by Jason AnkenyWith their no-nonsense, street-smart approach, the Exciters ushered in the heyday of the girl group sound via the 1962 classic Tell Him. Queens, NY, classmates Brenda Reid, Carol Johnson, Lillian Walker, and Sylvia Wilbur formed the group in 1961 when they were all 17 years old. Originally dubbed the Masterettes, they were the sister act to the Masters, a local doo wop quintet with the End Records single A Man Is Not Supposed to Cry to its credit. When the Masters secured a record deal with the Le Sage label, they wrangled session time for the Masterettes as well, and in early 1962 the group issued its debut effort, Follow the Leader. Wilbur left the lineup soon after, and with replacement Penny Carter, the Masterettes auditioned for the famed writing/producing duo of Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller — Carters tenure with the group proved brief, however, and following creative differences with his bandmates, Masters member H...