The Angels

The Angels were an American girl group best known for their 1963 No. 1 hit single "My Boyfriend's Back". The Angels originated in New Jersey as the Starlets, consisting of sisters Barbara "Bibs" and Phyllis "Jiggs" Allbut, Bernadette Carroll, and Lynda Malzone. They had local hits and worked as backup singers in the studio. Linda Jansen replaced Malzone as lead singer, and the group eventually changed their name to the Angels. In 1963, they signed with Mercury Records' subsidiary Smash Records and released their biggest hit, "My Boyfriend's Back," which reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and sold over one million copies. The group underwent several lineup changes and disputes over their name, resulting in a temporary rebranding as the Halos. In 2005, the Angels were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame. As of 2021, Phyllis Allbut and Peggy Santiglia are the last remaining founding members of the group still alive. History The group originated in New Jersey as the Starlets which consisted of sisters Barbara "Bibs" and Phyllis "Jiggs" Allbut, Bernadette Carroll, and Lynda Malzone. They had minor local hits and wound up doing back-up work in the studio. When Malzone left, Linda Jansen became the new lead singer. Their manager, Tom DeCillis, turned his focus to Bernadette Carroll and dropped the rest of the group. Carroll would find solo success in 1964 with her Laurie Records single "Party Girl". After a failed attempt at a record deal with producer Gerry Granahan, the Allbut sisters turned their focus to education: Phyllis was in teacher's college at the time and Barbara was accepted into the Juilliard School for her abilities as a musical arranger. Soon Granahan, who had previously rejected the group, saw hit potential in the song they had performed for him in their audition, a version of "Till", and wanted them to record it in the studio. "Till" became their first single under their new name, the Angels, and also their first hit (No. 14 US) when it was released by Granahan's Caprice label in 1962. The song was followed up with a second national hit, "Cry Baby Cry". The Angels had one album on Caprice, titled ...And the Angels Sing, in 1962. Jansen left the group in late 1962 to go solo and was replaced by Peggy Santiglia, formerly of The Delicates (with Denise Ferri and Arleen Lanzotti). Santiglia had sung jingles for WINS Radio, appeared on Broadway, and had songwriting experience.