The Gypsies

A female R&B group from New York City, New York, USA, comprising sisters Betty, Shirley and Earnestine Pearce, and Lestine Johnson. The group’s only hit was ‘Jerk It’ (number 33 R&B) from 1965. In 1965 Shirley and Earnestine joined with Viola Billups to form the Flirtations, which had considerable success in 1969 with a Supremes -styled number, ‘Nothing But A Heartache’ (number 34 pop), which sounded somewhat retrograde in the soul market where it did not chart. A Flirtations album, Love Makes The World Go Round, surfaced in 1975 to no great acclaim.