nothing seemed to work. The closest thing they got to a hit was singing backup on 1963's "Loop de Loop" by Johnny Thunder on Diamond, which hit #4 on the pop charts. They recorded for a variety of labels over the next several years, but nothing broke for them. They remained together as a group into the 1970s, appearing in a variety of "oldies reunion" shows. Group member Reatha Dixon died of a heart attack in 2014.