:''The Chiffons also briefly recorded under the name The Four Pennies; for the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

band of the latter name see

The Four Pennies The Four Pennies were an English beat group most notable for their 1964 UK chart-topping song "Juliet". The band achieved four more top 40 hits in the UK, but failed to chart in the United States during the so-called British Invasion. Career ...

.'' The Chiffons are an American

girl group A girl group is a music act featuring several female singers who generally harmonize together. The term "girl group" is also used in a narrower sense in the United States to denote the wave of American female pop music singing groups, many of wh ...

originating from

the Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New ...

, a borough of

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, in 1960.

History

Origins

The group was originally a trio of schoolmates:

Judy Craig Judy Craig (born June 11, 1944, New York City) is the lead singer of the American girl group, The Chiffons. She left the group in 1969, but returned in 1992 after the death of Barbara Lee. Fronted by Judy Craig Mann along with her daughter and nie ...

, Patricia Bennett and Barbara Lee; at James Monroe High School in

in 1960. In 1962, at the suggestion of songwriter Ronnie Mack, the group added Sylvia Peterson, who had sung with Little Jimmy & the Tops at age 14, sharing lead vocals with Jimmy on "Say You Love Me", the B-side of the Tops' 1959 local hit "Puppy Love".

Recordings

The group was named the Chiffons when recording and releasing their first single, "

He's So Fine "He's So Fine" is a song written by Ronnie Mack. It was recorded by The Chiffons who topped the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for four weeks in the spring of 1963. One of the most instantly recognizable golden oldies with its ''doo-lang doo-lang doo-la ...

", written by Ronnie Mack, produced by

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 ...

of "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" fame, and released on the

Laurie Records Laurie Records was a record label established in New York City in 1958 by brothers Robert and Gene Schwartz, and Allan I. Sussel. Among the recording artists on Laurie's roster were Dion and the Belmonts (both together and as separate acts), ...

label. "He's So Fine" hit No. 1 in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

, selling 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 ...

. (This sales figure would have qualified the record for

platinum Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver". Pla ...

status under the current

s of 2011 S, or s, is the nineteenth Letter (alphabet), letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the English alphabet, modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is English alphab ...

RIAA certification In the United States, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) awards certification based on the number of albums and singles sold through retail and other ancillary markets.

standards, effective since 1975, that lowered the "gold" certification threshold to 500,000 copies and set the "platinum" threshold at 1 million.) The Chiffons immediately released their first LP ''He's So Fine'' (which charted at No. 97) and began a round of touring around the US. Within a few months, the group released their second LP, ''One Fine Day''. The group also released two singles in 1963 as ''the Four Pennies'' (with Sylvia on lead) on the Laurie Records subsidiary Rust, but they abandoned the Four Pennies name as the success of "He's So Fine" became clear. This first hit was followed by other notable tunes such as

Gerry Goffin Gerald Goffin (February 11, 1939 – June 19, 2014) was an American lyricist. Collaborating initially with his first wife, Carole King, he co-wrote many international pop hits of the early and mid-1960s, including the US No.1 hits " Will You Lo ...

and

Carole King Carole King Klein (born Carol Joan Klein; February 9, 1942) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician who has been active since 1958, initially as one of the staff songwriters at 1650 Broadway and later as a solo artist. Regarded as one ...

's " One Fine Day", "Sweet Talkin' Guy" and "I Have A Boyfriend". As the 1960s progressed, Peterson assumed a more prominent role in the group, singing lead on the Chiffons' "Why Am I So Shy", "Strange, Strange Feeling", "The Real Thing", "Up On The Bridge" and "My Block" (written by

Jimmy Radcliffe James Radcliffe (November 18, 1936 – July 27, 1973) was an American soul singer, composer, arranger, conductor and record producer. Biography James Radcliffe was born in New York City. He released such singles as "My Ship is Coming In", a so ...

, Carl Spencer and

Bert Berns Bertrand Russell Berns (November 8, 1929 – December 30, 1967), also known as Bert Russell and (occasionally) Russell Byrd, was an American songwriter and record producer of the 1960s. His songwriting credits include " Twist and Shout", " Piec ...

