Shirley Gunter

First All-Girl Doo-Wop Group

Shirley Gunter was born in Coffeyville, Kansas, and migrated to Los Angeles with her family in early 1942. She began her singing career as a solo artist in 1953 when her older brother, Cornelius Gunter a member of a local vocal group called The Flairs took her to his label Flair Records a subsidiary of Modern Records. After her first two singles, in the spring of 1954 Shirley put together her own group named the Queens.

Shirley’s vocal group was a bit different because all of the members were female consisting of  Lula Kenney, Lula Mae Suggs Blondeness Taylor, Shirley's best friend at Polytechnic High School. From all creatable reports The Queens were the first all-girl doo-wop group.  Etta James has always referred to them as "the first female group where all the girls could sing."

One day the four girls were fooling around on the piano in Shirley's living room    they came up with "Sh-Boom" like ditty song with nonsense lyrics they called    "Oop Shoop." When they took it to saxophonist Maxwell Davis, Shirley's mentor at Flair Records, he helped them work up a more polished arrangement. Label chief Joe Bihari liked what he heard, changed their name to Shirley Gunter & the Queens, and released "Oop Shoop" in August 1954. Within two months it entered the R&B charts and rose to number eight. The flip side was "It's You", but all eyes were on the up-tempo number.

Shirley Gunter & The Queens were hot, hot, hot and earned a featured spot in a big review staged by Joe Bihari at L.A.'s Savoy Ballroom. The show was mc'ed by Hunter Hancock and featured BB King, Johnny Otis, The Platters, The Lamplighters, and Marvin & Johnny". After their four singles and a couple of tours with The Queens, Shirley Gunter paired up with her brother's group, The Flairs. The move may have been calculated to revitalize The Flairs, who had lost most of their original members.
 
Shirley Gunter than goes on several tours throughout the West Coast with Vernon Green & The Medallions and was now recording for the Storm Records label and recorded "Believe Me" and "Crazy Little Baby" but before they could be released Strom was bought by the Tender Records Company.  Shirley Gunter now a veteran of four years in the R & B limelight the novelty had long since worn off she and the Flairs soon went their separate ways and eventually faded into our memory banks.

Shirley left behind several enduring musical memories for us the fabulous jump tunes with The Queens, and fine ballads with The Flairs Shirley Gunter was a woman ahead of her time. In 1958 Shirley left the music business, returning only periodically, as when she was asked in 1969 to record for Ray Charles' on the Tangerine label. Now blind, Shirley Gunter lives in Las Vegas and maintains her interest in music through her work as a gospel singer at her local church. Lula Kenney also moved to Las Vegas and worked as a showgirl and sang with The Platters; she's now known as Piper Alvez and moved back to Los Angeles. Blondeness Taylor,   briefly recorded for Mercury Records with Junior Ryder under the name Sugar & Spice, and Lula Mae Suggs are deceased. 

Shirley Gunter was one of the first women in rock & roll and helped to pave the way for other women to lead their own groups. Like Wanda Jackson, Etta James, LaVerne Baker, Esther Phillips, and Brenda Lee. Shirley truly was a real pioneer in the music industry

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