Girl Group Chronicles: Starlets

Jane Hall, Maxine Edwards (friends from work), Mickey McKinney, and Jeanette Miles were partly responsible for giving Patti Labelle and the Bluebelles their very first hit, although the latter group didn’t even sing on the record!

Formed in early 1961, the group met songwriter Bernice Williams who introduced the quartet to Liz Walker (aka Dynetta Boone) who joined them in time for the Williams’ penned "Better Tell Him No." Released on Pam Records, a local label in Chicago, the single broke out like a brush fire accross the country. It dotted up the Billboard charts to number 38 pop, and number 24 R&B! The surprising success led to some touring on the chitlin’ circuit during the summer of 1961.

By the time autumn rolled around "My Last Cry," was getting some limited airplay and sales, but not enough to repeat their initial feat. The group undaunted toured the country during the last half of 1961 and early 1962. After finishing a show in Phialdeplhia the group was stopped by a car salesman/record producer (interesting combo don’t you think?) named Harold Robinson who persuaded them to record a single for him. Having nothing better to do, the gals followed Robinson into his make-shift studio underneath his dealership and recorded two sides "I Sold My Heart To The Junkman, b/w Itty Bitty Twist." The record label read the Blue-Belles to avoid breach of contract with Pam Records.

The girls forgot about the session until Maxine’s mother saw a group calling themselves the Bluebelles performing on Dick Clark’s American Banstand. And not only calling themselves the Bluebelles, lip-syncing to the Starlets record! Litigatation from everyone imaginable came flooding intot he courts. When it was finished the Starlets received $5000 dollars a piece for their part in the record while Robinson lost rights to the song, and lost his new Bluebelles to the Parkway label.

Meanwhile "You Belong To Me," by Dynetta and the Starlets was released and bombed just as quickly. The group left Pam Records but were fooled into believing that they couldn’t record elsewhere because of the little "Junkman" fiasco.