The Chantels rank among the earliest girl groups and remain chiefly identified with their 1957 single "Maybe." Between 1957 and 1963 the trio placed multiple singles on the charts, yet none approached the lasting impact of "Maybe," widely viewed as a defining release within the genre.
Arlene Smith, Lois Harris, Sonia Goring, Jackie Landry, and Rene Minus first came together as children singing in the choir at Saint Anthony of Padua, a school in the Bronx. Arlene Smith led the quintet, wrote its early songs, and urged the others—then between 14 and 17—to audition for Richard Barrett, the Valentines member and producer. He signed them to End Records and supervised their debut single, the Smith composition "He's Gone," which reached number 71 after its summer 1957 release. Their second End single, another Smith song titled "Maybe," became a major success, climbing to number two on the R&B charts and number 15 on the pop charts in early 1958. Sales surpassed the listed positions because several smaller labels pirated the record, leaving those copies uncounted.
Over the following year the Chantels repeatedly failed to match that breakthrough. End issued two further hits, "Every Night (I Pray)" and "I Love You So," before dropping the group after additional releases made little impression. Smith then exited to launch a solo career, Harris also departed, and the remaining members recruited vocalist Annette Smith—no relation—to continue as a quartet.
In summer 1959 they backed Richard Barrett on his single "Summer's Love," which peaked at number 29 on the R&B charts. The Chantels moved to Carlton Records in 1961 and scored two modest pop hits with "Look in My Eyes" and "Well, I Told You." Carlton let them go the next year; they signed with Ludix and achieved a minor hit, "Eternally," in spring 1963.
The group kept performing until formally disbanding in 1970. Several years afterward Arlene Smith reassembled the Chantels with four new members while the other originals retired from entertainment. She continued leading various lineups of the Chantels into the 1990s, balancing those oldies-circuit appearances with her work as a schoolteacher.
