Tony Mantor's : Almost Live..... Nashville - Beverly Lee shares stories of the Shirelles Music, Memories, and Milestones

Episode Date: November 13, 2024

Do you ever wonder what it was like to be part of the pioneering girl group, the Shirelles? Join us as Beverly Lee takes us on a nostalgic journey back to 1957, sharing how the group's harmonic beginnings led to the creation of their first hit, "I Met Him on Sunday." Discover the serendipitous moment they were discovered by Florence Greenberg of Tiara Records, their brief departure to DECCA, and their triumphant return to Scepter Records. Beverly also recounts their historic performances, including sharing the stage with Dr. King at the Salute to Freedom show in Birmingham and breaking barriers at a segregated college in Selma, Alabama. Ever been curious about the behind-the-scenes magic of creating an iconic hit song? In this episode, Linda Scott reflects on her career and the making of "Will You Love Me Tomorrow," sharing insights into Carole King's involvement and the atmosphere in the studio. Learn how the success of the song impacted Linda’s life and forged strong connections with her fans. Plus, get a peek into her interactions with other legendary artists, including her humorous take on John Lennon and Yoko Ono. Beverly opens up about navigating the music industry, from dealing with racial segregation to facing criticisms and forming lasting bonds with peers like the Beatles. Lastly, Beverly Lee offers a heartfelt look into the challenges and triumphs faced throughout her career. Hear about the financial exploitation they endured, the demanding performance schedules, and the emotional highs, like supporting her grandmother who saw her perform for the first time. Beverly is also working on an exciting book project, capturing both personal and professional experiences. This episode is a testament to the power of family, perseverance, and the enduring legacy of celebrated artists. Don't miss this eye-opening and heartwarming conversation with a true music legend. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

in the entertainment industry has enabled me to work with a diverse range of talent. Through my years of experience, I've recognized two essential aspects. Industry professionals, whether famous stars, or behind-the-scenes staff, have fascinating stories to tell. Secondly, audiences are eager to listen to these stories, which offer a glimpse into their lives and the evolution of their life stories. This podcast aims to share these narratives, providing information, on how they evolved into their chosen career.

We will delve into their journey to stardom, discuss their struggles and successes, and hear from people who help them achieve their goals. Get ready for intriguing behind-the-scenes stories and insights into the fascinating world of entertainment. Hi, I'm Tony Mantor. I'm thrilled to welcome Beverly Lee, the talented member of the Shirelles to Almost Live, Nashville.

As a pioneer in the girl group genre, the Shirels have earned numerous accolades, including the Pioneer Award from the Rhythm and Blues Foundation, induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and recognition as one of the 100 greatest artists of all time by Rolling Stone. In 2022, their debut album was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Recording Registry for its cultural, historical, and aesthetic significance. It's an honor to have Beverly Lee join us today.

Thanks for coming on. Oh, it's my pleasure. It's my understanding that in 1957 was when the Shirelles got together and formed a group. How did that all come together? Well, there was a radio station, WWRL, 1600 a.m. in New York City with Dr. Jive. And he would play all the songs by people like the coasters, Anthony, Chantels, and all the popular artists at that time. And Shirley was babysitting. And I would go down and sit with her.

listened to the radio, we started harmonizing with some of the songs. For some strange reason, Mickey stopped by one day and she started doing it with us. And then we saw Doris sing at a school function and junior high. And I said, why don't we ask her father if she could sing with us? And that's how we began. By the time we got to high school, we were fooling around in gym. Me and Shirley, I had gym together. We were fooling around in gym. And one of the teachers, Mrs. Nolan came through and she said, there's going to be a show at the auditorium. Do this show or either failed you in quite naturally.

We opted to do the show. Well, at the time we were singing songs like Little Darling walking along, Sunday kind of love for some strange reason. I said, well, let's write a song. And we came up with the song, I met him on Sunday. We each took a line. We didn't say, you're going to sing this part or that part. The harmonies just fell in line.

We did the show. The kids loved the show. They loved all the songs we did. When we got to our met them on Sunday, they were preserved. After the show was over, you know, the kids were congratulating us. And the next day at school, a young lady approached us. And she said, my mother owns a record company. Let my mother hear your song.

