The Chiffons were an American girl group originating from the Bronx, New York City, in 1960. The group was originally a trio of schoolmates: Judy Craig, Patricia Bennett and Barbara Lee; at James Monroe High School in the Bronx in 1960. In 1962, at the suggestion of songwriter Ronnie Mack, the group added Sylvia Peterson, who had sung with Little Jimmy & the Tops at age 14, sharing lead vocals with Jimmy on "Say You Love Me", the B-side of the Tops' 1959 local hit "Puppy Love".
The group was named the Chiffons when recording and releasing their first single, "He's So Fine", written by Ronnie Mack, produced by The Tokens of "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" fame, and released on the Laurie Records label. "He's So Fine" hit No. 1 in the United States, selling over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc. The Chiffons immediately released their first LP He's So Fine (which charted at #97) and began a round of touring around the US.
Within a few months, the group released their second LP, One Fine Day. The group also released two singles in 1963 as the Four Pennies (with Sylvia on lead) on the Laurie Records subsidiary Rust, but they abandoned the Four Pennies name as the success of "He's So Fine" became clear. This first hit was followed by other notable tunes such as Gerry Goffin and Carole King's "One Fine Day", "Sweet Talkin' Guy" and "I Have A Boyfriend". As the 1960s progressed, Peterson assumed a more prominent role in the group, singing lead on the Chiffons' "Why Am I So Shy", "Strange, Strange Feeling", "The Real Thing", "Up On The Bridge" and "My Block" (written by Jimmy Radcliffe, Carl Spencer and Bert Berns). In mid-1965, they signed directly to the Laurie label, and had a hit with "Nobody Knows What's Going On In My Mind But Me". The next Top 10 hit for the Chiffons was "Sweet-Talking Guy" in mid 1966 which allowed the quartet to tour England and Germany for the first time; on one of their London club dates, members of the Beatles and Stones were in the audience. Several minor hits followed up to 1968.
Due to the constant touring and lack of hits, Judy Craig left the group before 1970 and took a bank job in Manhattan. The remaining trio continued to do live shows with Sylvia now as permanent lead singer. Eventually, Sylvia, Pat, and Barbara took on regular 9-5 jobs, but continued to do live shows on weekends. Sylvia eventually left, and her spot was taken by alternating friends of the group. In 1970, George Harrison released the song "My Sweet Lord", whose musical similarities to "He's So Fine" prompted the estate of Ronnie Mack to file a copyright infringement claim. The Chiffons went on to record "My Sweet Lord" in 1975. A judge later found that Harrison had unintentionally plagiarized the earlier song. Sylvia returned to the Chiffons during the 1980s. On May 15, 1992, Barbara Lee died from a heart attack, and Craig returned to the group. Peterson retired shortly thereafter and was replaced by Connie Harvey. Harvey has since left to pursue a solo career and Bennett has retired from the group.
