Margaret "Peggy" Santiglia (born May 4, 1944) is an American singer of the "girl group era". She is perhaps best known for her 1963 pop hit " My Boyfriend's Back" with The Angels, which she recorded at the age of 18.

Biography

Santiglia was born in

Belleville, New Jersey Belleville (French: "Belle ville" meaning "Beautiful city / town") is a Township (New Jersey), township in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States Census, the township's population wa ...

, to Pietro (Peter) Santiglia and Michelina (Margaret) (née Gallina) where she was raised in a musical Italian family with her two older siblings, Joseph and Anna. Pietro immigrated to the United States when he was 18, bringing with him many musical talents. An accomplished musician, Pietro played clarinet, mandolin and guitar locally and statewide in several community orchestras.

Career: 1950s

In 1958, while still in elementary school, Santiglia met childhood friends Denise Ferri and Arleen Lanzotti. At the suggestion of a teacher, the three girls performed in their school's talent show to much acclaim, and formed the all-girl group, ''

The Delicates The Delicates, were an American three-girl singing group, made up of members Denise Ferri, Arleen Lanzotti, and Peggy Santiglia. The group was formed in 1958 while all three members were attending Elementary School No. Eight, in Belleville, New ...

''. Starting out at the

Brill Building The Brill Building is an office building at 1619 Broadway on 49th Street in the New York City borough of Manhattan, just north of Times Square and further uptown from the historic musical Tin Pan Alley neighborhood. It was built in 1931 as t ...

in New York City under the management of Ted Eddy (''né'' Ted Eddy Simonetti; 1902–1985) (

Louis Prima Louis Leo Prima (December 7, 1910 – August 24, 1978) was an American singer, songwriter, bandleader, and trumpeter. While rooted in New Orleans jazz, swing music, and jump blues, Prima touched on various genres throughout his career: he forme ...

's manager), they recorded for the Tender, Unart, United Artists and Roulette labels. The Delicates were most famous for writing the

Murray The K Murray Kaufman (February 14, 1922 – February 21, 1982), professionally known as Murray the K, was an influential New York City rock and roll impresario and disc jockey of the 1950s, '60s and '70s. During the early days of Beatlemania, he freque ...

theme songs, most notably "Meusurray," and "The Submarine Race Watchers Theme," and appearing at many Murray the K concerts, including several at the Brooklyn Fox Theatre. In 1959, The Delicates released a song that they wrote called "Black and White Thunderbird" on the Unart label. Songs "Too Young to Date," "Your Happiest Years," and many others were arranged and produced by famed arranger,

Don Costa Dominick P. "Don" Costa (June 10, 1925 – January 19, 1983) was an American conductor and record producer. He discovered singer Paul Anka and worked on several hit albums by Frank Sinatra, including ''Sinatra and Strings'' and '' My Way''. ...

for

United Artists United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the stud ...

. ''Black and White Thunderbird'' became a significant hit on the East Coast, which afforded

a guest spot on

American Bandstand ''American Bandstand'', abbreviated ''AB'', is an American music-performance and dance television program that aired in various versions from 1952 to 1989, and was hosted from 1956 until its final season by Dick Clark, who also served as the pro ...

on March 8, 1960.

Career: 1960s

Santiglia, still a senior at Belleville High School (Belleville, New Jersey), was then asked to join sisters

Phyllis Phyllis is a feminine given name which may refer to: People * Phyllis Bartholomew (1914–2002), English long jumper * Phyllis Drummond Bethune (née Sharpe, 1899–1982), New Zealand artist * Phyllis Calvert (1915–2002), British actress * P ...

("Jiggs") and Barbara ("Bibs") Allbut, replacing Linda Jansen as lead singer in The Angels in 1962 in live performances and then to record on their new label, Smash, with producers FGG. " My Boyfriend's Back" became a No. 1 hit in the summer/fall of 1963. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a

gold disc Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

. Two albums followed the single. After their hit, The Angels frequently worked as background singers in the New York area, and Santiglia and her earlier Delicates bandmate Denise Ferri, together with solo artist (Dahlia)

Bernadette Carroll The Angels were an American girl group that originated from New Jersey, best known for their 1963 No. 1 hit single " My Boyfriend's Back". History The group originated in New Jersey as the Starlets which consisted of sisters Barbara "Bibs" ...