We didn't know what in the world she was talking about. And her name was Mary Jane Greenberg. Her mother was for Lawrence Greenberg, who owned Tierra Records. We actually hid from Mary Jane for quite some time. Whenever we see her, we split up Sycam's Mary Jane. We got tired of her. understand. We said, okay, well, let you want to hear the song. And we finally did. Florence loved it. So I want to offer you a contract. Oh, wow. Well, our parents, it did well with them

and say things about shield business. And we were young teenagers. So we all told a lie, told our parents, you're the only one who won't sign this contract. And that's how we got our parents to sign the contract. And the rest of his history, God has been good to us. And so I met him on a sudden it's taken us around the world. Yeah, that's a great story. just goes to show you that you never know what can happen once you get something started. So after that, I believe they sold you and you wound up being a DECA recording artist, correct? Right, because it made a little noise and they signed us over to DECA, but then Deca didn't know what to do with us.

And then at that time, Florence is making enough money where she began to scepter on records. And so we, you know, went back there. Well, that was good. It's too bad that Deca didn't work out, but at least Florence got you with, you needed to be, and that got you back to where you kind of started. Florence at that time then had Scepter records and then won. Yeah. No, she had Tierra and then Scepter and won.

Yeah. Now, back then, you actually broke down some barriers. Yes. You were kind of the first girl group that hit the charts and did well and predated some of the Motown acts. Yes. It was amazing. We never realized the impact we were making on it.

industry because it was male dominated. And we had a first female group, a black female group to sell a million records. We crossed over to pop. It's the Supreme's, but it's not because we were before the Supreme. Right. And then we made history when we did in 1923, the Salute the Freedom Show in 63 in Birmingham, Alabama, where they were raised some funds for the people to go to March in Washington. And we were blessed to have Dr. King on stage while we were performed.

We also made history when we performed at a segregated college, Selma, Alabama. They didn't know that we were black at that time. They would have itchings on the albums in the south. But in the north, our pictures were on. And there was a demand for us to come down there, and we went, it blew their minds when they saw us. I said, oh, oh, oh. And then we were called that nasty inward. And we got an apology from the college.

That opened the doors for the other black artists to go down to, playing a different colleges. So in a way we were guinea pigs, you know, we went and we did quite the legwork and everybody else just broke down the pathway after that. Yeah, and you did help and blaze some outstanding trails. A lot of your recordings hit the charts and did really, really well. You probably didn't even realize that a lot of the younger kids were looking up at you and just saying that's what I want to do when I get the opportunity. We did and I know Mary Wilson, and said, Sherelles taught us, showed them that they could do it. And we heard the Chantelle singing.

And a lot of people think we got her name from the Chantels. It's not true. The L sound was in the Shantel's, Dells. There was some other groups with the elves in the Blue Bells. And we were called the Pequellos. Florence didn't like that name. And she wanted to call us the Honeytones. We didn't like that name.

So she had made a list of names. And we made a list of names and concocted that. Shirels, people think it came from Cheryl. He had the name, but it didn't. We did, you know, take it from her name. I would gladly admit it, but we didn't. She admitted finally that it didn't come from her name. But thank God for the name because it's been a blessing to us.

Yeah, it certainly has been outstanding with all the charts that you hit, getting on radio and getting the opportunity to travel. What were some of the things that you saw as you traveled around the country that you can reflect on and just kind of know that you had a hand in helping change some of the things that have been done today? Well, for one thing, we couldn't stay in some of the white hotels when we were touring. Right. We would pull up on the other side of town where we would stay in room and houses.

Some of the African Americans had rooms that they went out. And the rest of the people on the bus, but tour bus would go on the other side of town. I remember Linda Scott crying one time. She said, why can we all stay together? Right. We couldn't go into the restaurants. I had never experienced that before. I went in one day and I sort of.

this man's eyes get bigger than a silver dollar. And I went and I said, I told him what I wanted. He said, well, I can't do that. And I said, why not? I said, I want and I repeated what I wanted again. He said, I can't do it. I said, why can't you? He said, because you color.

