Singer Arlene Smith of the Chantels has died at 84

Arlene Smith, R&B lead singer and co-founder of the Chantels, has died at 84, SoulBounce reported, citing a Hollywood Reporter obituary. She was born October 5, 1941, and died July 29, 2026, according to Wikipedia's entry on the group, which cites the same Hollywood Reporter report.

The Chantels formed in the early 1950s among students at St. Anthony of Padua Church and school in the Bronx, and went on to become the third African American girl group to achieve nationwide success, following the Teen Queens and the Bobbettes. The group took its name from Jane Frances de Chantal, and its original lineup paired Smith on lead vocals with Sonia Goring, Renée Minus, Jackie Landry and Lois Harris.

Smith brought unusual training to the group: she had studied classical music and performed at Carnegie Hall at age 12, and she wrote both lyrics and music for the Chantels' early material. The group was discovered by Richard Barrett, lead singer of the Valentines, and signed to End Records, owned by George Goldner, in the summer of 1957.

Their first single, "He's Gone," written by Smith, reached No. 71 on the pop chart that August. Its follow-up, "Maybe," released that December, became a genuine hit the following January, climbing to No. 15 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 2 on the R&B chart, selling more than a million copies and earning a gold disc.

End Records dropped the Chantels in 1959, and Smith left to pursue a solo career while the group continued without her, later scoring a second hit, "Look in My Eyes," on Carlton Records. Smith and the group's surviving original members reunited decades later for the PBS special "Doo Wop 50," performing "Maybe" as a dedication to Jackie Landry, who had died in 1997.

The Chantels were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2002, and made the final Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ballot twice, in 2001 and 2009, without enough votes for induction.