The Flirtations started out as the Gypsies in 1962 in New York. The Members were Lestine Johnson and sisters: Ernestine, Shirley, and Betty Pearce.
In 1964 they released their debut single, "Hey there, Hey There" under the Old Town Records. This song got some airplay on local radio stations. The single, "Jerk it", written by J.J. Jackson made it to 111 on the pop charts. After the release of "Jerk it" Lestine Johnson left the group and was replaced by Viola Billups.
The group then became the Flirtations and signed to Josie Records. They released "Change My Darkness Into Light", which despite being ignored by DJs still became a Northern Soul Classic. The group then moved to Festival Records, and released "Stronger Than Her Love" and "Settle Down". Both got little interest.
The Flirtations became a trio after Betty Pearce left the group. They trio decided to try their luck in England. The group signed to Parrot Records in 1966 and toured with Tom Jones Their only Parrot release was "Someone Out There", which reached the UK Bubbling Under list, but made it to #25 in the Netherlands.
In 1966 they signed to Deram Records and released "Nothing But Heartache". "Nothing But Heartache" made to #1 on the Bubbling Under list It was reissued in the US in 1969 and made it to #93 on Billboards Hot 100 and #20 in several Us markets, in Boston It peaked at #3.
The follow-up was less of a dance tune than the previous single. "South Carolina" was a ballad that reached only #111 pop in July 1969. In 1970, "Keep On Searching" was released and did nothing. However, this may have been due to confusion over whether the newest single was "Searching" or "What's Good About Goodbye My Love". The latter rocketed to #17 R&B in early 1970, but failed to make a dent in the pop charts. In July 1970 the trio scored another hit with "Can't Stop Loving You". The song made #96 in CashBox.
1971 saw their sixth and last Deram single, "Give Me Love"Not originally in their 1970 LP Sounds Like the Flirtations, but subsequntly added to their 2008 CD version, it did not do well in the charts. The rest of their singles were not released in the U.S. Loretta Noble replaced Viola Billups in 1972. Viola Billups embarked on a solo career as Vie and asPearly Gates.During 1971 & 1972, the group were the resident vocal band on the long running BBC TV series Its Cliff Richards.
Throughout the 1970s the Flirtations released material on various labels. The Flirtations have received recognition in the Disco and Northern Soul Circuits.
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