NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� Arlene Smith, one of the first who as a teenager and a founder of the Chantels co-wrote and sang lead on the 1950s doo-wop classic 鈥淢aybe,鈥� has died at 84.
Smith’s manager and close friend, Paul Errante, told The Associated Press that she died of a heart attack Wednesday at a New York City hospital.
Male harmony groups from the Drifters to Dion and the Belmonts were common in the early years of rock 鈥檔鈥� roll. But female acts 鈥� especially Black female acts 鈥� were rare until the late 1950s, when performers such as the Chantels and the Bobbettes broke through and helped make possible a wave of girl groups in the next decade, including the Shirelles, and the Crystals.
鈥淢y thing was, 鈥楾he guys are not the only ones that can do this,鈥欌�� Smith told the authors of the 2023 oral history
鈥淢aybe,鈥� recorded in a makeshift studio in a Manhattan church, was a spare, pleading ballad that Smith sang with weary force, in part because the group had to run through it more than 50 times. The 1958 release was a Top 20 hit that eventually sold more than 1 million copies and was covered by Janis Joplin and the Three Degrees, among others. Smith and the Chantels were voted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2002, a year before Rolling Stone ranked 鈥淢aybe鈥� at No. 199 on the magazine鈥檚 list of the 500 best songs.
鈥淭he Chantels forced listeners to reconsider doo-wop as something more than a man鈥檚 domain, and the reality of a girl group holding forth on guys鈥� turf laid out cultural possibilities in an entirely new way,鈥� NPR music critic Tim Riley wrote in his book 鈥淔ever,鈥� published in 2004. 鈥淲ith 鈥楳aybe,鈥� Arlene Smith infused her vocal with so much determined naivet茅 that she transformed all the anxiety of a doomed relationship into a fervent wish for its revival.鈥�
The Chantels had a handful of other hits, including 鈥淓very Night (I Pray)” and 鈥淟ook In My Eyes,鈥� but never matched the success of 鈥淢aybe.鈥� Smith left the group in 1959, around the time their record label went bankrupt, and she worked briefly with recording the single 鈥淟ove, Love, Love.鈥� But her career soon faded and, by the 1970s, estranged from the other original Chantels, she was touring with a new lineup of backing singers.
Smith eventually received a master鈥檚 degree in education and taught music to elementary school students in New York City before retiring in the 2000s. She never married or had children, Errante said.
The Chantels were ahead of their time
The Chantels were pioneers sometimes trapped in the conventions of the era. Smith’s name was initially left out of the credits to 鈥淢aybe,鈥� a theft of copyright common in the music industry in the ’50s. The cover of their first album, 鈥淲e Are the Chantels,鈥� originally featured a group photograph, but was changed to show an image of two young white people leaning over a jukebox.
鈥淭hings were going on in the country,鈥� Smith told The New York Times in 1995. 鈥淭here was a lot to transcend.鈥�
In 鈥淏ut Will You Love Me Tomorrow?鈥� Smith said she never wanted to sing 鈥済irl songs鈥� and instead was drawn to male groups whose 鈥渉armonies were so rich and full.鈥� She was in high school when 鈥淢aybe鈥� came out, but had been performing for years, influenced by Etta James, among others. As a girl, Smith attended the St. Anthony of Padua School in New York’s Bronx borough and began singing with fellow choir members Sonia Goring, Ren茅e Minus, Jackie Landry and Lois Harris in the early 1950s, when all were in their early teens or younger. They named themselves after a nearby school and basketball rival, St. Frances de Chantal, and honed an intricate singing style in part by mastering
鈥淲e navigated toward each other. We used to sit in choir practice and make up parts,鈥� Smith told the publication Catholic New York in 2019, around the time they were honored with a Bronx street sign that read, 鈥淭he Chantels 鈥� Hit Record 鈥楳aybe鈥� 1958.鈥�
The Chantels sang at various local talent shows and broke through professionally in 1957, when Richard Barrett, producer and leader of the male harmony group the Valentines, recommended them to End Records owner George Goldner. Their debut single, 鈥淗e鈥檚 Gone,鈥� came out that summer. 鈥淢aybe鈥� 鈥� widely believed to have been written by Barrett and Smith 鈥� was released months later and helped lead to the group’s touring with everyone from to Ike and
鈥淚t was fun,鈥� Smith later told ClassicBands.com. 鈥淵ou just take your books, get 鈥檈m packed. You don鈥檛 have a thing to do all day. You sit next to your buddy on the bus, read, crochet, do your homework, look out at scenery, sleep, eat. C鈥檓on, it was wonderful! I didn鈥檛 have a thought or care in the world. It was really a nice time in my life, because I was doing exactly what I wanted to do.鈥�
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