). Shortly after the first round of hits, the Chiffons had business problems but still continued to tour the US throughout 1964 (including Murray the K Shows and as part of a package tour headlined by Gene Pitney). In mid-1965, they signed directly to the Laurie label, and had a hit with "Nobody Knows What's Going On In My Mind But Me". To promote the record, Sylvia and Barbara flew to the West Coast to premiere the disc on a July 1965 ''Shindig'' episode, with two substitute members as Judy and Pat were on maternity leave. The next Top 10 hit for the Chiffons was "Sweet-Talking Guy" in mid 1966 which allowed the quartet to tour England and Germany for the first time; on one of their London club dates, members of the Beatles and Stones were in the audience. Several minor hits followed up to 1968.

Personnel changes

Tiring of the constant touring and lack of hits, Judy Craig left the group before 1970 and took a bank job in Manhattan. The remaining trio continued to do live shows with Sylvia now as permanent lead singer. Eventually, Sylvia, Pat, and Barbara took on regular 9-5 jobs, but continued to do live shows on weekends. Sylvia eventually left, and her spot was taken by alternating friends of the group. In 1970,

George Harrison George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician and singer-songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Indian c ...

released the song "

My Sweet Lord "My Sweet Lord" is a song by English musician George Harrison, released in November 1970 on his triple album ''All Things Must Pass''. It was also released as a single, Harrison's first as a solo artist, and topped charts worldwide; it was the ...

", whose musical similarities to "He's So Fine" prompted the estate of Ronnie Mack to file a

copyright infringement Copyright infringement (at times referred to as piracy) is the use of works protected by copyright without permission for a usage where such permission is required, thereby infringing certain exclusive rights granted to the copyright holder, ...

claim. The Chiffons went on to record "My Sweet Lord" in 1975. A judge later found that Harrison had unintentionally

plagiarized Plagiarism is the fraudulent representation of another person's language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions as one's own original work.From the 1995 '' Random House Compact Unabridged Dictionary'': use or close imitation of the language and thought ...

the earlier song. Sylvia returned to the Chiffons during the 1980s. On May 15, 1992, Barbara Lee died from a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...

, and Craig returned to the group. Peterson retired shortly thereafter and was replaced by Connie Harvey. Harvey has since left to pursue a solo career and Bennett has retired from the group.

California-based group of the same name

Numerous references to the contrary notwithstanding, the Chiffons who recorded a version of the Shirelles' "Tonight's the Night" on Big Deal Records in 1960, is a California group, with no relation to the New York Chiffons.

Discography

The Four Pennies

Singles *1963 "My Block" (

- Carl Spencer -

) (US #67) *1963 "When the Boy's Happy" (US #95)

The Chiffons

Standard albums *1963: ''He's So Fine''

– LLP 2018 (US #97) #"

" #" Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow" #"Oh My Lover" #"Why Do Fools Fall in Love" #"My Block" #"ABC-123" #"Lucky Me" #"Why Am I So Shy" #"See You in September" #"Wishing" #"Mystic Voice" #"When I Go to Sleep at Night" *1963: ''One Fine Day'' Laurie Records – LLP 2020 #" One Fine Day" #" It's My Party" #" The Loco-Motion" #"Tonight I Met an Angel" #"Only My Friend" #"

Da Doo Ron Ron "Da Doo Ron Ron" is a song written by Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich and Phil Spector. It first became a popular top five hit single for the American girl group The Crystals in 1963. American teen idol Shaun Cassidy covered the song in 1977 and ...

" #" I Wonder Why” #"Foolish Little Girl" #"I'm Going to Dry My Eyes" #"Did You Ever Go Steady" #"When Summer's Through" #"Love Is Like a Merry Go Round" #" My Boyfriend's Back" *1966: ''Sweet Talkin' Guy'' Laurie Records – SLP 2036 (US #149) #"Sweet Talkin' Guy" #"Up On the Bridge" #"Nobody Knows What's Going On" #"Thumbs Down" #"Just a Boy" #"Down Down Down" #"Out of This World" #"My Boyfriend's Back" #"Open Your Eyes" #"March" #"Keep the Boy Happy" #"

See You in September "See You in September" is a song written by Sid Wayne and Sherman Edwards. It was first recorded by the Pittsburgh vocal group The Tempos. This first version peaked at #23 in the summer of 1959. The most popular take on "See You In September" ...

