I Wonder If She Loves Me by The Do's and The Don'ts was released on the Red Bird Record Label in 1966, written by Roger Booth (single #10-072). The band members on this recording are: Dick Burns, Lead Guitar; Roger Booth, Drums and Vocals; Dick Sherman, Bass Guitar; and Zelda Sherman, Hammond Organ.

I Wonder If She Loves Me was listed in the ‘Spotlight Singles’ of the July 2, 1966, issue of Billboard Magazine. Billboard quote: “Predicted to reach the top 60 of the HOT 100 chart” and “No newcomer to the Rock and Roll scene, the group has a hot single sure to score high in the teen-age market.” Record World Magazine listed it among Singles Coming Up, reaching #35 in the August 20 & 27 issues.

Radio Chart Positions — Summer 1966

Listen to “I Wonder If She Loves Me”

“I Wonder If She Loves Me” — Lyrics

Written by Roger Booth  •  © 1966 The Do's & The Don'ts

About The Do's & The Don'ts

The Do's & The Don'ts trace their roots to 1959, when the band was founded in Iowa City, Iowa as The Escorts. Through the early 1960s, The Escorts built a devoted local following playing high-energy rock and roll and doo-wop at ballrooms, teen dances, and clubs across Iowa and the Midwest region — drawing crowds from Des Moines to Duluth.

The same four people who were The Escorts kept right on playing together — they simply changed their name to The Do's and The Don'ts at the request of Red Bird Records of New York, who felt the new name would better suit the single they were releasing. Red Bird was a celebrated independent label whose roster included The Shangri-Las, The Dixie Cups, and songs written by Ellie Greenwich and Jeff Barry — an indication of the commercial caliber the label pursued. For a band from Iowa to land a release on Red Bird speaks directly to the strength of their recordings.

The four musicians who recorded I Wonder If She Loves Me were seasoned performers who had honed their craft on the Iowa circuit for years. Roger Booth — who wrote the song — sang lead and played drums. Dick Burns played the distinctive lead guitar that opens the record. Dick Sherman anchored the rhythm section on bass guitar, and Zelda Sherman’s Hammond organ gave the track its warm, soulful character that set it apart from the harder-edged singles of the era.

The song broke out simultaneously across four major radio markets in the summer of 1966, peaking at #4 on KIOA Des Moines, #4 on WEBC Duluth (The Northland’s Fabulous Forty), and charting in the top ten on KCRG Cedar Rapids and WAKX Duluth. Billboard Magazine had already predicted its potential in the July 2, 1966 Spotlight Singles column, and Record World confirmed it by ranking the record #35 nationally among rising singles in August 1966.

In 1997, the band was honored with induction into the Iowa Rock ‘n’ Roll Music Association Hall of Fame — among the very first bands ever inducted. The Do’s & Don’ts continue to bring authentic 1950s and 1960s rock and roll to audiences across Eastern Iowa to this day.