She’s A Rebel:The Girl Group Project

Like most kids her age, 13-year-old Aaliyah Del Orbe’s favorite music includes songs by pop sensations Beyoncé and Ariana Grande. But this summer, the young Amsterdam Houses resident got the chance to expand her horizons by learning doo wop songs of the early 1960s through a special Lincoln Center program.

She’s A Rebel: The Girl Group Project is a one-of-a-kind program in which New Yorkers ages 12 to 18 learned how to sing in harmony over the course of 15 weeks. A special feature of the program is a master class taught by famous female singers of the 1960s. Del Orbe and two other young NYCHA residents participated in the program, which was created by Lincoln Center Education and Lincoln Center Out of Doors.

“She’s A Rebel: The Girl Group Project was born out of a love for girl group harmonies and incredible songcraft,” said Jill Sternheimer, Director of Public Programming at Lincoln Center. “In the world of Auto-Tune, it was also born out of a desire to pass the tradition of street-corner singers down to the next generation. Street-corner singing is about closeness, friendship, looking for the echo, and the blend. We tried to make this project a space for the girls to take a step out in the comfort and community of a small group and start to find their voice. They got to work with the original singers. The ladies told the girls the stories of their lives, and sang for the girls, showed the girls photos and mementos from the 60s. The girls sang for the ladies, and then they sang together and shared the joy of the blend.”

It was a unique experience for Del Orbe, learning songs that were popular well before she was born. “Back then they sang different,” she said. “We sing more hip hop now and it’s almost like the music we listen to now is all the same style. There’s more diverse style in these older songs.”

Her favorite song learned through the program is “Remember (Walking in the Sand),” made famous by The Shangri-Las in 1964. Other songs she learned included “Dancing in the Street” by Martha & the Vandellas; “Tell Him” by The Exciters; “Be My Baby” by The Ronettes; and “Will You Love Me Tomorrow” by The Shirelles.

At the end of the 15-week program, the young women performed onstage with legendary 1960s singers Margaret Ross Williams of The Cookies, Louise Murray of The Hearts and The Jaynetts, Barbara Harris of The Toys, Lillian Walker Moss of The Exciters, Nanette Licari of Reparata and The Delrons, and Beverly Warren of The Raindrops at Lincoln Center’s Family Day on July 23.

Del Orbe was excited to participate in the program and sing onstage with the singers: “They’re like role models, because they were 12, 13, and 14 when they were making songs that were hits.” 

Photo Credit: H. Martinez for David Flores Photography