The Lovelites were an American vocal group, based in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, originally composed of the sisters Patti Hamilton and Rozena Petty plus their friend, Barbara Peterman. In 1967, the trio recorded for the local Chicago

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...

, Bandera Records. In 1968, Peterman left the group and was replaced by Ardell McDaniel. One year after the change in lineup, the single, "How Can I Tell My Mom And Dad (That I've Been Bad)" was released on Lock Records. The tune, written by lead vocalist Patti Hamilton and

record producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure.Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

Clarence Johnson, tells of a teen, abandoned by her boyfriend, who imagines horrible repercussions when she tells her parents what's happened; the subject, teen pregnancy, was then still largely taboo on radio airwaves, and the single went on to sell 55,000 copies locally and 400,000 nationally, peaking at No. 15 on ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

s soul

chart A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can represent tabu ...

, and landing the group a

recording contract A recording contract (commonly called a record contract or record deal) is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist (or group), where the artist makes a record (or series of records) for the label to sell and promote. Artists ...

with the

MCA Records MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc., which later became part of Universal Music Group. Pre-history MCA Inc., a powerful talent agency and a television production company, entered the recorded music business in 1962 wit ...

imprint, Uni Records. By this time, the group had also undergone yet another personnel change, as Joni Berlmon stepped in for Rozena Petty. The girls continued working with Johnson as well as another producer, Johnny Cameron, and went on to release their only

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

, ''With Love from the Lovelites''. Although the album included "How Can I Tell My Mom and Dad" and the singles "Oh My Love" and "This Love Is Real". The album was not a commercial success.

Robert Pruter Robert Douglas Pruter (born July 1, 1944) is an American writer, mainly on soul and rhythm and blues music, and on sports. He was the rhythm and blues editor of '' Goldmine'' magazine from 1985 to 2006. Career In 1969, he was hired as an assist ...

the Chicago based music writer has called it a ''real treasure'' while John Lias, the English soul music writer, praises the late teenage vocals of Hamilton and Berlmon and agrees that it is an album to treasure. After leaving Uni in 1970, Johnson started up the Lovelite imprint, and the group immediately hit with "My Conscience", which reportedly sold 70,000 in Chicago and 400,000 nationwide. The group released a handful more singles on the label, and then in 1971, Rhonda Grayson replaced Ardell McDaniel. By 1972, the girls had signed to Cotillion Records, where they released two singles billed as Patti & The Lovelites. By 1973, the group had disbanded. In 1999 Patti Hamilton and Chicago DJ Herb Kent released a retrospective of Lovelites recordings that included a number of unissued tracks including "I'm Not Like The Others" with a lead by

Deniece Williams Deniece Williams (born June Deniece Chandler; June 3, 1951) is an American singer. She has been described as "one of the great soul voices" by the BBC. She is best known for the songs " Free", " Silly", "It's Gonna Take a Miracle" and two ''Bill ...

(Chandler), who had briefly joined the Lovelites prior to an offer to work with

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, Pop musi ...

Herb Kent Herbert Rogers Kent (October 5, 1928 – October 22, 2016) was "the longest-running DJ in the history of radio", a radio personality in Chicago, Illinois, for more than seven decades. As a high school student, Kent began hosting a classical music ...

, The Kool Gent Presents The Lovelites, Notes to Cd retrospective by Herb Kent, Love Lite Records, Chicago, Ill, 1999

Discography

Singles

* "(When) I Get Scared" / "Malady" - Phi-Dan 5008, 1966 * "I Found Me a Lover" / "You Better Stop It" - Bandera 2515, 1967 * "How Can I Tell My Mom and Dad" / "Hey! Stars of Tomorrow" (instrumental) - Lock 723, 1969 * "How Can I Tell My Mom and Dad" / "Hey! Stars of Tomorrow" (instrumental) - UNI 55181, 1969 * "Who You Gonna Hurt Now" / "Oh My Love" - UNI 55222, 1970 * "This Love Is Real" / "Oh My Love" - UNI 55242, 1970 * "My Conscience" / "Man in My Life" - Lovelite 01, 1970 * "Bumpy Road Ahead" / "Love Is Pretty" - Lovelite 02, 1971 * " My Baby Loves Me" / "The Way That You Treat Me Baby" - Lovelite 03, 1971 * "I'm The One That You Need" / "Love Bandit" - Cotillion 44145, 1972 * "Is This Lovin' In Your Heart" / "We've Got The Real Thing" - Cotillion 44161, 1972 * "Love So Strong" / "Oh My Love" - Lovelite 1008, 1973 * "Get It Off My Conscience" / "Oh What A Day" - Lovelite 1500, 1975 * "I'm Not Like The Others" - Lovelites one side only. Grapevine UK G2K 45-145, 2004

Albums

* ''With Love from the Lovelites'' - UNI 73081, 1969 * ''This Love Is Real'' - P-Vine 2904, 1994 (Japan only) * ''The Lovelite Years'' - Lovelite 1021, 1999

References

External links

* Allmusic.combr>Soulfulkindamusic.net
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lovelites, The American girl groups American rhythm and blues musical groups Phi-Dan Records artists Uni Records artists