Today is Veteran’s Day here in the U.S. and, in honor of our vets, today’s classic song of the day is the Shirelles’ “Soldier Boy.” Released in March of 1962, this single hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. (And in Canada, too!)
“Soldier Boy” was written by producer Luther Dixon and Scepter Records owner Florence Greenburg. Actually, Flo did the writing and Luther tagged along for his cut of the songwriting royalties, as often happened back then. Flo originally titled the song “I’ll Be True to You” but the Shirelles decided “Soldier Boy” would be a better title.
The Shirelles, under Luther Dixon’s watchful eyes, recorded “Soldier Boy” at New York’s Bell Sound Studios. Contrary to what some later listeners thought, the song was not about a soldier going to Vietnam, as the Vietnam War didn’t really start up until 1965. There was, however, a peacetime draft in 1962, and “Solider Boy” is about a girl sad about her young man going off to boot camp.
“Soldier Boy” ended up being one of the Shirelles’ most successful tracks. That’s saying something, given the huge number of hits the group had during the early ’60s. Those hits included “Will You Love Me Tomorrow,” “Dedicated to the One I Love,” “Mama Said,” “Baby It’s You,” and “Foolish Little Girl.” They were arguably the most successful group of the Girl Group era, and the most successful girl group period, until the Supremes came along.
And here’s today’s daily bonus video of the day, three of the four original Shirelles (Doris Coley had left the group in 1968 to focus on her family) performing “Soldier Boy” live in 1973. Lead singer Shirley Owens would leave the group two years later to pursue a solo career, at which point Doris would return and assume lead duties. The other two Shirelles were Micki Harris and Beverly Lee.
Micki Harris died of a heart attack in 1982 while Doris Coley passed away in 2000 of breast cancer. Shirley Owens returned to the group in 2000 but retired in 2020. Beverly Lee is still touring today under the Shirelles name with a batch of younger singers.