He said, oh, wow. Yeah, unfortunately, that is very sad. But at least you can know that you helped change a lot of this in the last 50 or 60 years. Oh, yes. So as you grew and became more popular, you had a number one song with Will You Love Me Tomorrow. So what's the story behind that song? How did it come to you? How did it all kind of fall together so that you could be the ones to record that hit song?

I've heard a couple of different versions, but I'm leaning towards the one that, you know, in those days, the record company's old favors to certain people. Right. I guess it was loose's term to do something for Carol King or who knows, anyhow. We heard the demo, and Carol was singing on the demo, and it was all twangy, twangy, all Cudgeon Westerns, and we don't like that song. Luther had an ear for music and how to produce us.

He produced us better than anyone, except for when Luther Vandros did a production on us with Dionne Warwick singing, we'll still love you tomorrow. I'll always treasure that. Right. Luther said, you're going to do the song. When we went into the studio,

I'll never forget it, it was filled with musicians. Chalos, violins, you, harps, you, every instrument you could name, was there. And they were playing it. I said, oh, your God, it was so beautiful. So when you was in the studio recording it, you had all the musicians there throwing down the tracks. What was your impression? What did everybody feel like when they heard it played back for the very first time? It was magical. Oh, and Carol King played the pedal drums because you didn't like the way the guy was playing. So, hey, girl power. Okay, so Carol played on that song too? Yes, Carol King is playing on it.

Oh, that's just, that's great. So you heard it? You said it sounded magical. And then, of course, they released it to radio, and the magic continued to happen because it went to number one. So how did that change your life? Well, we still didn't realize the impact that the song had on other people's lives. And it changed our lives because we were able to allow young ladies to chart their lives by our music.

We were like the girls next door they could identify with us. Right. We were like little sisters that they could listen to and get advice in another way through our music. So back then you didn't have social media like you had today. So the interaction with the fans was completely different. You had your promo, you had radio, you had your record label promoting it.

What was it like when you played and performed with the fans? Well, most of it was by performances, by the shows, and we had wide-up wing, and our fans were so loyal to us. We were very blessed with wonderful, awesome fans. As a matter of fact, quite a few of them came really good friends with them. And some of them, we were like family, like our president or our fan club at the time, Gloria McIntonia, Mount Mark Antonio.

When she would come to the United States, Shirley and I would have her stay with us. And when I'd go to England for a vacation, you know, I'd go by Gloria. So I heard at one time, and I don't know where it came from, that you had the perception as a very lovable, likable girl group and it felt like you could be the girl next door type. Yes. I also heard that some of your critics, if you want to call it that, said that your lyrics was a little bit racy than what they thought they should be.

And of course, Elvis was doing his thing. So did that affect you? Yes, some of the feedback was coming from males. Really? Wow. And it was male and the males were, you know, heading the press. So we're coming out with these lyrics sticking up for ourselves. and I guess they said, hey, who do they think they are? And you know, a lot of men don't like for a woman to speak her, vine or speak for herself,

defend herself. Sure, sure. And the great thing is that you had so many people looking up to you because you stood your ground and defended yourself. Yes. So I heard that the Beatles were pretty big fans of yours. Did you ever get the opportunity to meet them? You know, we were supposed to, when we were.

over in England, some of the band members, the English band members would always say, The Beatles love you, I said, who are the Beatles? And, you know, later on who they were. And when they came to America, John and they sent us an invitation, they wanted to meet up with us to go out to dinner and, you know, hang out of the club,

but we were getting ready to go on the road. They kept us on the road constantly. After we came from one show, by the time we got home, we were repacking them back off again, so we didn't get the opportunity need to hang out with them. But I'll tell you one thing. What's her name, Yoko or Oco? She wouldn't go John. Yeah, Yoko Ono. Yeah, because she wouldn't have got John if you met me. Okay, that's great.

