The Chantels
- Soundtrack
The Chantels came out of the Bronx, NY, in the early 1950s. The
group's members were students at St. Anthony of Padua School, and they
took their name from that of another Catholic school, St. Francs de
Chantal. They signed their first recording contract, with End Records,
in 1957, but the record, "He's Gone", wasn't a hit; however, it later
became a popular request on "oldies" and "doo-wop" stations. Their next
record, however, was their biggest hit and is considered a classic of
"doo-wop" girl groups: "Maybe", written by lead singer Arlene Smith.
"Maybe" was later successfully covered by Janis Joplin, as "Maybe Maybe
Maybe". It sold over a million copies for the group and was
performed by them, in 1958, on TV's "American Bandstand", "The Saturday
Night Dick Clark Show" and locally in NYC on Ted Steele's "Dance Time".
Though their next two singles, "Every Night" and "I Love You So", didn't
chart as well, the recordings received considerable airplay and are
considered classics today. Nevertheless, in 1959 their recording
company, End Records, dropped them. After some personnel changes the
group signed with Carlton Records and had their second big hit, "Look
In My Eyes". Again, they weren't able to follow that with another top-20 hit, and more personnel and label changes followed. In the 1970s
former lead singer Arlene Smith, who had left the group for a solo
career, formed a "new" Chantels to make the rounds of oldies shows and
personal appearances. In 1999 the surviving members of the original
Chantels reformed for the PBS TV special
Doo Wop 50 (1999).
The Chantels were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2010.
The Chantels were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2010.