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"Foolish Little Girl"
"Foolish Little Girl"
Single by The Shirelles
from the album Foolish Little Girl
B-side	"Not For All the Money in the World"
Released	March 1963
Genre	R&B
Length	2:19
Label	Scepter 1248
Songwriter(s)	Helen Miller, Howard Greenfield
Producer(s)	Luther Dixon, Stan Greenberg
The Shirelles singles chronology

"Foolish Little Girl" is a song written by Helen Miller and Howard Greenfield and performed by The Shirelles. It reached No.4 on the Billboard Hot 100, No.9 on the R&B chart, and No.38 on the UK Singles Chart in 1963.^[1] The song appeared on their 1963 album, Foolish Little Girl^[2] and was ranked No.57 on Billboard magazine's Top Hot 100 songs of 1963.^[3]

Rival or cover versions of the original song were released by several groups that same year including Clara Wilson (aka Alpha Zoe Hall)^[4] and The Cleftones (April 1963), Don Mercedes (July 15, 1963), The Chiffons (September 1963), the father and four son Filipino group The Rocky Fellers (1963), and The Cookies (1963). Two additional covers were recorded decades later by Shirley "Lady Rose" Alston (1977) and Dionne Bromfield (October 12, 2009).^[5]

Background

Cash Box described it as "a most attractive, easy beat cha cha romancer."^[6] The song released as a single was a demo recorded at Associated Studios in NYC on 7th Avenue. The plan was to re-record it at the studios Scepter Records had access to at the time, but when their attempts at re-recording proved to be unsatisfactory, Luther Dixon sent out The Shirelles to lay down their vocals on the demo version at Associated, and that was the version that was released as a single and became a hit.

The song, which is a mini-opera, begins with the spoken recitation: "You Broke his heart and made him cry, and he's been blue since then, Now he's found somebody new, And you want him back again". Shirley Alston, being the mother, tells her daughter, being the Foolish Little Girl, Played by Beverly Lee, that she did not want him when he wanted her, and that tomorrow is his wedding day with a new girl, and that there was nothing that she can do about it. The Foolish Girl, hopelessly, still declares her love for him, while the mother angrily tells her to forget about him because he found somebody new.

Personnel

The Shirelles' version

Lead vocals by Shirley Owens and Beverly Lee
Spoken intro by Doris Coley
Backing vocals by Addie "Micki" Harris, Doris Coley, and Beverly Lee
Charles Macey: Guitar and Upright Bass
Buddy Saltzman: Drums
Leroy Glover: Organ.

Chart performance

Chart (1963)	Peak position
Canada (CHUM Chart)^[7]	8
UK Singles (The Official Charts Company)	38
US Billboard Hot 100	4
US Billboard Hot R&B Singles	9

Other versions

French-Vietnamese singer Tiny Yong released a French language cover of the song, Tais-toi petite folle, in 1963.^[8]

Jin sampled the song on his song "Foolish Little Girls" from his 2005 album, The Emcee's Properganda.
Dionne Bromfield included it on her 2009 album, Introducing Dionne Bromfield.