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"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]
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".
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).
Mary Ann Ganser
Marguerite "Marge" Ganser
Studio albums Notable singles Related articles