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The Fascinations were an American pop music human voice musical ensemble most active in the mid-1960s. They are best remembered for the Curtis Mayfield-penned hit "Girls Are Out to Get You", a minor pop hit in the US in 1967 that was re-released in the UK in 1971, where it reached the top 40.
Before the group got its chance at recording, in late 1960 founding member Reeves left over disagreements with the other members. Reeves went on to re-join her previous group, the Del-Phis. This group signed to the Motown Records record label, and later became Martha & The Vandellas. Bernadette Boswell would be the Fas(c)inations' lead singer from this point on.
In late 1962, the Fasinations were signed to the ABC-Paramount label. There they met Curtis Mayfield (of the Impressions) who wrote and record producer their first single, "Mama Didn't Lie", a track he had previously cut with Jan Bradley. While the track was initially issued as by the Fasinations, the group quickly changed their name to the more conventionally spelled "The Fas cinations", and subsequent pressings of this single (and all future singles) were accordingly credited to the Fascinations.
Bradley's version of "Mama Didn't Lie" had been a regional hit, but had not broken nationally when the Fascinations recorded their version. However, Bradley's recording of "Mama" began to take off nationally just as the Fascinations released their record. As it turned out, Bradley's recording of "Mama Didn't Lie" entered the Billboard chart in the first week of 1963, while the Fascinations version of the same song debuted in the "Bubbling Under" charts one week later. Bradley took "Mama Didn't Lie" all the way to number 14 while the Fascinations' version stalled at number 108. The group then followed up with "Tears in My Eyes", which flopped, and ABC dropped them from their label roster.
White, under the name "Shirley Lawson", also issued two obscure solo singles during these years.
Mayfield also wrote and produced their next single, "Girls Are Out to Getcha," which was their most commercially successful song: it reached number 92 on the Billboard Hot 100, and on the R&B chart it climbed to number 13.
In mid-1967 the group's third Mayfield single, "I'm In Love," produced in similar fashion to "Girls Are Out to Getcha", became the group's third Top 50 single on the R&B chart. However, the group's follow-up release of "Hold On"/"Such a Fool" went virtually unnoticed, as did the Fascinations' final release on the Mayfield label, "Just Another Reason"/"Okay for You". The Mayfield label closed up shop with this release and Curtis Mayfield would have more success with his next label, Curtom.
In early 1968, label-less and with bookings for live appearances dwindling, the Fascinations decided to retire.
| 1962 | "Mama Didn't Lie" | |||
| 1963 | "Tears in My Eyes" | |||
| 1966 | "Say It Isn't So" | |||
| "Girls Are Out to Get You" | ||||
| 1967 | "I'm in Love" / "I Can't Stay Away from You" | |||
| "Hold On" | ||||
| "Just Another Reason" | ||||
| 1971 | "Girls Are Out to Get You" (UK-only reissue) | |||
| "I'm So Lucky" (UK-only; initially released in 1966 as a B-side) | ||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart. | ||||
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