The Dixie Cups are an American pop music girl group of the 1960s. They are best known for a string of hits including their 1964 million-selling record "Chapel of Love", "People Say", and "Iko Iko". The trio consisted of sisters Barbara Ann and Rosa Lee Hawkins; plus their cousin Joan Marie Johnson, from New Orleans. They first sang together in grade school. Originally, they were to be called Little Miss and the Muffets, but were named the Dixie Cups just prior to their first release.
In 1963, the trio decided to pursue a professional career in music and began singing locally as the Meltones. Within a year Joe Jones, a successful singer in his own right with the Top Five 1960 single "You Talk Too Much," became their manager. After working with them for five months, Jones took them to New York City, where record producers/songwriters Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller signed them to their new Red Bird Records. The Dixie Cups debut single was "Chapel of Love," which became their biggest hit reaching number one on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart in June 1964. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc.
The group also had several other hits including, "People Say" (#12, 1964), "You Should Have Seen the Way He Looked at Me" (#39, 1964), "Little Bell" (#51, 1965), and "Iko Iko" (#20, 1965). "Iko Iko", a New Orleans traditional song, was recorded in 1964 but later was released as a single early in 1965. Barbara Hawkins had heard her grandmother sing the song, first recorded in 1953 as "Jock-a-Mo" by James "Sugar Boy" Crawford.
In 1965, the Dixie Cups moved to the ABC-Paramount record label before a recording hiatus in 1966 temporarily halted their careers. The Dixie Cups continued to tour as a trio with another New Orleans singer, Beverly Brown, replacing Joan Johnson. Brown who had recorded two solo discs in the early 1960s stayed as the third member until the early 80s when she became ill and was replaced by Dale Mickle. The Dixie Cups continue to perform and make personal appearances. The current line-up consists of the Hawkins sisters along with Athelgra Neville, sister of the singing Neville Brothers. On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina swept through Louisiana, flooding much of New Orleans and displacing Barbara and Rosa Hawkins, who subsequently relocated to Florida. Joan Johnson relocated to Texas. Two years later in April 2007, The Louisiana Music Hall Of Fame honored The Dixie Cups for their contributions to Louisiana music by inducting them into The Louisiana Music Hall of Fame.
Joan Marie Johnson died in New Orleans of congestive heart failure on October 3, 2016 at the age of 72.
