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Shirley Goodman

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Vocalist

The Resume

    (June 19, 1936-July 5, 2005)
    Born in New Orleans, Louisiana
    One half of the '50s R&B duo of Shirley & Lee
    Recorded (with Leonard Lee) 'I’m Gone,' 'Let the Good Times Roll' and 'I Feel Good'
    As part of Shirley & Company (without Lee) recorded the disco song 'Shame, Shame, Shame'
    Suffered a stroke in 1994
    Died in Los Angeles at age 69
    Buried in her home town of New Orleans (six weeks before Hurricane Katrina hit)

Why she might be annoying:

    Though she and Lee pretended to be lovers (to sell more records), their relationship was one of friendship only (she was married to another man).
    Their nickname was 'Sweethearts of the Blues,' though a more accurate moniker would have been 'Friends of R&B.'
    After they split in 1962, neither had solo success.
    Trying to recapture duet gold, she teamed up with other singers - becoming Shirley & Jessie, Shirley & Alfred and Shirley & Shep (all to no avail).
    In 1988, she won a federal court judgment to receive half the royalties for 'Let the Good Times Roll,' a song Lee wrote by himself.
    Lee's widow and daughter bitterly fought the judgment and dragged the issue through the courts for years.

Why she might not be annoying:

    She had an amazing soprano vocal range.
    She and Lee's singing style on their first hit, 1952's 'I'm Gone,' was heard in Jamaica and paved the way for a ska style that eventually turned into reggae.
    'Let the Good Times Roll' reached #1 on the R&B chart and #20 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
    She also scored a #12 Hot 100 hit with 'Shame, Shame, Shame' in early 1975 (written by friend Sylvia Robinson), a precursor to the disco boom.
    She was a session singer for recordings by the Rolling Stones, Dr. John and Sonny & Cher.
    Her friend and music partner Lee, who had become a social worker, died in 1976 of a heart attack at age 40.
    Her stroke left her in ill health the last 11 years of her life.

Credit: Scar Tactics


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 4 Votes: 75.00% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 3 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 10 Votes: 80.0% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 4 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 4 Votes: 25.00% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 3 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 5 Votes: 60.0% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 3 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 9 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 8 Votes: 75.00% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 11 Votes: 54.55% Annoying
    In 2012, Out of 7 Votes: 57.14% Annoying
    In 2011, Out of 19 Votes: 63.16% Annoying
    In 2010, Out of 17 Votes: 70.59% Annoying
    In 2009, Out of 13 Votes: 69.23% Annoying