Shirelles Nearly Passed on 'Will You Love Me Tomorrow'

In the 50 years since the Shirelles' 'Will You Love Me Tomorrow' was originally recorded, it's been covered by dozens of artists, including the Bee Gees and Joe Walsh to Amy Winehouse and Dusty Springfield. But the classic song was nearly spiked when it was introduced to the group back in 1960.

"It sounded like an old twangy country and western song," Beverly Lee, one of the four teens who made up the all-girl group, tells Spinner. "We didn't like it. But Luther Dixon, who was out producer, had a wonderful ear for choosing music for us and said, 'You're going to record this.' When he went into the studio, it was a lush arrangement with strings and cellos and kettle drums. It was awesome."

After the Shirelles released the single, it quickly shot up the charts, making them the first girl group to land a No. 1 single in the US. "When it became a million-seller, Carole King, we were told, had her doorbell chime to the melody of 'Will You Love Me Tomorrow,'" says Lee, the only original member of the still-touring Shirelles.

King, who co-wrote the song with then-husband Gerry Goffin, insisted on playing kettle drums on the record because she was unhappy with the way the session player was performing the part, Lee says. A decade later, King would include the song on her landmark 'Tapestry' album.

By then, the sexual revolution was already in full swing but in 1960, some considered the song overly risqué, prompting a few radio stations to ban it. Others just thought it was a song about love.

"We didn't really pay attention to it until after we got older," Lee says, noting that kids their age related to the music. "Our songs were basically what everyday living was about at that time: dating, kissing, 'Are you gonna tell?' 'Do you love me?'"

Other Shirelles songs -- like 'Mama Said' and 'Soldier Boy' -- have also become popular cover and soundtrack songs. Lee says she occasionally visits YouTube to hear how others -- both famous and unknowns -- cover the Shirelles, who were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996. One thing she'd like to hear is a male group perform the Shirelle's first recorded single.

"I was hoping the Jonas Brothers would do ' I Met Him on a Sunday,'" she says. Are you listening, Nick, Kevin and Joe?