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Two years ago Rhino records released an amazing box set called "One Kiss Can Lead To Another." It contained over 120 tracks - over five hours - of forgotten "girl groups" from the 1960s. (It's subtitle was "Girl Group Sounds: Lost and Found.") The box set arrived in a package that was shaped like a hat box, with the liner notes resembling a girly diary. Amazon declared it one of the best releases of 2005.

It delivers an amazing variety of talented singers. Mixed in are some familiar names, including Carole King, Lesley Gore, Petula Clark, and Brenda Lee. It also gives a track to Little Eva, best known for singing the song "Locomotion" (after being discovered as Carole King's babysitter). Packed into the set is a 1966 song by 20-year-old Dolly Parton, and "Dream Baby" by 19-year-old Cher. But even the forgotten singers of the 1960s deliver energy and fun.

It's an innocent "good time" sound. The set opens with the catchy hand clapping of The Velvelettes, warning that finding a good man is like finding a "Needle in Haystack." There's more hand-clapping when "The Pinups" sing that they're "Looking For Boys" with off-key harmonies, making the song just seem that much more rowdy. The Goodies deliver a cute dance number called "Sophisticated Boom Boom," in which the lead singer sasses her way through the entire first verse over nothing but a swinging bass line. (After the drums and guitar join in, she teases "That's not very sophisticated" when the backup singers hit the chorus, then wails out a amazing bluesy "yeah.") The catchy tunes keep coming, by bands with laughable quaint names like "The Pussycats", "The Cookies," and "The Girlfriends."

But not all the songs are upbeat, giving an interesting perspective on life in the 60s. Dolly Parton's song is the ballad of a teenager begging her high school boyfriend: "Don't Drop Out." "The Girls" sing about how no one understands Chico, who hides a tender side because he lives in a tough neighborhood. In another song, the singer urges her boyfriend to ignore her parents, who don't understand his long hair. And the song "Nightmare" even finds two girls engaged in a fight to the death.

There are too many good gems in the box set to list, but I have a few favorites. It was through this collection that I discovered the amazing song "Egyptian Shumba" by The Tammys, and Marscha Gee does a cute introduction to a new dance called "The Peanut Duck." "The What For" show that women can be aggressive too in "I'm Gonna Destroy That Boy (Tonight He's Gonna Fall For Me)." And Bessie Banks delivers soulfully sad version of "(You Better) Go Now." I think I'd like this song played at my funeral. Listing out the great songs is perhaps the ultimate endorsement for this collection.

It delivers one great gem after another.

Learn more about this author, Moe Zilla.
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