GIRL GROUPS OF THE '60s: WHO LED THE PACK?

The uniquely American girl group phenomenon had a relatively brief lifespan: it arose in the late '50s at the tail end of the first onslaught of rock 'n' roll; it flourished in the early '60s, a period given over mostly to light pop and pop-oriented R&B; and it fell by the wayside in the second half of the '60s as the British Invasion, increasingly sophisticated music, and emerging stylistic hybirds such as folk-rock swiftly revolutionized popular music.