The Charmaines were an American female vocal trio of the 1960s, described by the
NME
''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...
as being ''as sassy as
The Supremes
The Supremes were an American girl group and a premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s. Founded as the Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, the Supremes were the most commercially successful of Motown's acts and the most successful ...
and The Marvelettes''.
Personnel
Supported by Irene Vinegar and Dee Watkins, the group's lead singer and sometime lyricist was Gigi Jackson. Born Marian Jackson, and later known as Gigi Griffin after marrying her producer Herman Griffin, Jackson had started her career in a family band called the Jackson Sisters. On certain recordings Watkins was replaced by Gigi's sister Jerri Jackson who later recorded in her own right.
Career
The Charmaines were considered Cincinnati's leading female R&B trio in the early 1960s, notably as a backing unit for many better known artists on the
King
King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king.
*In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...
label including
Conway Twitty
Harold Lloyd Jenkins (September 1, 1933 – June 5, 1993), better known by his stage name Conway Twitty, was an American singer and songwriter. Initially a part of the 1950s rockabilly scene, Twitty was best known as a country music performer. ...
,
James Brown
James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, dancer, musician, record producer and bandleader. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th century music, he is often referred to by the honor ...
,
Hawkshaw Hawkins
Harold Franklin "Hawkshaw" Hawkins (December 22, 1921 – March 5, 1963) was an American country music singer popular from the 1950s into the early 1960s. He was known for his rich, smooth vocals and music drawn from blues, boogie and honky ...
,
Little Willie John
William Edward "Little Willie" John (November 15, 1937 – May 26, 1968) was an American R&B singer who performed in the 1950s and early 1960s. He is best known for his successes on the record charts, with songs such as " All Around the World" (1 ...
,
and
Gary U.S. Bonds
As a group in their own right, The Charmaines' first single was ''Rockin’ Old Man'' (late 1960) with lyrics by Jackson and backed with ''If You Were Mine''. The nearest they came to a hit was #117 on the billboard chart in 1961 with ''What Kind Of Girl (Do You Think I Am)'' which out-sold a rival version of the same song by
Erma Franklin
Erma Vernice Franklin (March 13, 1938 – September 7, 2002) was an American gospel and soul singer. Franklin was the elder sister of American singer/musician Aretha Franklin. Franklin's best known recording was the original version of "Piece of ...
It was in the time left over at the end of one of their King recording sessions that fellow
Fraternity
A fraternity (from Latin language, Latin ''wiktionary:frater, frater'': "brother (Christian), brother"; whence, "wiktionary:brotherhood, brotherhood") or fraternal organization is an organization, society, club (organization), club or fraternal ...
artist
Lonnie Mack
Lonnie McIntosh (July 18, 1941 – April 21, 2016), known as Lonnie Mack, was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. He was an influential trailblazer of blues rock music and rock guitar soloing.
Mack emerged in 1963 with his breakthroug ...
got the opportunity to record his first improvised hit ''Memphis''. The Charmaines went on to appear on Lonnie Mack's best-known album ''Wham of That Memphis Man'' as well as recordings of comedian-singer Jack Larson.
They would also record for Columbia and other labels - including two Canadian labels, Red Leaf ("Hypnotized" / "The One For Me") and RCA Canada (backing Lynda Layne on "I'm Your Pussycat") - when they were based out of Toronto ca. 1965.
Rediscovery
In 2006 a 28-track compilation of the trio's 1960s recordings was issued on
Ace Records and described by
Record Collector
''Record Collector'' is a British monthly music magazine. It was founded in 1980 and distributes worldwide.
History The early years
The first standalone issue of ''Record Collector'' was published in March 1980, though its history stretches ba ...
as ''a delight for Northern fans and all girl group collectors''. In 2012, NME celebrated The Charmaines as one of the unfairly forgotten girl groups of the 1960s. On the death of Lonnie Mack in April 2016, The Charmaines were one of the groups featured in a Lonnie Mack special on
Classic 21
Classic 21 is a Belgian public FM radio station, part of the RTBF broadcasting organisation. The station, based in Mons, was the only Classic rock radio in Belgium until 2008 when they switched to adult-contemporary and pop. The station plays predo ...
's radio show
Dr Boogie
Walter de Paduwa (aka Dr Boogie, born 1 February 1953) is a Belgian radio DJ, musician and rock'n'roll historian best known for his association with Canned Heat.
Rock career
Walter de Paduwa was active in the Belgian rock scene of the early 1970s ...
Dr Boogie Lonnie Mack special features The Charmaines' on ''Rockin' Pneumonia and the Boogie Woogie Flu'' at 44'52" with Gigi Jackson on vocals
/ref>
External links
Discography: http://www.soulfulkindamusic.net/gigi.htm
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Charmaines
American rhythm and blues musical groups
American soul musical groups
African-American girl groups