Girls Next Door are an American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

vocal group formed in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

, in 1982. The group consists of vocalists Doris King Merritt, Cindy Nixon Psanos, Diane Williams Austin, and Tammy Stephens Smith. The quartet recorded between 1982 and 1991, issuing two albums on

MTM Records MTM Records was an American independent record label specializing in country music. It was founded in 1984 as a subsidiary of the production company of the same name owned by actress Mary Tyler Moore. Alan Bernard was the label's CEO, Howard St ...

and one on

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over the course of its first two decades, starting from the release of its first recor ...

. They disbanded in 1991 and briefly reunited in 2011 before reuniting a second time in 2023.

History

Girls Next Door was founded in 1982 by record producer Tommy West, best known for working with

Jim Croce James Joseph Croce (; January 10, 1943 – September 20, 1973) was an American Folk music, folk and rock singer-songwriter. Between 1966 and 1973, he released five studio albums and numerous singles. During this period, Croce took a series of o ...

. West was a friend of

session vocalist A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are used ...

Doris King, and suggested that she form an all-female vocal group due to the concept being uncommon in country music at the time. The other members chosen for the group were Cindy Nixon, Diane Williams, and Tammy Stephens. All four of the members had met through mutual connections at

Opryland USA Opryland USA (later called Opryland Themepark and colloquially known as Opryland) was a amusement park, theme park in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. The park was located between the Cumberland River and Tennessee State Route 155, Briley Pa ...

, a former theme park in

, which often employed musicians to perform there. They originally wanted to call themselves Belle and Wildflower, but after finding that other groups existed with those names, West suggested "Girls Next Door" after a song he wrote. The four began rehearsing in Williams's basement and went on to record several songs with West. Despite not having a record deal at the time, they also began performing in local bars around Nashville. In 1984, the quartet was signed to

, a record label division of actress

Mary Tyler Moore Mary Tyler Moore (December 29, 1936 – January 25, 2017) was an American actress, producer, and social advocate. She is best known for her roles on '' The Dick Van Dyke Show'' (1961–1966) and ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' (1970–1977), whic ...

MTM Enterprises MTM Enterprises (also known as MTM Productions) was an American independent production company established in 1969 by Mary Tyler Moore and her then-husband Grant Tinker to produce ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' for CBS. The name for the produc ...

. MTM released the group's self-titled debut album ''

The Girls Next Door ''The Girls Next Door'' (also known as ''The Girls of the Playboy Mansion'') is a reality television series which focused on the lives of Hugh Hefner's girlfriends who lived with him at the Playboy Mansion. The series was created by executive ...

'' in 1984, with West producing. It charted four singles on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data along with digital sales and streaming. ...

charts. First was "Love Will Get You Through Times of No Money" at number fourteen, followed by their most successful, " Slow Boat to China" at number eight. "Baby I Want It" and "Walk Me in the Rain" were also issued as singles. Girls Next Door's second album ''What a Girl Next Door Could Do'' charted singles with its title track and "Easy to Find", but neither made top 40 on the country charts. A seventh single for MTM, "Love and Other Fairy Tales", was never put on an album due to MTM closing soon afterward. In 1989, Girls Next Door signed with

for their third album ''How 'Bout Us'' under the production of Nelson Larkin. It charted the singles "He's Gotta Have Me" and " How 'Bout Us", a cover of

Champaign Champaign ( ) is a city in Champaign County, Illinois, United States. The population was 88,302 at the 2020 census. It is the tenth-most populous municipality in Illinois and the fourth most populous city in the state outside the Chicago metr ...

's 1981 single. These singles also failed to make top 40 on the country charts. Girls Next Door retired in 1991, after a performance on the talk show ''

Nashville Now ''Nashville Now'' is an American talk show that focused on country music performers in the style of ''The Tonight Show''. The show aired live on weeknights on TNN from 1983–1993. The program was hosted by Nashville TV/radio personality Ralph ...

''. All four members stated at the time that they wanted to raise their families. The original four members reunited for one concert in 2011. In 2023, the original four members reunited to release a new album titled ''Now or Never'', which they funded through

Kickstarter Kickstarter, PBC is an American Benefit corporation, public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York City, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative project ...

. The album contains the single "What's This Thing You've Got About Leaving", released that same year.

Discography

Albums

Singles

Music videos

References

External links

Official website
{{authority control 1982 establishments in Tennessee American girl groups Atlantic Records artists Country music groups from Tennessee MTM Records artists Musical groups from Nashville, Tennessee Musical groups established in 1982 Musical groups disestablished in 1991 Musical groups reestablished in 2023 Vocal quartets