She wouldn't have gotten John Lennon. He wouldn't have stood a chance. Okay. Okay, so you rose to fame fairly quickly, actually, and then your chart records and your career stayed there for quite some time. Who did you get a chance to do some shows with that you really really? enjoyed and stands out in your memory today. Oh, wow, you'd name it. We were the coasters, the drifters, the platters. We performed with Richard Franklin, the Supremes. Oh, we did a tour, Dick Clark Tour,

Springs, and Dixie Cups, the crystals, the Velvillet, Martha Rees and Van Bellas. Wow, that's an impressive list, for sure. A great tour, because when we were all, she had in a dressing room, and one night before the show, we were talking, and the Springs were asking questions. Don't worry, girls, your turn is coming. Well, later on after the show, we heard a lot hollering, screaming of joy in the hallway.

And we looked out, our song is number one. And they took over like a rocket. Yeah, it's amazing. All you have to do is have that one big hit record and what things can happen after that. Yes, right. And Barry was cranking them out. Yeah, he certainly did. I've been very fortunate to meet a lot of the Motown stars,

and they all have stories to tell. And they're all varied, of course. Right, Smoky and The Temptations and the Four Tops and Stevie. Yeah. They had an international show in Paris and the Bustarel's Beyond work and Stevie Wonder and some other artists from other countries. And every time we were getting changing, you're ready to go on stage. Who popped in the door but Stevie? I said, Stevie, I'm here, what you say, you can see.

Stevie had a little question on me. That was called Stevie the eighth wonder in the world. Yeah, I like that. So what are some of the things that you reflect back on? Are there any things that you would have changed at all? Or would you have just tweaked them a little bit? Or are you pretty happy with the way things turned out for you? Well, things happened the way they went for a reason.

Right. But I wish I paid a little bit more attention to the business side because they're show and there's business. And then they didn't like for you to ask too many questions because we were doing a song for the movie, it's a mad, mad, mad, mad, mad, mad world. And we had to learn the different languages for the songs. And while the other girls were learning your parts

in the different languages, Florence and Betty, she said, come on, I want to teach girls to music. And she started up the business. And she took me in this room and a big wall and all kind of colored-coded pins. And I'm asking all these questions, why is this here? And what colors that? What does that represent?

was never born here again. She never mentioned teaching us the business again. Yeah, unfortunately, I've heard that from so many people that made music in that particular era, is that management and the record labels took complete advantage of them. Yes, because we knew nothing about it. And then they just their lawyers. We didn't know. So do you feel that you was taking advantage of a lot in that time? Yes. Yeah, that's too bad. No, definitely. We were. taken advantage of. Yeah.

We were told we were going to have a trust fund. We heard, if I had a thousand dollars which time I heard, girls are going to be rich, girls are going to be rich, girls are going to be rich, girls are going to be rich. We turned 21. We asked how much money do we have? Oh, it was him and and and hawn and the money's been stolen. And wow. Yeah, that is just so sad.

I've heard that so many times where their management or their label took complete advantage of them and the money they thought they were going to have. they didn't have, and then they would just kind of kick to the curb and didn't know what to do after that. Right. And these were adults and Florence was like a mother to us. You know, she was good to us and she's very protective. But when we saw the other side, I said, okay.

Right. I won't definitely say that she took the money, but the money went somewhere. Yeah, unfortunately, that's so true. So you was really hot back then, record selling. How many concerts did you do in a year? How much did they have you out there? We were out there constantly. We would do those shows at the Apollo.

We were doing like six and seven shows throughout the day and evening. As soon as we came off stage, the half of them, meaning, you know, the show will be starting in a half an hour. You could be able to get your breath. We did the shows of Murray to Kay at the Brooklyn Fox and Alan Freed and Paramount.

You know, they were great shows because they had anywhere from 12, the 15, 16 different artists on. It was a lot that went on backstage. I'm writing the books. I will be telling them about a lot of the tales that happened on our tours and theaters. It was a wonderful experience. Oh, that's great to hear. So are you in the process of writing the book, or has the book already been written? Yes. The book has been written, but I'm tweaking. I'm rewriting some of the things.

When's it going to be released? Do you know yet? That I don't have a publisher yet, so I have to finish, you know, writing. I had someone I was collaborating with, but I didn't hear from. something he had written. It was too much of him in here. And I wanted to be me talking. Sure. Sure. I mean, it's your story. So is this story going to be like an autobiography of your life? Or is it more on the music side of the business? It's culmination. Oh, that's great. I'm sure that will be very interesting with all the stories you've got to tell. Now, just recently, you had the honor of being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Oh, yes. 1995 and then New Jersey Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. We got Sherelles Boulevard, a street named after Sherelles in the Sherell's Auditorium. Oh, we're in the class of 22 with the Library Congress inductees for tonight's tonight.

