The Song "Will You Love Me Tomorrow?" Sung by The Shirelles

Baby Houseman and Johnny Castle became sexual with each other during the night between Thursday and Friday. On Friday afternoon, Baby goes to Johnny's cabin and gets into bed with him. They talk:

Baby Houseman
Have you had many women?

Johnny Castle
What?

Baby Houseman
Have you had many women?

Johnny Castle
Baby, come on.

Baby Houseman
Tell me. I want to know.

Johnny Castle
No, no. Look, you gotta understand what it's like.

Before, you come from the streets, and suddenly you're up here, and then women are throwing themselves at you and they smell so good. They really take care of themselves. I never knew women could be like that.

They're so goddamn rich, you think they must know about everything. They're slipping their room keys in my hand two and three times a day -- different women -- so, here I think I'm scoring big, right?

You think, "They wouldn't be doing this if they didn't care about me, right?"

Baby Houseman
That's all right. I understand. You were just using them, that's all.

During this conversation, a record player is playing the song "Will You Love Me Tomorrow", sung by the Shirelles.

Tonight you're mine, completely.
You give your love so sweetly.
Tonight the light of love is in your eyes.
But will you love me tomorrow?

Is this a lasting treasure
Or just a moment's pleasure?
Can I believe the magic in your sighs?
Will you still love me tomorrow?

Tonight with words unspoken,
You say that I'm the only one,
But will my heart be broken
When the night meets the morning sun?

I'd like to know that your love
Is a love I can be sure of,
So tell me now, and I won't ask again:
Will you still love me tomorrow?

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The following video shows The Shirelles performing the song on television in the year 1964.

Below are the covers of the 1960 single record and of the 1961 album that included the song.

The single record, released in November 1960

The album released in March 1961

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The song expresses Baby's anxiety that Johnny feels differently about her today, after being sexual with her for the first time during the previous night. For example, Johnny might feel that he disdained her as:

* a slut

* visually plain or ugly

* misshapen -- e.g. unsymmetrical breasts, weird nipples, too hairy, fat thighs

* stinky

* sexually incompetent

* foolish

* boring

* disappointing.

His first sexual experience with her might have caused him to never respect or love her.

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The Wikipedia article about the song includes the following passages.

Will You Love Me Tomorrow", also known as "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow", is a song written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King. It was originally recorded in 1960 by the Shirelles, who took their single to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The song is also notable for being the first song by a black all-girl group to reach number one in the United States. It has since been recorded by many artists over the years, including a 1971 version by co-writer Carole King. ...

When first presented with the song, lead singer Shirley Owens (later known as Shirley Alston-Reeves) did not want to record it, because she thought it was "too country." She relented after a string arrangement was added. ...

This version of the song ... as of 2009 was ranked as the 162nd greatest song of all time, as well as the best song of 1960, by Acclaimed Music. It was ranked at #126 among Rolling Stone's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. Billboard named the song #3 on their list of 100 Greatest Girl Group Songs of All Time. ...

Bertell Dache, a black demo singer for the Brill Building songwriters, recorded [in 1961] an answer song entitled "Not just Tomorrow, But Always". ....

Here is that answer song.

The Wikipedia article about the song continues:

The Satintones, an early Motown group, also recorded [also in 1961] an answer song called "Tomorrow and Always" ...

Here is that answer song:

The Wikipedia article about the song continues:

In 1971 Carole King, the co-writer of the song, recorded a version of "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" for her landmark studio album Tapestry, with Joni Mitchell and James Taylor on background vocals. King's version of the song was taken at a considerably slower tempo and with a more contemplative, melancholy feel than in the Shirelles original recording. It gained considerable album-oriented rock airplay due to the large scale commercial success of the album. ....

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The following video shows King performing the song in about 1971.

When King recorded the song, the word still was added to the song's title "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?".

The cover of Carol King's 1971 album Tapestry

Perhaps most of the young people who watched the movie Dirty Dancing when it opened 1987 knew the song only from King's rendition.

I wrote about King in a previous article titled The Song "Some Kind of Wonderful" by the Drifters.

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The Wikipedia article about The Shirelles includes the following passages.

The Shirelles were an American girl group notable for their rhythm and blues, doo-wop and soul music and gaining popularity in the early 1960s. They consisted of schoolmates Shirley Owens (later Shirley Alston Reeves), Doris Coley (later Doris Kenner-Jackson), Addie "Micki" Harris (later Addie Harris McFadden), and Beverly Lee and were the first all female group to have Number 1 hit record with "Will You Love Me Tomorrow?".

Founded in 1957 for a talent show at their high school, they were signed by Florence Greenberg of Tiara Records. Their first single, "I Met Him on a Sunday", was released by Tiara and licensed by Decca Records in 1958. After a brief and unsuccessful period with Decca, they went with Greenberg to her newly formed company, Scepter Records. Working with Luther Dixon, the group rose to fame with "Tonight's the Night". After a successful period of collaboration with Dixon and promotion by Scepter, with seven top 20 hits, the Shirelles left Scepter in 1966. Afterwards, they were unable to maintain their previous popularity.

The Shirelles have been described as having a "naive schoolgirl sound" that contrasted with the sexual themes of many of their songs. Several of their hits used strings and baião-style music. They have been credited with launching the girl group genre, with much of their music reflecting the genre's essence.

Their acceptance by both white and black audiences, predating that of the Motown acts, has been noted as reflecting the early success of the Civil Rights Movement. ....

The following video shows The Shirelles singing "Big John" in 1961.