As Black History Month 2017 draws to a close, djrobblog continues its tribute to a dying breed in black popular music:  groups and bands.  Last week we examined the state of black singing groups and bands during the 21st Century and honored the men in the category by counting down the 101 Greatest Songs by Male Groups from the last true era of R&B: 1990-2001.

This week it’s the women’s turn!

I’ve got the 101 Greatest Songs by  Female Groups from those same years, and believe me when I say that there are some pretty heavy hitters on this list.

En Vogue – circa 1992 – has the most (12) songs on this djroblist.  TLC and SWV are tied for 2nd with eleven each.

Sisters held it down in the 1990s with surprisingly even more success and variety than they did in the previous two decades.  The female groups weren’t as large in number as their male counterparts, but those who were successful certainly held court.

If I asked you to name five female R&B groups who were successful in the 1980s, you would name the Pointer Sisters and maybe come up with two or three other groups like Klymaxx, Mary Jane Girls and Vanity/Apollonia 6.  But you’d be hard-pressed to find many others.

To the contrary, there were at least 40 female groups who charted during the 1990s and into the early aughts.  Heck, five of those groups alone account for nearly half of the songs on this djroblist of the 101 Greatest – a fact that makes them stand up well against almost anything the ’80s had to offer in the category.

The five biggest female groups of the 1990s were En Vogue, TLC, Destiny’s Child, SWV and Total.  Other groups like Xscape, Jade, Brownstone, Zhané, and Blaque also made respectable showings with multiple hits during the era.

Even Motown Records got things rolling with a new girl group from the late 1980s/ early ’90s called The Good Girls (remember them?).  The legendary record label tried to rekindle the magic it had in the 1960s with enormous acts like The Supremes and Martha and the Vandellas.  In fact, The Good Girls even covered an old Supremes classic, “Love Is Like An Itching In My Heart,” which charted in 1990 (and is included in this list).

The 1990s introduced us to the Braxtons, who’ve since become more popular with a TV reality show.  Back in the ’90s, they rode the success of big sister Toni with a release of their own (“So Many Ways”) that charted modestly.  The decade also brought us one of the biggest stars of the ensuing two decades: Beyoncé Knowles.  She blew up the ’90s and early ’00s with her group Destiny’s Child, a collective that has eight songs on this djroblist!

In fact, all the groups I’ve mentioned are represented on the list – and one of those big five (TLC, En Vogue, Destiny’s Child, SWV and Total) has the Number One song.

These djrobblog rankings were based on the typical factors: original chart performance, influence, endurance, critical acclaim, and a bit of the author’s opinion about the songs’ overall quality.

I also used a mini-poll I conducted on Facebook over the last weekend in February as one of the factors into the rankings.

There’s no need to delay the suspense any further.  Please keep reading and find out whether some of your favorite songs by 1990s Female R&B Groups made the list – and where they placed.

Oh, and feel free to comment in the main comment section below, or vote the songs up or down in each entry.

Enjoy!

Headline for 101 Greatest Songs by Female R&B Groups from the Last True Era of R&B: 1990-2001
DJ Rob DJ Rob
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101 items   5 followers   410 votes   18.21k views
Feb 25, 2017 - youtu.be - 238
101. "Footsteps In The Dark" - Body
Feb 25, 2017 - youtu.be - 158
100. "Feels So Good" - Xscape
Feb 25, 2017 - youtu.be - 167
99. "What Are You Waiting For?" - Phajja
Feb 25, 2017 - youtu.be - 194
98. "I Want You Back" - Pure Soul
Feb 25, 2017 - youtu.be - 169
97. "Heartbeat" - Seduction
Feb 25, 2017 - youtu.be - 107
96. "When Boy Meets Girl" - Total
Feb 25, 2017 - youtu.be - 130
95. "Crush" - Zhané
Feb 25, 2017 - youtu.be - 141
94. "Reality" - Elusion
Feb 25, 2017 - youtu.be - 104
93. "90's Girl" - Blackgirl
Feb 25, 2017 - youtu.be - 101
92. "This Lil Game We Play" - Subway ft. 702
Feb 25, 2017 - youtu.be - 100
91. "Sitting Home" - Total
Feb 25, 2017 - youtu.be - 87
90. "Someone" - SWV ft. Puff Daddy
Feb 25, 2017 - youtu.be - 111
89. "I Can't Tell You Why" - Brownstone
Feb 25, 2017 - youtu.be - 90
88. "Too Gone, Too Long" - En Vogue
Feb 25, 2017 - youtu.be - 100
86. "Head Over Heels" - Allure ft. Nas
Feb 25, 2017 - youtu.be - 81
85. "Can We" - SWV ft. Missy Elliott
Feb 25, 2017 - youtu.be - 110
83. "What'd You Come Here For" - Trina & Tamara
Feb 25, 2017 - youtu.be - 66
82. "Shame" - Zhané
Feb 25, 2017 - youtu.be - 69
81. "So Many Ways" - Braxtons
Feb 25, 2017 - youtu.be - 93
80. "Your Sweetness" - Good Girls
Feb 25, 2017 - youtu.be - 66
79. "Foolin' Around" - Changing Faces
Feb 25, 2017 - youtu.be - 100
78. "You're Always On My Mind" - SWV
Feb 25, 2017 - youtu.be - 78
77. "5-4-3-2 (Yo! Time Is Up)" - Jade

DJRob

By DJ Rob

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