Girl Group Chronicles: Angels

Without a doubt, a defining moment in the Girl Group Era of the sixties was the chart topping single "My Boyfriend's Back" by an Orange, New Jersey group known as the Angels. But it was a twist of fate that the group received a second chance at stardom.

Barbara and Phyllis "Jiggs" Allbut, and their friends Linda Malzone and Bernadette Carroll, then known as the Starlets, recorded the oldie standard "P.S. I Love You" on the local Astro label. It didn't have enough of a push to make any impact on the national charts, but the Allbut sisters were soon back for another try. The Angels, consisting of Barbara, Phyllis and new member Linda Jansen, found a home at Caprice Records and with another oldie, "Till." The beautifully crafted single, backed with "A Moment Ago," soared to a lofty position on the Billboard Pop Charts in 1961. With a number 14 hit, the (Blue) Angels were the darlings of America.

The follow-up was the equally strong side, "Cry Baby Cry," which landed at number 38 the following year, but despite two top forty hits to their name, the Angels star soon burned out.

Early the following year, an obsure release on Ascot intitled "Irresistible," was not. It flopped, and the group was labelless. Jansen departed at this point and Peggy Santiglia was recruited to fill her place.

Meanwhile, Jerry Goldstein, Rich Gottehrer, and Bobby Feldman had come across something special. Feldman had overheard a fight between a young girl and a boy who had been seeking her affections. "My boyfriend's back, and your gonna be in trouble!" She proceeded to scream profanities, but Bobby had what he needed, a seedling that would spawn one of the best releases of 1963.

The writers/producers had known the Angels since they recorded their song "You Should Have Told Me," which was used as the B-side for their last caprice single. The group recorded the demo of "My Boyfirend's Back" as a favour to their friends. Originally, therocker was going to be submitted to the Shirelles, but F-G-G had other ideas. Throughly pleased with the outcome of their seesion with the Angels, wanted the demo to be released as a single. The dispute with Blackwood Music ended with F-G-G becoming independant, and bringing their girls to Smash. The result was a three week long number one hit. The Angels miraculously were back on top.

Released almost immediately after their big hit, "I Adore Him b/w Thank You And Goodnight" kept the Angels future looking promising. The B-side was a beautiful ballad, which Murry the K would use as his sign off for his radio program for sometime after, while the top side was a bouncy cha-cha number in the flavour of a Crystals' wall of sound offering. Both sides charted at numbers 84 and 25 respectively.

The next single bubbled over with enthusiasm. "Wow Wow Wee," was the Angels best offering to date and managed to reach number 43 in early 1964. But the hits ended abbruptly. The group's Beatle novelty, "Little Beatle Boy," was cute, but not commercial or nearly tough enough. A further single in 1964, "Dream Boy" was even less exciting; the B-side faux-ska piece entitled "Jamaica Joe" was the best side they ever recorded, in this author's opinion, but it was neglected and not given a chance.

Smash released the girls from its roster. Santiglia, Carroll and Denise Ferri (formerly of the Delicates) found some success as background singers on the number one hit "Lightnin' Strikes" behind Lou Christie but received no label credit. The Allbut sisters, meanwhile, moved to the RCA label for six more singles with either Debbie Swisher (formerly of the Pixies 3) or Carroll on lead.

Despite recording some excellent sides, including "I Had A Dream I Lost You," "But For Love," "Just Keep On Loving Me" and "Merry-Go-Round," none of them attained the degree of commercial success as their big hits on Smash. The group then called it a day.

In the early seventies the group returned to take advantage of a sixties nostalgia revival, and they even recorded "Papa's Side Of The Bed" for Polydor in 1974. The Angels continue to perform occasionally along the East coast today, but they will always be remembered whenever a radio sounds: "He went away, and you hung around..."

Special thanks to Ronnie for catching some errors in an earlier draft.