In order to understand the beauty of Soul music, sometimes it helps to gain a historical perspective. What makes Soul music unique from other recording formats is the way it combines complex and sometimes melodic rhythms with rich harmonies. Doo-wop is considered a precursor to Soul music and was popular in the 50's. What separated Doo-wop from the other music formats of that era, also were its rich harmonies and the combination of complex rhythms. One of the first female Doo-wop groups was The Chantels. I recently sat down with Lois Harris Powell, one of the original members of The Chantels to learn about her experiences with this legendary recording group.

The original members of The Chantels were Arlene Smith, Lois Harris, Sonia Goring, Jackie Landry and Rene Minus. By 1957, the girls aged 14-17, had been singing together for seven years at choir practice for St. Anthony of Padua School in the Bronx.

What made The Chantels special were their rich harmonies. Some of their foundational training had been singing Gregorian chants. "The discipline for (our) harmonies came from Gregorian chants, because you have to sing in unison without vibrato, and everyone has to sound like one voice," said Lois Powell. Because of this disciplined training, they were able to change notes and trade parts effortlessly. Lois credited Sister Richard Marie, St. Anthony's choir director for instilling this discipline into the group.

Another musical influence of The Chantels was three and four-part liturgical harmony. As St. Anthony's was a girls' school, the girls learned how to infuse harmonies without male vocals. The choir at St. Anthony's would perform at regional competitions and went on to win the National Championship at Catholic University.

The Chantels began by rehearsing in the girls' locker room at St. Anthony's. In those days, Catholic schoolgirls were unlikely to sing on the street corners like their male counterparts. Jackie, Sonia and Arlene were members of the girls' basketball team, and after every game the group would perform. One of their team rivals was the school St. Jane Francis de Chantal. The group's name derived from their rival school.

Lois recalls, "I knew from the minimal French that I was learning that the words 'chanter' and 'chanteuse' were the (French) words for to sing or singer. Sonia, Jackie and Rene had called me to inquire about that and said let's do The Chantelles." Lois continued, "We were supposed to be The Chantelles (French pronunciation: Shaun-Tells), but that evolved into the Chantels (pronounced: Chant-Tells) with the short A. However, we wanted it to sound French."

Although they were one of the first female Doo-wop groups, The Chantels were completely unaware that they were breaking new ground. While they had heard of The Bobettes and some of the other girl groups that were arriving on the scene at that time, the quintet rarely listened to popular music. Lois remembered, "In my house, it was only classical and occasionally we listened to make-believe ballroom. But we were not really that influenced by the other groups." In fact, Lois' parents were not very supportive of her wanting to join The Chantels as they only listened to classical music. "My mother was not at all impressed," recalled Lois.

Sometimes the members of The Chantels would listen to The Harptones and The Chordettes, a make-believe ballroom group famous for their rendition of Mr. Sandman. Lois persisted, "The white singers are what we heard (on radio) but we did not base our sound on them. It was really our own sound. We had a unique sound that people still talk about today."

The Chantels first recording was the single, "He's Gone," which was released in 1957. When I asked about their touring experiences, Lois remembered, "I did not do most of the touring because when the record hit, and the group was asked to perform at shows, I was in my senior year in high school and both the nuns and my mother were not about to let me out of school to run around the country. My mother wanted me to graduate with my class when they graduated."

Lois said, "The girls were pulled out of their respective schools and went to The Professional Children's School in New York City. When they were on the road they had a tutor. They had a chaperone and the chaperone was also their tutor."

The other parents had approached their manager and voiced concerns for the girls' safety. He was very effective at his job, and the girls nicknamed him "The Tyrant," as no one was allowed near the girls while they worked on the road. Lois continued, "No one got near the group. No one-- including the other boy groups. They were not allowed near us. Not (even) Anthony and the Imperials. They could come to the door and say hello..." Anthony and the Imperials were label mates and the only times The Chantels would interact with them would be in passing at the rehearsal studio or at the record company.

This discipline was a two-way street as there were few male groups The Chantels could see onstage when they were on the same bill. One of these rare exceptions was "Billy Ward and The Dominoes". Lois reflected about this group, "They all had beautiful voices, they all sang solo, and they were amazing showmen with their dance routines." Another group they could see were their label mates, The Flamingos, "We got to watch them rehearse, we got to see them on stage, and they were phenomenal as well," she admired.

One of the few male groups that they were allowed to interact with was "The Dells." The Dells even taught the Chantels the harmonies for their song, "It's Not For Me To Say." The Chantels later re-recorded this hit and made it their own with their rendition.

Some of the tours The Chantels played included The South and the "Chitlin' Circuit." Lois reminisced about touring with the group in 1959 for The Greatest Show of Stars Tour. The tour was a grueling six-week tour of one-nighters that started in New York, travelled through the Deep South and wound its way back through Tennessee, Kentucky and Ohio. Lois remembered, "We did not see a Hilton or Sheraton Hotel until we got back up in Ohio." At that time, only Hiltons and Sheratons allowed blacks to stay in their hotels, which meant many nights were spent on the bus.

For these Catholic schoolgirls who grew up in the Northeast, traveling through the Deep South was culture shock. Lois confirmed, "We knew what was going on. We had read about (segregation) in the papers and had discussed it in school, but had never experienced (it) overtly before." Although she had experienced discrimination in New York, when it happened it was subtle. "(In New York) they didn't say, we don't serve black people, they just didn't wait on you. You would get the message and get up and leave. Down South, they told you point blank, don't come in here, or if you come in here, you can take it out, but you can't eat in here," said Ms. Powell.

She continued to recount a tale about an event that happened in Lubbock, TX. The group had sat at a luncheon counter and was told they could not be served. Lois remembered, "Of course we were kids and responded, "What do you mean? We're from New York." At that point, a man came up from behind and asked the quintet to quietly go outside. He explained to them that if they continued in that fashion, not only would the group be killed, but it could also spark other members of that community to be killed as well. "We figured out very quickly to keep our mouths shut," said Lois.

Editor's Note: In my next issue, I will finish my interview with Lois Harris Powell from the Legendary Chantels. Some of the topics that we will cover include: Recording in the 50s; Playing The Apollo; How The Chantels Were Discovered; and, A Family Hooked On Classics. Stay tuned!!!

More information:
The Chantels on Wikipedia
The Chantels Official Site
The Chantels on ElectricEarl.com
The Chantels on YouTube