The Shirelles, Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow | Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶

In the 116^th edition of Throwback Vibez (2024), we recollect and reflect on “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow” by The Shirelles.   

The vibes, the vibes, those Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶! Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 is a column that celebrates awesome songs from the past.  The records that grace this column are older, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re ancient – no fossils 🦴! All genres of music are welcome. In the 116^th edition of Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 (2024), we recollect and reflect on “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow” performed by The Shirelles.

“So, tell me now, and I won’t ask again / Will you still love me tomorrow?” Historic. New Jersey quartet The Shirelles, comprised of Doris Coley (Doris Kenner-Jackson), Beverly Lee, Shirley Owens (Shirley Alston), and Addie Harris, made history as the first black, all-girl group to reach no. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.  “Will You Love Me Tomorrow” (sometimes seen as “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow”) ended up spending two weeks in the penthouse.  It was composed by then iconic husband-wife songwriting duo Carole King and Gerry Goffin. “Will You Love Me Tomorrow” is an early pop/soul classic that pushed the envelope as the song explores whether a relationship will develop out of a romantic encounter.  In other words, will he commit to her beyond a one-night stand?

“Tonight, the light of love is in your eyes / But will you love me tomorrow?” Lead singer Shirley Owens asks. In the second verse, there are similar concerns and questions regarding the permanence of this encounter. “Is this a lasting treasure / Or just a moment’s pleasure?” she sings, continuing, “Can I believe the magic of your sighs? / Will you still love me tomorrow?”  The sexual innuendo continues to be ripe throughout, including the bridge where “Tonight with words unspoken / You say that I’m the only one / But will my heart be broken / When the night (when the night) / Meets the morning (Meets the morning) sun?” Owens, the group’s lead singer, didn’t like the song initially, but not because of the ‘controversial’ theme (a one-night stand) for the time. She described it as sounding “too country and western.” She got onboard thanks to producer Luther Dixon, an added string arrangement by the songwriters, and a tempo increase.  The string arrangement, specifically, is distinct – ear-catching, and quite impressive. “Will You Love Me Tomorrow” is an inescapable, often-covered pop/soul classic that speaks for itself.

The Shirelles // Tonight’s the Night // Gusto // 1961

The Shirelles, Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow: Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 No. 116 (2024) [📷: Brent Faulkner / The Musical Hype; Gusto; OpenClipart-Vectors, Speedy McVroom from Pixabay]