The Bobbettes
The Bobbettes were an American R&B girl group from East Harlem, New York, who were active from 1955 to 1974. The members were Jannie Pought, Emma Pought, Reather Dixon, Laura Webb, and Helen Gathers.
They formed in 1955 and were first called The Harlem Queens after singing together in the Glee Club at P.S. 109. They were discovered by record producer James Dailey during an Apollo Theater amateur night and signed to Atlantic Records.
In 1957 they released Mr. Lee, a lively song about a girl who loves her teacher. The lyrics were revised after Atlantic requested changes. The song was a big hit, reaching number 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 1 on the R&B chart for four weeks. It made them the first girl group to have a number-one R&B hit that also reached the pop top 10. Diana Ross later covered the song on the European version of her 1987 album Red Hot Rhythm & Blues.
After more releases on Atlantic didn’t do well, they recorded I Shot Mr. Lee. Atlantic initially refused the song, and the group then signed with Triple-X, releasing a new version that climbed to #52 on the Billboard Hot 100. Atlantic later released its own version again. The Bobbettes followed with songs like Have Mercy Baby, You Are My Sweetheart, You Belong to Me, and Dance with Me Georgie. They later signed with End Records and released Teach Me Tonight and I Don’t Like It Like That, and they also worked with Diamond, RCA Victor, and Mayhew before disbanding in 1974. They continued to perform on oldies shows and sometimes reformed.
Other songs included Oh My Pa-Pa, Speedy, Zoomy, and Rock and Ree-ah-Zole (The Teenage Talk). Their RCA Victor single I’ve Got to Face the World is regarded as a Northern Soul track.
Tragically, Jannie Pought was killed in 1980 at age 34, and Reather Dixon died in 2014 at age 69. The Bobbettes were later nominated for induction into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 06:03 (CET).