Yeah, I think that's awesome. I was going to bring that up to you that you're in the Library of Congress under the cultural and historical significance. That's pretty cool. Yes. So with everything that you've had, the opportunity to do, and that's just tremendous amount of things.

Is there any one thing that just out of everything shines above the rest, and it's just one thing that you'll always remember and it's kind of special to you? Yes. Well, it's more than one, but I'll just name a couple. Okay. The day I told my grandmother that she didn't have to clean homes anymore. Oh, nice. That was one moment.

That was my Grammy. We never got a Grammy. We were never nominated for a Grammy. Okay. I asked my grandmother if she had ever seen a hundred dollar bill. She said, no, that's mama. You never seen a hundred dollar bills? She said, no, baby.

I said, Mom, I'm coming down tomorrow. I'm going to show you something. And I covered her table with hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of hundred dollars. She picked one up and she looked. Nice. And she still didn't get the concept that this was her money that I had saved for her. This is yours. Right.

And she just looked at it and she smiled. She said, oh, thank you, baby. And when she came to one of our shows, the governor died, The Coast Guard bought her and my aunt Gigi over, and she had never seen me perform before. It was a beautiful night, a big babe, French doors, and they were open full moon, and the Statue of Liberty is right there to the right.

I'll never forget it. And a club was a pack. Yeah. And they were all going and hugging my grandmother, and she's sitting there beaming with tears in her eyes, and seeing me perform for the first time, and I'm up there trying me because I'm seeing my grandmother there. Sure.

When she left, they were hugging me, hug your grandmother for me. and it was just a night I'll never forget. There's a whole lot more, but that'll be in the book. Yeah, that is just so awesome. Some people get so busy that they forget that family is so important. But sometimes they just get so busy from traveling all around the country and all around the world. They lose track of time.

But what you just said is just so very special. No, family is very important to me. My grandmother's, and this is my mother's mother. I was talking about my other grandmother, my father's mother. They just nurtured me so much. You know, I'll tell the stories about my other grandmother. She was a pistol. She was a combination of Medea, Sophia, and Granny from the Beverly Hill building.

I had a lot of fun with her. Okay, so that was a tremendously emotional, personal story about your career. Now, how about a musical story about your career? Do you have anything that just stands above the rest that is a great memory? Quite a few when we got Gold Record for, will you still let me tomorrow? Will Chamberlain presented us at the Apollo Theater? Oh, nice.

Yeah, I always liked him. And the first time we heard I met him on Sunday, our first record that was released. We were in school in the classroom. They had informed the school that they were going to play on the radio. And we heard it at the same time that the kids did over the intercom. That was thrilling. Oh, yeah, I can just imagine.

The one thing I know it never gets old, hearing what you're doing, coming over the radio. No, but what's so awesome is when you realize the lives that you touch. Yes. The stories that we hear, how we brought them through this or brought them through that. Some were when they had a loved one pass or some of them that were really ill or some were getting ready to take their lives and, you know, a lot of people under our wings. That's a great thing about music is how it can affect the people that listen to it.

So, speaking of that, you have fans and because fans are affected. Fanatics. Did you have any fans that followed you from show to show that you maybe got a little concerned about because you thought it was more of a stalker than actually a fan? Yes, it was one I could still see his face. When we were played like the bottom line and other little clubs down in New York, he would peer it. He would be there. He was usually pretty close up to the stage. Wow. And then one time, you know, we were down in the dress room. Other people were down and we were talking in between shows. boom, all of a sudden he appeared. I said, oh, wow. Yeah.

People knew to keep an eye on him. After that, he sent a letter to slip the records, and he had my name in it some kind of way. He committed suicide. Oh, yeah, that's too bad. He would stare at me. Right. So do you still hear from fans, even today, on different things?