" *1970: ''My Secret Love''

B.T. Puppy Records B.T. Puppy Records was an American record label formed in New York City in 1963 by Bright Tunes Productions, a music publishing and production company established by vocal group The Tokens. Background Initially set up to release the Tokens' own r ...

– BTPS-1011 #"Secret Love" #"You're The Love Of A Lifetime" #"Soul" #"I Don't Deserve A Boy Like You" #"Strange Strange Feeling" #"Now That You're My Baby" #"The First And Last" #"Remember Me Baby" #"It Hurts To Be Sixteen" #"Every Boy And Every Girl" Compilation albums *1974: ''Everything You Always Wanted to Hear by the Chiffons but Couldn't Get'' *1979: ''The Chiffons Sing the Hits of the 50s & 60s'' *2004: ''Absolutely The Best!'' *2006: ''Sweet Talkin' Girls'' Singles *1963: "

"/"Oh My Lover" (US #1, UK #16) *1963: "Lucky Me"/"Why Am I So Shy" *1963: " One Fine Day"/"Why Am I So Shy" (US #5, UK #29) *1963: "A Love So Fine"/"Only My Friend" (US #40) *1963: "I Have a Boyfriend"/"I'm Gonna Dry My Eyes" (US #36) *1964: "Sailor Boy"/"When the Summer Is Through" (US #81) *1964: "Easy to Love"/"Tonight I Met an Angel" *1964: "What Am I Gonna Do With You (Hey Baby)"/"Strange, Strange Feeling" *1965: "Nobody Knows What's Goin' On (In My Mind but Me)"/"Did You Ever Go Steady" (US #49) *1965: "Nobody Knows What's Goin' On (In My Mind but Me)"/"The Real Thing" *1965: "Tonight I'm Gonna Dream"/"Heavenly Place" *1966: "Out of This World"/"Just a Boy" (US #67) *1966: "Stop, Look and Listen"/"March" (US #85) *1966: " Sweet Talkin' Guy"/"Did You Ever Go Steady" (US #10, UK #31) (UK #4 ''(1972 re-issue)'') *1966: " My Boyfriend's Back"/"I Got Plenty of Nuttin'" *1967: "If I Knew Then"/"Keep the Boy Happy" *1968: "Up on the Bridge"/"March" *1968: "Just for Tonight"/"Teach Me How" *1969: "Love Me Like You're Gonna Lose Me"/"Three Dips of Ice Cream" *1970: "So Much in Love"/"Strange Strange Feeling" *1975: "

"/"Main Nerve" *1976: "Dream Dream Dream"/"Oh My Lover"

References

Bibliography

*Clemente, John (2000). ''Girl Groups - Fabulous Females That Rocked The World''.

Iola, Wisconsin Iola is a village in Waupaca County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 1,236 at the 2020 census. The village is bordered by the towns of Iola and Scandinavia. The community was named after a Potawatomi girl. Geography Iola is located ...

. Krause Publications. p. 276. *Clemente, John (2013). ''Girl Groups - Fabulous Females Who Rocked The World''.

Bloomington, Indiana Bloomington is a city in and the county seat of Monroe County in the central region of the U.S. state of Indiana. It is the seventh-largest city in Indiana and the fourth-largest outside the Indianapolis metropolitan area. According to the Mo ...

Authorhouse Publications. p. 623. (sc); (e).

External links

Official WebsiteLast.FM- The Chiffons PageYahoo! Music- The Chiffons page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chiffons, The Musical groups established in 1960 African-American girl groups Doo-wop groups Laurie Records artists 1960 establishments in New York City 21st-century American women Musical groups from the Bronx