Группа образовалась в 1956 в New York, NY, а распалась в 1970-м. Открыл ее Richard Barrett, вокалист The Valentines. Участницы - Arlene Smith (lead, сочиняла ранний материал. Именно она уедила остальных девочек отправиться на прослушивание к Ричарду Барретту), Sonia Goring, Rene Minus, Jackie Landry Jackson и Lois Harris, встретились в хоре Saint Anthony of Padua. Р. Барретт направил группу для записи на End Records и продюсировал первый хит Смит - "He's Gone" (лето 1957). Песня "Maybe" стала еще большим успехом, попав на 2 место в R&B чартах и на 15 место в поп-чартах (начало 1958). Однако дальнейшие записи не вызвали столь ожидаемого восторга слушателей и интерес к группе стал исчезать. Смит и Харрис покинули группу, решив заняться сольной карьерой. Группа превратилась в трио.
Группа участвовала в записи альбома Р. Барретта "Summer's Love" (№29 в the R&B charts). Далее последовали контракты с Carlton Records (песни "Look in My Eyes", "Well, I Told You"), Ludix (слабенький хит Eternally весной 1963). И в 1970 году трио распалось.
Чуть позже Смит, набрав четерых новых певиц, решила реорганизовать группу, в то время, как прежние участницы на время отошли от шоу-бизнеса.
Lois Harris Powell, Sonia Goring Wilson и Renee Minus White снова вернулись на сцену, взяв в группу Noemi "Ami" Ortiz.
Jackie Landry Jackson умерла от рака в 1997.
В 1999 году группа выступила на the PBS TV special, "Doo Wop`50".
Albums
1959: The Chantels EP
1961: The Chantels On Tour
Singles
1957: "He's Gone" (#71 US)
1958: "Maybe" (#15 US, #2 R&B)
1958: "Every Night (I Pray)" (#39 US, #16 R&B)
1958: "I Love You So" (#42 US, #12 R&B)
1959: "Summer's Love" (#93 US, #29 R&B)
1961: "Look in My Eyes" (#14 US, #6 R&B)
1961: "Well I Told You" (#29 US)
1961: "Eternally" (#77 US)
Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.
The Chantels were the first black female group to have nationwide success. The group was established in the early 1950's at St. Anthony of Padua school in the Bronx. The group consisted of Arlene Smith (lead), Sonia Goring, Rene Minus, Jackie Landry Jackson and Lois Harris. They got their name from a rival school, St. Frances de Chantal.
They were discovered by Richard Barrett, lead singer of the Valentines and eventually signed to End Records. Their first single was "He's Gone" (Pop #71) in August 1957. In January 1958 they released their second single, "Maybe" (#15 Pop; #2 R&B). Several other singles were released on End, though none as successful as "Maybe."
The group was dropped by End in 1959, and Arlene Smith decided to go solo. Lois left to pursue a college education. In 1960, Annette Smith (no relation) replaced Arlene and the group went to Carlton Records, where they had their second huge hit with "Look in My Eyes" (#14 pop, #6 R&B). Several other singles followed and the group switched labels several times. Personnel changed throughout the 60's, with their final single released in 1970.
Arlene fronted a new group of Chantels in the 1970s for oldies shows and continues to perform. The remaining original Chantels reformed as well and hired Noemi (Ami) Ortiz as their new lead singer. Jackie Landry died in 1997.
The Chantels were inducted into The Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2002. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.