, sang backup on

Lou Christie Luigi Alfredo Giovanni Sacco (born February 19, 1943), known professionally as Lou Christie, is an American pop and soft rock singer-songwriter known for several hits in the 1960s, including his 1966 US chart-topper "Lightnin' Strikes" and 1969 ...

's "

Lightnin' Strikes "Lightnin' Strikes" is a song written by Lou Christie and Twyla Herbert, and recorded by Christie on the MGM label. It was a hit in 1966, making it first to No. 1 in Canada in January 1966 on the '' RPM'' Top Singles chart, then to No. 1 in th ...

." Later, Santiglia, Ferri and Carroll went on to form the group " Jessica James and the Outlaws," who recorded several songs which were produced by Bob Gaudio (of Four Seasons fame) and

Bob Crewe Robert Stanley Crewe (November 12, 1930 – September 11, 2014) was an American songwriter, dancer, singer, manager, and record producer. He was known for producing, and co-writing with Bob Gaudio, a string of Top 10 singles for the Four Season ...

, and arranged by Charlie Callello, including "Give Her Up, Baby," and "We'll be Makin' Out." Santiglia also recorded the single, "Come Closer" under the name of "Tiffany Michel." Additionally, under the pseudonym "Peggy Farina," she wrote the lyrics The Four Seasons's 1967 hit single " Beggin'".

Career: 1970s

In the early 1970s, Santiglia was the lead vocalist for Dusk, a girl group formed by

Bell Records Bell Records was an American record label founded in 1952 in New York City by Arthur Shimkin, the owner of the children's record label Golden Records, and initially a unit of Pocket Books, after the rights to the name were acquired from Benny ...

producers

Hank Medress Henry "Hank" Medress (November 19, 1938 – June 18, 2007) was an American singer and record producer, best known for his taking part in the American band The Tokens. Biography Medress was born in Brooklyn, New York City, where he attended "Abra ...

The Tokens The Tokens were an American doo-wop band and record production company group from Brooklyn, New York City. The group has had four top 40 hits on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, all in the 1960s, their biggest being the chart-topping 1961 hit si ...

and

Dave Appell David Appell (March 24, 1922 – November 18, 2014) was an American musician, musical arranger and record producer born in Philadelphia. Career Appell (pronounced "AP-el") is associated mainly with the Cameo-Parkway record label, in whose his ...

to expand upon their successful collaboration with

Tony Orlando and Dawn Tony Orlando and Dawn is an American pop music group that was popular in the 1970s, composed of singer Tony Orlando and the backing vocal group Dawn (Telma Hopkins and Joyce Vincent Wilson). Their signature hits include " Candida", " Knock Thre ...

. The group released three singles: "Angel Baby", "I Hear Those Church Bells Ringing" (which reached #53 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart), and "Treat Me Like a Good Piece of Candy". A dance record called "Sweet, Sweet City Rhythm" was produced in 1978 by Billy Terrell under Santiglia's actual name for Tiki Records. The Angels also recorded a dance version of their earlier hit, "Till," which gained some popularity in the dance clubs during the 70's dance era.

Return to recording in 2008

Santiglia has continued to perform in live concerts with The Angels and on television throughout the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s. In 2008, she recorded her first album of new material with The Angels since the late 1970s (''Love, The Angels'').

References

External links

The Angels official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Santiglia, Peggy 1944 births American women pop singers American people of Italian descent Belleville High School (New Jersey) alumni Goucher College alumni Living people Mercury Records artists Singers from New Jersey Singers from New York City People from Belleville, New Jersey 21st-century American women de:Peggy Santiglia es:Peggy Santiglia