Arlene Smith, lead singer of pioneering ’50s girl group the Chantels, dies
NEW YORK (AP) — Arlene Smith, one of the first “girl group” stars who as a teenager and a founder of the Chantels co-wrote and sang lead on the 1950s doo-wop classic “Maybe,” 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 ’n’ roll. But female acts — especially black female acts — were rare until the late 1950s, when performers such as the Chantels and ...
