Search - The Chantels :: Maybe

The Chantels

L. Calilli | New York City | 05/12/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Arlene Smith, lead singer for the original Chantels recently joined my art class. When I learned of her credentials, I purchased the CD to learn more about her. Well she has a marvelous voice and talent. The music is thoroughly enjoyable and brings you right back to the girl groups of the 50s."

A Brief Compilation of a Great Girl Group

Robin Friedman | Washington, D.C. United States | 10/27/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The Chantels were one of the first and probably the best of the girl groups of rock and roll. This compilation, titled "Maybe" after the Chantels's most famous song consists of ten tracks and sells for a budget price. Besides the title track, the CD includes some of the group's best songs including "Whoever you are", "Sure of Love", and "Memories of You". But it leaves out many excellent songs, including the Chantels's last important release, "Look in my Eyes" recorded in 1961 with a new lead singer. This CD is adequate for listeners wanting a brief look at the Chantels or for those on a tight budget. An earlier CD, titled "The Best of the Chantels" includes 18 tracks and is not much more expensive. It is a good alternative choice. I reviewed the "Best of the Chantels" CD here on Amazon. It captures what I wanted to say about the Chantels. Thus, I am including my comments on that CD as the remainder of this review.



Many kinds of music have the ability to touch the heart. I listen to and review a great deal of classical music on Amazon, but I continue to love doo-wop, especially the first and the best of the "girl groups" -- the Chantels. I listen to the Chantels' songs frequently and never grow tired of them. When I was young in the 1950s and 60s, I didn't know much of the Chantels' music. I got to know it later in life.



The Chantels consisted of five girls who in 1957 were between 14 and 17 years old. They sang together at a church in the Bronx and from this experience they developed a harmonic sophistication and closeness unusual for popular groups of the time. The lead singer was a young woman named Arlene Smith who was blessed with musical sensitivity as well as with a wailing, strong and passionate voice. Arlene Smith helped write much of the group's material. Smith subsequently attended the Juilliard School of Music for a time. The Chantels recorded for a series of small labels in the early days of rock and roll. The early tracks are frequently accompanied primarily by a piano or organ, and the quality of the sound generally leaves a great deal to be desired. But the music, particularly the intensity of Arlene Smith, are irrepressible.



The world of popular music tends to measure success in terms of the number of a performer's hit records and the quantity of sales. Although having several recordings on the charts, the Chantels' songs stand on their own. Songs such as "Maybe", the Chantels' best-known recording, "He's Gone","My Plea","Sure of Love", "I Love you so","If you Try", "Prayee" and "Memories" express a feeling of love and innocence that goes far beyond teenage romance in the 1950s. It is easy to forget that romance, love, and loneliness are themes with human, not simply adolescent, appeal. Thus, the Chantels' moving recording of a song called "Whoever you are" begins:



"Whoever you are

Where ever you may be

There's someone who will love you

Please wait and see

Whoever you are"



With the departure of Arlene Smith in 1959, the group had another record, the radiant "Look in my Eyes" in 1961 with a new lead singer named, coincidentally, Anette Smith. This song features a string accompaniment and it gives the group, as opposed to the soloist, a larger role than did the Chantels' recordings with Arlene Snith.



The Chantels remain active. They perform on the oldies circuit with three of the original five members of the group. The groups' music is probably more appreciated today than it was when it first appeared. People with a nostalgia for the world of the 1950s and for their own lost adolescence understandably love the Chantels. Beyond the vagaries of nostalgia and oldies, the Chantels sang expressively, with great feeling. Their recordings are likely to move many listeners for years to come.



Robin Friedman

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