Bobbie Smith and the Dream Girls were a

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

-based American girl vocal group during the 1950s and 1960s. They are best known for "Duchess of Earl", which was released in early 1962 as an

answer song An answer song, response song or answer record, is a song (usually a recorded track) made in answer to a previous song, normally by another artist. The concept became widespread in blues and R&B recorded music in the 1930s to the 1950s. Answer son ...

to ''

Duke of Earl "Duke of Earl" is a 1962 US number-one song, originally recorded by Gene Chandler. It is the best known of Chandler's songs, and he subsequently dubbed himself "The Duke of Earl". The song was penned by Chandler, Bernice Williams, and Earl Edwa ...

''. The group's original lineup consisted of sisters Bobbie Smith and Sheena Carson, and two of their friends, Kay Green and Tina LaGora. In late 1961, LaGora became pregnant and took a leave of absence from the group. During this time, Louvain Demps of

Motown Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''moto ...

session group

The Andantes The Andantes were an American female session group for the Motown record label during the 1960s. Composed of Jackie Hicks, Marlene Barrow, and Louvain Demps, the group sang background vocals on numerous Motown recordings, including songs by Mar ...

was hired to perform in LaGora's stead. It was during Demps' brief tenure that "Duchess of Earl" was recorded. After the record's release, LaGora returned to the group and Demps devoted herself full-time to The Andantes, who, by 1962, were quickly establishing themselves as Motown's premiere session group.

Members

* Bobbie Smith – lead vocalist (1959–1963) * Sheena Carson (1959–1963) * Kay Green (1959–1963) * Tina LaGora – soprano (1959–1961, 1962–1963) * Louvain Demps – soprano (1961–1962)

References

American girl groups Musical groups from Detroit 1950s establishments in Michigan {{US-rock-band-stub