Calling themselves The Dreamers,[3] the group originally sang spirituals, since two of the members had parents who were against their daughters singing secular rhythm and blues music, which was popular on the radio during the early 1950s.

Fanita Barrett (later known as Fanita James; August 13, 1938 – November 23, 2023), Gloria A. Jones (born September 12, 1938[1];not to be confused with Gloria Jones of "Tainted Love" fame), Jewel Cobbs, Pat Howard and twin sisters Annette and Nanette Williams all came from musical backgrounds.

[2] The Blossoms in turn received only a meager session fee (Darlene Love states they were paid "triple scale") and are not credited for contributing to the record.

Helping out too with the crescendo was Cher, who had previously sung for Spector on recordings by The Ronettes, including "Be My Baby", which also featured the Blossoms.

Although the Blossoms were attempting to establish themselves as primary artists, they still contributed backing vocals behind many of the biggest hits of the 1960s including "Monster Mash" by Bobby "Boris" Pickett[8] and Shelley Fabares' "Johnny Angel", and the Blossoms lead singer Wright's solo efforts (which included "He's Sure the Boy I Love", although again Spector credited the song to the Crystals).

[4][3][2] The Blossoms used their vocal versatility to their advantage, singing in various styles behind a cross-section of artists, including Patty Duke, Shelley Fabares, Jackie Wilson, Aretha Franklin, and Marvin Gaye.

Show providing backup vocals and dancing for all of Marvin Gaye's songs; their name appeared in the opening credits, but they were not introduced.

[15][16] Love left the Blossoms in mid-1973 after a backstage incident caused the group to be fired as the backing singers for Dionne Warwick.

[17] Following a hiatus the group brought singer Stephanie Spruill in as a replacement, returning to live work in 1974 with Tom Jones.

[1][20] James kept the Blossoms going with varying personnel, performing on the Las Vegas circuit until 1990, when she became a backing singer for Doris Kenner Jackson of the Shirelles.

[21] Following Doris Kenner Jackson's death in 2000 from breast cancer, James revived the Blossoms with original member Gloria Jones and a new third member.[who?]

In 2013, the Blossoms (namely Love, James, Wright, and Jones) were highlighted in the Oscar-winning documentary 20 Feet From Stardom, in which it was revealed that they had also sung backing vocals for Bobby "Boris" Pickett's "Monster Mash", Frank Sinatra's version of "That's Life", and Merry Clayton's version of "the Shoop Shoop Song (It's in His Kiss)".