The Chiffons - WikiHQ

The Chiffons were an American girl group originating from the Bronx, a borough of New York City, in 1960.

History

Origins

The group was originally a trio of schoolmates – lead singer Judy Craig, backed by Patricia Bennett and Barbara Lee – enrolled at James Monroe High School in the Bronx 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 chose the name The Chiffons while recording and releasing their first single, "He's So Fine", (This sales figure would have qualified the record for platinum status under the current [as of 2011] RIAA certification 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 touring the East Coast and Midwest states primarily. Within a few months, the group released their second LP, One Fine Day.

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

As of 2023, Judy Craig occasionally performs with her eldest daughter and a niece. Pat Bennett lives in Georgia. Sylvia Peterson retired from her career in healthcare, and died on July 28, 2023, at the age of 77.

Discography

Studio albums

1963: He's So Fine Laurie Records – LLP 2018 (US No. 97)
1963: One Fine Day Laurie Records – LLP 2020

! style="width:30px;"|US R&B

| rowspan="5"| 1963

| "When the Boy's Happy (The Girl's Happy Too)" (credited as the Four Pennies)

| align=center | 95

| align=center | —

| align=center | ―

| "My Block" (credited as the Four Pennies)

| align=center | 67

| align=center | —

| align=center | ―

| "He's So Fine"

| align=center | 1

| align=center | 16

| "One Fine Day"

| align=center | 5

| align=center | 6

| align=center | 29

| "A Love So Fine"

| align=center | 40

| align=center | ―

| rowspan="2"| 1964

| "I Have a Boyfriend"

| align=center | 36

| align=center | —

| "Sailor Boy"

| align=center | 81

| align=center | ―

| rowspan="2"| 1965

| "Nobody Knows What's Goin' On (In My Mind but Me)"

| align=center | 49

| align=center | ―

| "Tonight I'm Gonna Dream"

| align=center | ―

| rowspan="4"| 1966

| "Sweet Talkin' Guy"

| align=center | 10

| align=center | ―

| align=center | 31

| "Out of This World"

| align=center | 67

| align=center | ―

| "Stop, Look and Listen"

| align=center | 85

| align=center | ―

| "My Boyfriend's Back"

| align=center | ―

| rowspan="2"| 1968

| "Up on the Bridge"

| align=center | —

| align=center | ―

| align=center | —

| "Just for Tonight"

| align=center | ―

| 1972

| "Sweet Talkin' Guy" (UK re-release)

| align=center | ―

| align=center | 4

| 1975

| "My Sweet Lord"

| align=center | ―

| 1976

| "Dream Dream Dream"

| align=center | ―

| colspan="7" style="text-align:center; font-size:9pt;"| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory.

In popular culture

Chiffon is the name of one of the girl-group-inspired narrators in the musical Little Shop of Horrors.

References

Bibliography

Clemente, John (2000). Girl Groups - Fabulous Females That Rocked The World. Iola, Wisconsin. Krause Publications. p. 276.
Clemente, John (2013). Girl Groups - Fabulous Females Who Rocked The World. Bloomington, Indiana Authorhouse Publications. p. 623. (sc); (e).

External links

Official Website
Last.FM- The Chiffons Page
Yahoo! Music- The Chiffons page