Shirley Alston Reeves (born June 10, 1941), born Shirley Owens, is an American

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

singer who was the main lead singer of the hit

girl group A girl group is a music act featuring several female singers who generally harmonize together. The term "girl group" is also used in a narrower sense in the United States to denote the wave of American female pop music singing groups, many of who ...

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 McFadd ...

. In addition to Owens, the Shirelles consisted of classmates of hers from

Passaic Passaic ( or ) is a city in Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city had a total population of 70,537, ranking as the 16th largest municipality in New Jersey and an increase of 656 from the 69,7 ...

High School,

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

: Doris Kenner Jackson, Addie "Micki" Harris McPhadden and

Beverly Lee 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 McF ...

. Through marriages, she became Shirley Alston and later, Shirley Alston Reeves. Her strong, distinctive voice meant that she was the natural choice for their main lead singer, though Jackson was also featured as lead on several songs as well. Her nephew,

Gerald Alston Gerald Alston (born November 8, 1951) is an American soul/R&B singer, and the lead singer of the Grammy Award winning group The Manhattans between late 1970 and 1988, recording 25 top 40 R&B and 12 Hot 100 Pop Singles. Alston was lead singer on ...

is the lead singer of

The Manhattans The Manhattans are an American popular R&B vocal group. Their work "Kiss and Say Goodbye", recorded in 1976, and 1980's " Shining Star", both sold millions of copies. The Manhattans have recorded 45 hits on the ''Billboard'' R&B Chart, includi ...

. Reeves enjoyed a string of hits with the Shirelles throughout the 1960s, the most notable being

Will You Love Me Tomorrow "Will You Love Me Tomorrow", sometimes known as "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow", is a song with words by Gerry Goffin and music composed by Carole King. It was recorded in 1960 by the Shirelles at Bell Sound Studios in New York City, and hit n ...

. She left the Shirelles in 1975 to begin a solo career, initially recording under the name "Lady Rose". That same year, she recorded an album entitled ''With A Little Help From My Friends'', after the hit song by

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

, which featured members of

the Flamingos The Flamingos are an American doo-wop group formed in Chicago in 1953. The band became popular in mid-to-late 1950s and are known for their 1959 cover version of "I Only Have Eyes for You". They have since been hailed as one of the finest and m ...

the Drifters The Drifters are several American doo-wop and R&B/Soul music, soul vocal groups. They were originally formed as a backing group for Clyde McPhatter, formerly the lead tenor of Billy Ward and his Dominoes in 1953. The second group of Drifters, f ...

Shep and the Limelites Shep and the Limelites was an American doo-wop trio of the early 1960s, composed of James "Shep" Sheppard (September 24, 1935 – January 24, 1970), Clarence Bassett (March 13, 1936 – January 25, 2005) and Charles Baskerville (July 6, 1936 – J ...

the Five Satins The Five Satins are an American doo-wop group, best known for their 1956 million-selling song, "In the Still of the Night (The Five Satins song), In the Still of the Night." They were formed in 1954 and continued performing until 1994. When it w ...

, the Belmonts,

Danny & the Juniors Danny & the Juniors are an American doo-wop and rock and roll vocal group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania originally consisting of Danny Rapp, Dave White, Frank Maffei and Joe Terranova. Formed in 1955, they are most widely recognized for thei ...

Herman's Hermits Herman's Hermits are an English beat, rock and pop group formed in 1964 in Manchester, originally called Herman and His Hermits and featuring lead singer Peter Noone. Produced by Mickie Most, the Hermits charted with number ones in the UK a ...

and La La Brooks of

the Crystals The Crystals are an American vocal group that originated in New York City. Considered one of the defining acts of the girl group era in the first half of the 1960s, their 1961–1964 chart hits – including " There's No Other (Like My Baby)", ...

. The Shirelles were inducted into the

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), sometimes simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and othe ...

in 1996. She also performed on the ''Doo Wop 51'' PBS special in 2000, and continues to tour under the name 'Shirley Alston Reeves and her Shirelles'.Archived a
Ghostarchive
and th
Wayback Machine

References

1941 births Living people American rhythm and blues singers Singers from North Carolina Singers from New Jersey The Shirelles members 21st-century African-American women singers 20th-century African-American women singers {{US-singer-stub