Box Tops biography
During their brief lifespan, the Box Tops
earned a reputation as one of the best blue-eyed soul groups of the '60s, even
if their recorded legacy wasn't as large or consistent as, say, the Righteous
Brothers or the Rascals. Today they're remembered not only for their smashes
"The Letter" and "Cry Like a Baby," but as the launching
pad for singer Alex Chilton, who went on to become one of rock's most revered
cult figures thanks to his groundbreaking power pop unit Big Star. In his
teenage years, Chilton was an amazingly gritty
The Box Tops began life as the Devilles,
a white R&B group featuring guitarists Gary Talley and John Evans, bassist
Bill Cunningham, and drummer Danny Smythe. After the
band's local popularity blossomed, teenage singer Alex Chilton joined up, and
the Devilles quickly caught the attention of
songwriters/producers Chips Moman and Dan Penn, who
were on the lookout for a Stevie Winwood-type
white soul singer. Changing their name to the Box Tops to avoid confusion with
a different group of the same name, they signed with Bell Records and began
recording at Moman's Memphis-based American Studio.
The first single the group cut, "The Letter," rocketed to the top of
the charts in 1967, not only spending four weeks at number
one but ending up as Billboard magazine's number one single of the year.
(Chilton was all of 16 at the time.) With a hit on their hands, Penn began to
exert more control over the group; in the wake of "The Letter," he
frequently used session musicians on the Box Tops' recordings, sometimes
replacing the whole band behind Chilton, sometimes just individual members.
Frustrated, Evans and Smythe both left the band to
return to school in early 1968, and were replaced by Rick Allen (ex-Gentrys) and Tom Boggs, respectively.
The follow-up to "The Letter," "Neon
Rainbow," didn't do nearly as well, but the Box Tops managed another
massive hit in 1968 with the Dan Penn/Spooner Oldham tune "Cry Like a
Baby," which went to number two on the pop charts. Although a couple of
minor hits followed in "I Met Her in Church" and "Choo Choo Train," Chilton
was rapidly growing dissatisfied with the inconsistency of the material the Box
Tops were handed (which was clear on the three LPs the group had released
through 1968). As a result, Chilton was chafing at Penn's extreme reluctance to
allow him to record his own original compositions. By the time of the Box Tops'
fourth and final LP, 1969's Dimensions (an attempt to make a more cohesive
album), Penn had bowed out and moved on to other projects. Several Chilton
songs appeared on Dimensions, including "I Must Be the Devil," and
the group had one last minor hit with "Soul Deep." Cunningham
subsequently departed, also to go back to school, and the Box Tops began to
disintegrate. When their contract expired in February 1970, they officially
disbanded, and Chilton moved to