The Chantels, the early all-girl doo-wop group whose "Maybe" and "Look in My Eyes" are rock 'n' roll classics, headlined the Southern California Doo-Wop Society's Show #34 at the Petroleum Club on October 28, 2000.

We associate the Girl Group Sound with the early 1960s, but The Chantels were making great records as early as 1957, including a number of hits. The five original members--lead soprano Arlene Smith, top soprano Lois Harris, lower alto and bass Rene Minus, second soprano Sonia Goring and second alto Jackie Landry--got together at St. Anthony of Padua School in the Bronx, where they were trained to sing Gregorian chants, and named themselves The Chantels after a neighboring Catholic school, St. Francis de Chantelle. An impromptu audition for producer Richard Barrett on 54th Street in Manhattan led to their first recording session in April 1957 for George Goldner's new End label.

Their first single, "He's Gone," became a regional hit, thanks to steady airplay by Alan Freed, Dr. Jive and Jocko Henderson, and from the first note it was obvious that this was a vocal group with an ethereal sound unlike anything that had ever been recorded before. Then came their follow-up, a poignant number called "Maybe" that climbed to #15 on the national pop charts and stayed in the Top 40 for three months in early 1958. Their third and fourth singles, "Every Night" and "I Love You So," reached #39 and #42, respectively.

Dissention within the group led to the departure of lead singer Arlene Smith in 1959, but when Richard Barrett replaced her with Annette Smith (no relation), the group continued to have big sellers with "Look in My Eyes" (#14 in 1961) and "Well, I Told You" (#29).

Though the original Chantels reunited for a special one-song appearance at the 1996 R&B Foundation Awards in Hollywood, then again regrouped last year to sing "Maybe" at a PBS-Television show in Pittsburgh, Arlene Smith has remained separate from her fellow original Chantels for 40 years and now sings exclusively in a contemporary diva-gospel style reminiscent of Whitney Houston and Patti LaBelle (and frankly, who wants to hear that?). Luckily, The Chantels were able to find a new lead singer, Ami Ortiz, who sounds exactly like the old Arlene Smith of the '50s.

Sadly, Jackie Landry is no longer with us, but Rene, Sonia and Lois (along with Ami) have kept their old sound alive and can still create those wondrous harmonies, which rang through the Petroleum Club in Long Beach, California, on the night of October 28, 2000.

For more information on today's Chantels, go to
http://jerrysko.freeservers.com/Chantels/chantels.html

Also see:   Show #34 (10/28/2000)     Show #46 (7/30/2005)

Discography

Chantels Singles
End 1001	He's Gone/The Plea	1957
End 1005	Maybe/Come My Little Baby	1958
End 1015	Every Night/Whoever You Are	1958
End 1020	I Love You So/How Could You Call It Off	1958
End 1026	Prayee/Sure of Love	1958
End 1030	If You Try/Ific	1958
End 1030	If You Try/Congradulations [sic]	1958
End 1037	I Can't Take It/Never Let Go	1959
End 1048	I'm Confessin'/Goodbye to Love	1959
End 1069	Whoever You Are/How Could You Call It Off	1960
End 1103*	I/Believe Me (My Angel)	1961
End 1105	There's Our Song Again/I'm the Girl	1961
End 1120**	Mon Cherie Au Revoir/To Live My Life Again	1962
Carlton 555	Look in My Eyes/Glad to Be Back	1961
Carlton 564	Well, I Told You/Still	1961
Carlton 569	Here It Comes Again/Summertime	1962
Ludix 101	Eternally/Swamp Water	1963
Ludix 106	That's Why You're Happy/Some Tears Fall Dry	1963
20th Century Fox 123	There's No Forgetting You/Take Me As I Am	1965
Verve 10387	You're Welcome to My Heart/Soul of a Soldier	1966
Verve 10435	Indian Giver/It's Just Me	1966
Roul 7064	Maybe/There's No Forgetting You	1969
RCA 7A-0347	I'm Gonna Win Him Back/ Love Makes All the Difference in the World	1970
Richard Barrett & The Chantels Singles
Gone 5056	Come Softly to Me/Walking Through Dreamland	1959
Gone 5060	Summer's Love/All Is Forgiven	1959
EPs
End 201	I Love You So	1958
End 202	C'est Si Bon	1958
LPs
End 301	We Are the Chantels (with group on the cover)	1958
End 301	The Chantels (jukebox cover)	1959
End 312	There's Our Song Again	1961
Carlton 144	The Chantels on Tour (Look in My Eyes)	1962
Forum 9104***	The Chantels Sing Their Favorites	1964
EMUS 12034	The Chantels (jukebox cover; electronic stereo)	?
Murray Hill 385	Arlene Smith & The Chantels (3-disc box set)	1987
Collectables 5423	The Chantels (jukebox cover)	1991
CDs
Rhino 70954	The Best of The Chantels	1990
Westside 564	We Are The Chantels/There's Our Song Again	1998
Lead singers were Arlene Smith (End), Annette Smith (Carlton) and Sandra Dawn (Ludix). Arlene Smith recorded as a solo artist for Big Top, End and Spectorious. End 1103* was a reissue of a 1959 recording by The Veneers, with Annette Smith on lead, on Princeton 102. Both sides were included on the second Chantels LP (End 312) even though none of the original Chantels were present on the recordings. End 1120 was Arlene Smith without The Chantels. Forum 9104*** was a reissue of "There's Our Song Again," but with two songs deleted.

Members
Arlene Smith		1957-59 (left for solo career), 1973-1980s (with her own Chantels group)
Lois Harris		1957-59 (left for college), 1996-2000
Sonia Goring		1957-70, 1996-2000
Rene Minus		1957-70, 1996-2000
Jackie Landry		1957-61, 1962-70, 1996-97, died December 23, 1997
Annette Smith		1961
Yvonne Fair		1961, 1965-70
Sandra Dawn		1962-63
Ami Ortiz		1996-2000

BACK TO DOO-WOP SOCIETY HOMEPAGE