The Chiffons, "Keep The Boy Happy" c/w "If I Knew Then (What I Know Now)," Laurie 3377 (rel. 2/1967)
1967 was the end of the road for the classic girl group sound. Born a decade earlier with a Flip Records single by The Dreamers (guided by "Louie Louie" composer Richard Berry), the style had a commanding grip on the pop music scene thereafter. The Chiffons are perhaps the most emblematic of the genre. They had a first-time-out hit with the timeless "He's So Fine" in 1963, followed it with "One Fine Day" and then had lesser successes as their singles became more complex and innovative.
The global success of The Supremes changed the narrative of the girl group sound. Motown's "the same old song" production-line approach stripped some of the subtlety from the overall vibe but gave Diana Ross and company worldwide success. Thus, many established groups scrambled to record soundalikes, to everyone's discredit. Few of these efforts had any integrity; even The Supremes' singles began to run together. But Motown got Black artists into the (white) mainstream as no one else had managed, and for that we continue to thank them. It wasn't an easy task in America.
In 1966, The Chiffons had a Motown-style retool which gave them a pair of hits with "Sweet Talkin' Guy" and "Out of This World." This sound did The Chiffons a dis-service, and they retreated to their regular creative team, The Tokens, who produced and often penned their material.
Their first release of 1967 combined a retro song with a more introspective, moody ballad redolent of the unique lonely urban vibe of New York City. It's their finest late release and showed all parties involved willing to evolve the girl-group sound. Had there been any takers, they might have had a much better third act of their career.
The B-side, "Keep the Boy Happy," harked back to the themes of their first 45s with a more up-to-date sound. The Northern Soul-adjacent sound eschews Motown cliches with boisterous brass, an upfront bass line and massive percussion. Lead singer Judy Craig is the whole show here; no other Chiffons are heard. Her tough, pensive voice is always appealing, and she makes this potential flip-side toss-off into something special.
"If I Knew Then (What I Know Now)" is an elegant, melodic ode of regret for a relationship that turned away from its original intent, to the protagonist's confusion and despair. It's an outstanding song by Doug Morris and Eliot Greenberg, who penned the group's three Fauxtown singles. (The third, "Stop, Look and Listen," stalled at #85 on the national charts--a sure sign this line was played out.)
Ms. Craig and her fellow Chiffons have more to do together on this introspective item that reminds of Brian Wilson's material of 1967. It's one of my Chiffons favorites. It failed to chart at all--a fate shared by their final four releases, the last issued in 1969.
The market for this kind of melodic, thoughtful pop was fading in 1967. Pop songs became simpler, more child-like as rock 'n' roll--now all serious as "rock"--went in the other direction. Something irreplaceable was lost; it could never be re-created without a sense of self-awareness.
Tomorrow: two early country hits by harmony duet Johnnie & Jack and The Tennessee Mountain Boys on a great-sounding RCA-Victor 'Gold Standard' single from 1958. One side became a frequent item in Bob Dylan's live concerts.
Two nice songs. Wonder why the other Chiffons weren't on "Keep The Boy Happy"? This song is so Motown-ized, it's almost annoying. At times that sound overpowers Ms. Craig. So much better is "If I knew Then..." because it has ALL the Chiffons with that classic girl group sound.
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