Maybe (The Chantels song)

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"Maybe"
Maybe (The Chantels record label).jpg
Single by the Chantels
from the album We Are the Chantels
B-side "Come My Little Baby"
ReleasedDecember 1957
RecordedOctober 16, 1957
VenueA church in Midtown Manhattan
Length2:54
Label End
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s) Richard Barrett [1]
The Chantels singles chronology
"He's Gone"
(1957)		"Maybe"
(1957)		"Every Night (I Pray)"
(1958)
"Maybe"
Single by the Shangri-Las
from the album Leader of the Pack
B-side "Shout"
ReleasedDecember 1964
Length2:35
Label Red Bird
Songwriter(s) George Goldner
Producer(s) Shadow Morton
The Shangri-Las singles chronology
"Give Him a Great Big Kiss"
(1964)		"Maybe"
(1964)		"Out in the Streets"
(1965)
"Maybe"
Single by the Three Degrees
Released1966
Label Swan
Songwriter(s) George Goldner
"Maybe"
Single by Janis Joplin
from the album I Got Dem Ol' Kozmic Blues Again Mama!
B-side "Work Me, Lord"
ReleasedSeptember 11, 1969
RecordedJune 16–26, 1969
Studio Columbia Records Studios, New York
Genre Blues rock
Length3:41
Label Columbia
Songwriter(s) George Goldner
Producer(s) Gabriel Mekler

"Maybe" is a song with words and music originally credited to End Records owner George Goldner and "Casey". The co-writing credit was later transferred to Richard Barrett. Arlene Smith, lead singer of the Chantels, is believed to be an uncredited co-writer. [1] The song was first recorded by the Chantels on October 16, 1957, in a doo-wop style with Barrett playing piano, and released in December 1957. It climbed the charts in January 1958, reaching No. 15 in the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 2 in the Billboard R&B chart. It was subsequently described as "arguably, the first true glimmering of the girl group sound". [2] Rolling Stone ranked it No. 199 on its list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. [1] It was also included in Robert Christgau's "Basic Record Library" of 1950s and 1960s recordings, published in Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981). [3]

Contents

Billboard named the song No. 60 on its list of 100 Greatest Girl Group Songs of All Time. [4]

The song was also covered by the Three Degrees in 1966, Janis Joplin on her I Got Dem Ol' Kozmic Blues Again Mama! album in 1969, and again by the Three Degrees in 1970.

Miguel Matute Project recorded a version in 2019 with Monica Mayen on vocals, included in the album Desde Adentro y Otros Asuntos.

Album appearances

The original Chantels recording was included on the 1963 compilation album Golden Goodies Vol. 3 (Roulette R-25218). The song also appears on the 1973 compilation Rock 'N' Soul 1958 (ABCX-1958), and on the 1975 compilation More American Graffiti (MCA2-8007).

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone . April 2010.
  2. ↑ Thompson, Dave. "Maybe – The Chantels – Review". AllMusic . Retrieved April 5, 2025.
  3. ↑ Christgau, Robert (1981). "A Basic Record Library: The Fifties and Sixties". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies . Ticknor & Fields. ISBN   0899190251 . Retrieved March 16, 2019– via robertchristgau.com.
  4. ↑ "100 Greatest Girl Group Songs of All Time: Critics' Picks". Billboard. Retrieved July 11, 2017.
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