Yeah, I just got some more letters from fans in England. Wow. Yeah. Yeah, England is still very appreciative of the older music, and especially soul music in the northern part. Yes, they appreciate it much more than over here in America because Americans don't tend to understand the treasures that they have here. You have to go abroad and too, they really love your music.

Yeah, sometimes that is just the case. So how long was it that the group stayed together with all the original members intact? If anyone left, usually the three of us, we still stayed together, was four bad of me and Mickey and Shirley or me and Mickey and Doris or me and Mickey. And we had a lady named Louise Bethune that would fill in too. Up until Shirley left like in 76 or 77 because she started with her career. Right.

She kind of went on her own, right? A lady Rose and then she, yeah. Yeah. So of all the members, are there any out there that are still performing or have they all just kind of said, you know it's time to give it up and just sit back and enjoy life a little bit. Well, unfortunately, Mickey passed in 82, Regency in Atlanta, and God was good, he granted her her where she always said. When she died, she said she wouldn't go fast and she wanted to go with her rock and roll shoes on.

And that's just what happened. We finished, we wanted to get a bite to eat. And she knew what I wanted. And I told her, you know, order for me, I'm going up to change. I was on my way out the door to come down. And I got a call from Doni Nachie from the Hyatt. recently she said Beverly come down, something's wrong with Mickey, and there she was. I found out afterwards it was a soldier that tried to revive her.

It was so meaningful to me. And in Daris, unfortunately, in the year 2000, she passed last year, last year, surely retired. So I'm still a rock and rolling, and I'm grateful to God. I'm a rockin' granny. Okay, yeah, that's just, I think that's just awesome. So do you get out much, or do you just kind of love? look and pick and choose on the shows that you want to do. I'm picking and choosing because, you know, there are other projects I'm working on.

Like I told you, I'm doing the book and there's some other thing I'm looking at you. I have a play and a musical. You'll have my eye going, so. Nice. Nice. Yeah. Well, I tell you, it's been a real pleasure to talk with you because it's always nice to talk with someone that's been through so much of the beginning parts of music and how it's changed and where they can reflect back and see what it was then.

what it is now. And actually what you did helped create a lot of what is now. Yes. And you know what I love is from years and years and years from now, people hear our music and it will be meaningful. Yes, absolutely, because you contributed and had a lot of great hit records. And then I'm really grateful because I said, I'm a fan of our music now because I listen to some of the songs. I said, wow, we were ahead of our time because we were doing blue pop music. we were doing gospel. Yeah. Yeah, because you got, you got recognized by the R&B Society too, right?

Yes, the rhythm and blues. Yeah, and work honored us at the soul of American music. And Bob Bates sang, our mama said. When you get recognized with so many different outlets like that, that really does tell the story of what you accomplished and the fact that you accomplish it during the times, the way they were, is an outstanding statement for you. It means so much to me that we get it while we're alive.

And that's the beauty of it. Yes, I agree. A lot of awards sometimes, they don't get them while they're alive. It's not the same. I agree with you there. The fact that you're getting all these accolades while you're still here to really embrace them, that's very nice. It is. And I look at some of the trophies and some of the programs that we've been on.

I said, oh, wow, you know, these memories are just awesome. I wouldn't trade for all the money in the world. Yeah, I don't blame you. and the fact that you've got gold records and the concerts that you've done around the world is truly an outstanding accomplishment. And the people that we met, and we performed for presidents. And I said, wow, who would I have thought that someone from the projects and traveled to the world, perform for presidents and stancy hotels, fly in private jets

and the whole nine yards. Only God. Only God. Bless us. Yeah. Yeah. And you've had such a great music career. I'm just really glad that you're here to tell the story and look back and enjoy it all. Yes. You know, that's awesome. To our fans and everyone who's supported us in any manner. Yeah. Well, I really appreciate you taking the time to talk with me about this.

I think a lot of people are really going to like this story for sure. Well, you know, I love the way you interviewed and you did your homework. You know, you're not just asking blase questions and you've been very stimulating. and I've really, really enjoyed this. Oh, thank you so much. It's been my pleasure. Thanks for joining us today. We hope you enjoyed the show.

This has been a Tony Mantor production. For more information, contact media at plateaumusic.com.