Shirley M. Gunter (September 29, 1934 – December 1, 2015) Shirley Gunter: Obituary, ''Las Vegas Review-Journal''
Retrieved 29 January 2016 was an American singer and songwriter who led one of the earliest female doo-wop groups, Shirley Gunter and the Queens, in the mid-1950s.

Background

She was born in

Coffeyville, Kansas Coffeyville is a city in southeastern Montgomery County, Kansas, United States, located along the Verdigris River in the state's southeastern region. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 8,826. Coffeyville is the most popul ...

; her younger brother was

Cornell Gunter Cornell Gunter (November 14, 1936 – February 26, 1990) was an American rhythm and blues singer, most active in the 1950s and 1960s. He was born in Coffeyville, Kansas, and died in Las Vegas, Nevada, after being shot in his automobile. He was ind ...

. The family moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

in 1942. Cornell Gunter was the first family member to join a vocal group, firstly being a founding member of

The Platters The Platters was an American vocal group formed in 1952. They are one of the most successful vocal groups of the early rock and roll era. Their distinctive sound bridges the pre-rock Tin Pan Alley tradition and the new burgeoning genre. The a ...

and then, in 1953, joining

The Flairs The Flairs (or Flares) were an American doo-wop group known for their 1961 hit "Foot Stompin', Pt. 1." Based in Los Angeles, they went through several lineup changes during their existence. Their notable members included Richard Berry (writer of ...

Career

Shirley's brother Cornell persuaded the

Bihari brothers The Bihari brothers, Lester, Jules, Saul and Joe, were American businessmen of Hungarian Jewish origins. They were the founders of Modern Records in Los Angeles and its subsidiaries, such as Meteor Records, based in Memphis. The Bihari brothers w ...

, owners of

Flair Records Flair Records was an American record label owned by the Bihari brothers, launched in the early 1950s. It was a subsidiary of Modern Records. Its most famous artist were Elmore James, who released ten singles with this label (as listed below), R ...

, to audition his sister, and they signed Shirley on the spot. After releasing solo singles without success, she formed a group, the Four Queens, with her friends Blondene Taylor and Lula Bee Kenney, and Lula's aunt Lula Mae Suggs. In 1954, Gunter and Taylor worked up a nonsense song, "Oop Shoop", and the group quickly recorded it with saxophonist and arranger

Maxwell Davis Thomas Maxwell Davis, Jr. (January 14, 1916 – September 18, 1970), was an American rhythm and blues saxophonist, arranger, bandleader and record producer. Biography Davis was born in Independence, Kansas in 1916. In 1937, he moved to L ...

. Credited to Shirley Gunter and the Queens, it immediately became a regional hit, and rose to number 8 on the national '' Billboard''

R&B chart The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 p ...

after being promoted by leading DJ

Alan Freed Albert James "Alan" Freed (December 15, 1921 – January 20, 1965) was an American disc jockey. He also produced and promoted large traveling concerts with various acts, helping to spread the importance of rock and roll music throughout Nor ...

. Bryan Thomas, Biography of Shirley Gunter, ''Allmusic.com''
Retrieved 29 January 2016 The song was also covered by

the Crew-Cuts The Crew Cuts were a Canadian vocal quartet, that made a number of popular records that charted in the United States and worldwide. They named themselves after the then popular crew cut haircut, one of the first connections made between pop m ...

, whose version made number 13 on the national

pop chart A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of recorded music according to certain criteria during a given period. Many different criteria are used in worldwide charts, often in combination. These include re ...

, and

Harry James Harry Haag James (March 15, 1916 – July 5, 1983) was an American musician who is best known as a trumpet-playing band leader who led a big band from 1939 to 1946. He broke up his band for a short period in 1947 but shortly after he reorganized ...

recorded a version in 1955 on his album ''Jukebox Jamboree'' ( Columbia CL 615). "Oop Shoop" became the first record to be written and performed, with any degree of success, by a group of young black women", Tony Rounce, "Oop Shoop: The Flair And Modern Recordings 1953-1957", ''Ace Records''
Retrieved 29 January 2016 and inspired later groups such as

the Cookies ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

and

the Shirelles The Shirelles were an American girl group formed in Passaic, New Jersey in 1957. They consisted of schoolmates Shirley Owens (later Shirley Alston Reeves), Doris Coley (later Doris Kenner-Jackson), Addie "Micki" Harris (later Addie Harris McFad ...

. The Queens recorded several more singles for Flair, and toured widely. However, their records had little commercial success, and the group split up in late 1955. Gunter toured as a solo performer with

Young Jessie Obediah Donnell "Obie" Jessie (December 28, 1936 – April 27, 2020) was an American R&B, rock and roll and jazz singer and songwriter. He recorded as Young Jessie in the 1950s and 1960s, and was known for his solo career, work with The Flai ...

and the Flairs, and featured on an early Modern Records compilation LP, ''The Hollywood Rock & Roll Record Hop''. She then became a member of the Flairs, and recorded a moderately successful single, "Headin' Home", with them. In 1958, she had a single "Believe Me" bw "Crazy Little Baby" released on Tender Records.''

The Billboard The Billboard () is a massive granite monolith in the Sarnoff Mountains of the Ford Ranges of Marie Byrd Land, West Antarctica, standing just west of Mount Rea between Arthur Glacier and Boyd Glacier. It was discovered in November 1934 by a Secon ...

'', June 9, 1958
Page 36 * ''Reviews of New Pop Records''
/ref> Also in 1958, Shirley Gunter – who had been registered as

legally blind Visual impairment, also known as vision impairment, is a medical definition primarily measured based on an individual's better eye visual acuity; in the absence of treatment such as correctable eyewear, assistive devices, and medical treatment� ...

by 1954, and later lost her sight completely – left the music business to marry and raise a family. Her only later recordings came in 1965, when she recorded several tracks including the single "Stuck Up", for

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...

Tangerine The tangerine is a type of citrus fruit that is orange in color. Its scientific name varies. It has been treated as a separate species under the name ''Citrus tangerina'' or ''Citrus'' × ''tangerina'', or treated as a variety of ''Citrus retic ...

record label. Shirley Gunter Discography, ''Discogs.com''
Retrieved 29 January 2016 Shirley Gunter later lived in

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

, and continued to sing at her local church. In 1990, she made a rare appearance with Blondene Taylor, and the Flairs, at a Doo-Wop Society show. She died in Las Vegas in 2015, aged 81. In the 2000s, Ace Records released a CD compilation of her recordings, ''Oop Shoop: The Flair And Modern Recordings 1953-1957''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gunter, Shirley 1934 births 2015 deaths American women singers American rhythm and blues singers People from Coffeyville, Kansas 21st-century American women