The Chantels were the second African-American girl group to enjoy nationwide success in the United States, preceded by The Bobbettes. The group was established in the early 1950s by students attending St. Anthony of Padua School in The Bronx. The original five members consisted of Arlene Smith (lead) (October 5, 1941), Sonia Goring Wilson (born Millicent Goring) (1940), Renee Minus White (1943), Jackie Landry Jackson (May 22, 1941 - December 23, 1997) and Lois Harris (1940). They derived their name from that of a rival school, St. Frances de Chantal. Their first single was "He's Gone" (Pop #71) in August 1957, written by Arlene Smith. Released in December 1957, their second single, "Maybe," was a hit (#15 Billboard Hot 100; #2 R & B chart) in January 1958. It sold over a million copies and was awarded a gold disc. "Look in My Eyes" was a big hit for the group in 1961 also. The subsequent releases were less successful.
Below is a list of The Chantels songs, sorted by the most popular first. Place mouse on
to see information about song. Click song title to play song and to read details about the song including lyrics (if available). Click year to list all songs from that year. Click label to list songs from that record label. Songs with chart position "---" either never made it into the US top 100 R&B or UK charts or we have no details of their highest chart positions if they did.
(Song are sorted in highest US R&B Top 100 and/or UK Top 100 chart position order)