page_title: Girl group
section_title: 1966–1989: Changes in formats and genres
hierarchical_section_title: Girl group / History / 1966–1989: Changes in formats and genres
caption_attribution_description: Promotional photo of singing group Labelle. From left: Nona Hendryx, Patti LaBelle, Sarah Dash.
context_page_description: 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 whom were influenced by doo-wop and which flourished in the late 1950s and early 1960s between the decline of early rock and roll and start of the British Invasion. All-female bands, in which members also play instruments, are usually considered a separate phenomenon. These groups are sometimes called "girl bands" to differentiate, although this terminology is not universally followed.
  With the advent of the music industry and radio broadcasting, a number of girl groups emerged, such as the Andrews Sisters. The late 1950s saw the emergence of all-female singing groups as a major force, with 750 distinct girl groups releasing songs that reached US and UK music charts from 1960 to 1966. The Supremes alone held 12 number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100 during the height of the wave and throughout most of the British Invasion rivaled the Beatles in popularity.
context_section_description: Entering the 1970s, The Supremes had continued success with top 10 hits "Up the Ladder to the Roof" and "Stoned Love" along with six other singles charting on Billboard's top 40. Only two other girl groups made top 10 chartings through 1974 with "Want Ads" by Honey Cone and "When Will I See You Again" by the Three Degrees (which had roots in the 1960s and in 1970, like the Chantels in 1958, began their top 40 pop career with "Maybe"). Patti LaBelle and the Bluebelles was a US 1960s girl group whose image Vicki Wickham, their manager, helped remake in the early 1970s, renaming the group Labelle and pushing them in the direction of glam rock. Labelle were the first girl group to eschew matching outfits and identical choreography, instead wearing extravagant spacesuits and feathered headdresses. Later, during the disco craze and beyond, female acts included First Choice, Silver Convention, Hot, the Emotions, High Inergy, Odyssey, Sister Sledge, Mary Jane Girls, Belle Epoque, Frantique, Luv', and Baccara.  Extending into the 1980s were groups like the Pointer Sisters, Exposé, and Bananarama.
  In Latin America, there were a number of dance-oriented popular girl groups during the era, including the Flans, Jeans, and Pandora.
  In Japan, all-female idol groups Candies and Pink Lady made a series of hits during the 1970s and 1980s as well. The Japanese music program Music Station listed Candies and Pink Lady in their Top 50 Idols of All Time (compiled in 2011), placing them at number 32 and number 15, with sales exceeding 5 and 13 million in Japan, respectively.  With the single "Kiss in the Dark", Pink Lady was also one of only two Japanese artists to have reached the Billboard Top 40. Billboard magazine states that Pink Lady have sold over 40 million singles and 25 million albums worldwide.
caption: Singing group Labelle, circa 1975
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