We Know You ‘Wannabe’ Part of These Ultimate Girl Groups — Our 8 Favorite
How Bruce Springsteen had a hand in the birth of The Bangles and Beyoncé became Queen B
Over the years, the music industry has been greatly impacted by various groups and bands who have ruled the charts, whether it be teens like *NSYNC and One Direction or veteran rockers along the lines of Aerosmith and Led Zeppelin. But girl groups have had their chance to rule the school, and their time to shine still isn’t over.
For years, girl groups took center stage as their pop hits rose to number one on the charts, impacting music worldwide. Groups like Spice Girls and The Bangles released hit after hit, creating a soundtrack for young girls to live by.
MUST-READ: Bananarama: Catch Up With the Original Lineup of the British ’80s Girl Group
Icons such as Victoria Beckham and Beyoncé were launched in their respective girl groups, Spice Girls and Destiny’s Child, and they did much more than sing hit songs for us to belt out in the car. These musicians created memorable dance moves for us to learn and trendy styles for us to copy as well. Without girl groups, fashion and music tastes for girls around the world simply wouldn’t be the same.
For decades, audiences have been on the receiving ends of their music and we’ll forever have their hit songs to sing along to. What follows is a look at eight of our favorite girl groups from over the years.
Spice Girls
If you weren’t dancing along to their debut single “Wannabe” in 1996, what were you doing? The Spice Girls was a force for their time and their music still carries weight to this day. The group featured members Geri Halliwell (Ginger Spice), Victoria Beckham (Posh Spice), Mel B (Scary Spice), Melanie Chisholm (Sporty Spice) and Emma Bunton (Baby Spice).
The five female singers communicated the message of Girl Power through their songs to share the importance of sisterhood and female empowerment. Melanie C, a.k.a Sporty Spice, shared that girl power was a happy accident. “Girl power was something that we never intended… as soon as we were heading into the music industry, we started to be faced with some sexism. We were told girls don’t sell…” she shared. “We weren’t just doing it for ourselves and each other, we were doing it for girls.” Luckily for fans, the Spice Girls didn’t take no for an answer and thus became one of the biggest girl groups.
MUST-READ: The Spice Girls Members Then and Now: Catch Up With the Sassy Girl Group That Defined the ’90s
Destiny’s Child: Girl groups
Though there was a bit of a shuffle between members of this girl group, everybody knows Destiny’s Child. It’s the band that spawned Queen B herself, after all. The most prominent members of the group include Beyoncé, Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams. Other members were LaTavia Roberson and LeToya Luckett.
Songs like “Say My Name” and “Survivor,” both of which took home Grammy Awards, topped the charts, making Destiny’s Child one of the most successful girl groups. Although the band split in 2006, the love remains between all of the ladies. Letoya Luckett recently posted a reunion photo with Beyoncé, Kelly Rowland, Michelle Williams and LaTavia Roberson, captioning it, “ALL LOVE, This was hands down my favorite moment of 2023…”
The Bangles
Members Susanna Hoffs, Vicki Peterson, Debbi Peterson and Annette Zilinskas put out dozens of hits over their time in The Bangles. With songs like “Eternal Flame” and “Manic Monday,” it was impossible for this girl group not to skyrocket into stardom.
Hoffs shared how Bruce Springsteen had a hand in The Bangles’ start. “He [Peter Philbin] was checking us out at different shows and he was very involved in Bruce Springsteen’s career… he dragged Bruce all the way out to see us…asked him what he thought. Bruce gave a thumbs up and the next thing I know, we were getting signed to Columbia Records.”
MUST-READ: The Bangles Members: A Look at the Fab ’80s Girl Group Then and Now
The Go-Go’s: Girl groups
One of the most iconic girl groups to date is The Go-Go’s. The group featured Belinda Carlisle, Jane Wiedlin, Gina Schock, Charlotte Caffey and Kathy Valentine. Although they formed in 1978, it took until 2021 for them to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame following the release of their documentary, The Go-Go’s.
Carlisle shared, “Seeing them [Go-Go’s members] again and seeing it on the big screen, where everything was so loud, made us really very emotional… We feel that it’s a great way to bookend a career, and a lot of healing was done through that documentary.”
The Go-Go’s ruled the music scene with songs like “We Got the Beat” and “Vacation”. Their songs set the tone for the early 80s.
The Supremes
With members like Diana Ross, Florence Ballard and Mary Wilson, the Supremes were the group to be. Inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1988, the Supremes changed the music scene and, according to the Hall of Fame itself, the “women group” even rivaled The Beatles in their popularity.
The Grammy-nominated trio made waves as a group of all women in the 50s. With hits like “Baby Love” and “Stop In The Name of Love,” the Supremes rose to tremendous fame. After Diana Ross left the group to pursue a solo career, they continued on with new members. In 2023, the Supremes were honored by the Recording Academy with the Lifetime Achievement Award.
The Ronettes: Girl groups
Formed in 1957, the Ronettes consisted of sisters Ronnie Spector, Estelle Bennett and their cousin Nedra Talley. “Be My Baby,” which rose to number 2, was their highest-ranking song and remained on the charts for 13 weeks.
Although the group members went their separate ways in 1967, it was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2007. In her acceptance speech, Ronnie Spector summed up their success: “I always said we weren’t better. We were just different.”
MUST-READ: Songs by the Ronettes: 9 of the Ultimate ’60s Girl Group’s Greatest Hits
TLC
The four-time Grammy award winning band TLC was best known for their hits “Waterfalls” and “No Scrubs,” and became one of the major girl groups in the 90s. Members Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins, Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes and Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas were a powerful musical force. The name TLC was created as an acronym for the girls’ names.
In 2002, Lisa tragically died in a car accident and TLC was changed forever. The two remaining members decided to continue on as a duo rather than replace their former bandmate, and they’re still performing together today. Chilli recalled in their documentary, TLC Forever, “We’ve already lost one sister. We have to grow old together, that’s my family. We’re for life.”
MUST-READ: TLC Members: Looking Back at the ‘CrazySexyCool’ ’90s Girl Group
The Chicks: Girl groups
Previously known as the Dixie Chicks, and newly-named The Chicks, formed in 1989, their most popular lineup including Natalie Maines, Martie Maguire and Emily Strayer, as well as former founding members Laura Lynch and Robin Lynn Macy.
The 12-time Grammy award winners swept up as country music artists. After taking a 14-year hiatus after Natalie Maines criticized then-president, George W. Bush over the Iraq war, the group came together in 2016 for a reunion tour. In 2020, they released their first album in years under the name The Chicks. Maines shared that the incident was “defining in the way it set us free. It got us out of this box of country music, which we never wanted to be in and never felt like that’s who we were,” she explained.
