![]() The follow-up single, "Turn on a Dream", peaked at #58 on the Hot 100 and was a #29 hit in Canada.Ĭunningham left the Box Tops to return to school in August 1969 and was replaced by Harold Cloud on bass. In the summer of 1969, Thompson's decidedly upbeat " Soul Deep" became the group's final US Top 40 entry, peaking at #18 on the Hot 100 in late August. Personnel changes and winding down (1969–1970) This team was responsible for producing the band's final 1968 hit, "Sweet Cream Ladies, Forward March" (which debuted on the Hot 100 on Chilton's eighteenth birthday) and all the band's future releases through 1970. Towards the end of 1968, the band switched producers, with Dan Penn being replaced by the team of Cogbill and Chips Moman. "I Met Her in Church" and "Choo-Choo Train" were smaller hits released later that year. It has been covered by the Hacienda Brothers and Kim Carnes. " Cry Like a Baby" was a million-seller in 1968, peaking at #2 on the Hot 100. They were replaced by bassist Rick Allen (born January 28, 1946, Little Rock, Arkansas) from the Gentrys and drummer Thomas Boggs (born July 16, 1944, Wynne, Arkansas, died May 5, 2008, Memphis, Tennessee) from the Board of Directors. However, the actual group members performed on a number of their recordings, including "The Letter", and on all live performances.īy January 1968, John Evans and Danny Smythe returned to school, thereby avoiding the draft. Some of the group's instrumental tracks were performed by session musicians like Reggie Young, Tommy Cogbill, Gene Chrisman, and Bobby Womack at American Sound Studio. The Box Tops released three albums over a nine-month period from late 1967 to mid 1968. An album called The Letter/Neon Rainbow appeared in November 1967. The band followed up "The Letter" with " Neon Rainbow", another tune written by Thompson and produced by Penn. During 20–27 October 1967, "The Letter" and The Hombres' "Let It Out (Let It All Hang Out)" were 1-2 on the WLS (AM) Silver Dollar Survey, marking a rare quinella involving two brothers of the same family (the Cunningham brothers), each in a different top 40 act. Though under two minutes in length, the record was an international hit by September 1967, reaching the Hot 100's number-one position for four weeks, selling over four million copies, earning a gold disc, and receiving two Grammy Award nominations. "The Letter" and international success (1967–1969) Īs the Box Tops, they entered the studio under the guidance of producer Dan Penn to record Wayne Carson Thompson's song " The Letter". They would soon change their name to The Box Tops to prevent confusion with another band recording at the time, The DeVilles of New York. Cunningham Jr., lead vocalist for 1960s Memphis group The Hombres), and Gary Talley (lead guitar, electric sitar, bass, background vocal). By January 1967 the group was composed of founding member Danny Smythe (drums, background vocal) along with newer arrivals John Evans (guitar, keyboards, background vocal), Alex Chilton (lead vocal, guitar), Bill Cunningham (bass guitar, keyboards, background vocal son of Sun Records artist Buddy Blake Cunningham and brother of B.B. The Box Tops began as The Devilles, playing in Memphis. History Foundation and Early Years as The Devilles As rock critic Lester Bangs wrote in a review of the group's Super Hits album, "A song like 'Soul Deep' is obvious enough, a patented commercial sound, yet within these strictures it communicates with a depth and sincerity of feeling that holds the attention and brings you back often." Many of their lesser known Top 40 hits, including " Neon Rainbow", "I Met Her in Church", and "Sweet Cream Ladies, Forward March", are considered minor classics. Their records are prime examples of the styles made popular by Moman and Penn at American Sound Studio in Memphis. The Box Tops' music combined elements of soul music and light pop. Vocalist Alex Chilton went on to front the power pop band Big Star and to launch a career as a solo artist, during which he occasionally performed songs he had sung with the Box Tops. ![]() They performed a mixture of current soul music songs by artists such as James & Bobby Purify and Clifford Curry pop tunes such as " A Whiter Shade of Pale" by Procol Harum and songs written by their producers, Dan Penn, Spooner Oldham, and Chips Moman. ![]() They are best known for the hits " The Letter", " Cry Like a Baby", "Choo Choo Train," and " Soul Deep" and are considered a major blue-eyed soul group of the period. ![]() The Box Tops is an American rock band formed in Memphis in 1967.
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