The Box Tops were a United States pop music group of the late 1960s. From Memphis, they are best known for the hits "The Letter," "Soul Deep" and "Cry Like A Baby," and are considered a major blue-eyed soul group of the period. They performed a mixture of current soul music songs by artists such as James and Bobby Purify and Clifford Curry, pop tunes such as "A Whiter Shade of Pale" by Keith Reid and Gary Brooker of Procol Harum, and songs written by their producer Dan Penn. Vocalist Alex Chilton went on to front the pop band Big Star and to launch a career as a solo artist, during which he often performed songs he had sung with the Box Tops. The Box Tops (band) This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... The United States of America — also referred to as the United States, the U.S.A., the U.S., America, the States, or (archaically) Columbia—is a federal republic of 50 states located primarily in central North America (with the exception of two states: Alaska and Hawaii). ... Depending on context, pop music is either an abbreviation of popular music or, more recently, a term for a sub- genre of it. ... Centuries: 19th century - 20th century - 21st century Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s - 1960s - 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s Years: 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 Events and trends The 1960s was a turbulent decade of change around the world. ... Memphis was the wife of Epaphus, the founder of Memphis, Egypt in Greek mythology. ... Blue-eyed soul is soul music as performed by white people and usually as intended for white audiences. ... For other uses, see Soul music (disambiguation). ... A Whiter Shade Of Pale was released in 1967 by the band Procol Harum, and was written by Gary Brooker and Keith Reid. ... Gary Brooker, MBE, (born May 29, 1945) is a singer, songwriter, pianist, and founder of the classical rock band Procol Harum. ... Procol Harum is a British progressive rock band, formed in the early 1960s. ... Alex Chilton, circa 1999 Alex Chilton (b. ... Big Star was an American rock and roll band of the early 1970s whose work is often cited as a prime example of power pop. ...

The Box Tops began as Ronnie and the DeVilles. The band was composed of Chilton, (lead vocal, guitar) Bill Cunningham (bass, keyboards, background vocal) John Evans (guitar, keyboards, background vocals) Danny Smythe (drums) and Gary Talley (lead guitar, background vocal). The classical guitar typically has 3 nylon and 3 nickel-wound strings. ... Fender Precision Bass Bass Guitar is a commonly spoken phrase used to refer to the electric bass and horizontal acoustic basses, a stringed instrument similar in design to the electric guitar, but larger in size, commonly fretted and sometimes fretless and with a lower range. ... The term synthesiser is also used to mean frequency synthesiser, an electronic system found in communications. ...

As the Box Tops, they recorded Wayne Carson Thompson's "The Letter." It was an enormous success in late 1967, reaching Billboard's number-one position and remaining there for over a month. The record, produced by Dan Penn, sold over four million copies and received two Grammy awards nominations. Their single "Cry Like a Baby" was a major hit in 1968, and the album of the same name contained a song written by Spooner Oldham and Penn, "Fields of Clover." Many of their recordings' instrumental tracks were performed by the session musicians at Memphis's American Sound Studios. Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry. ... Grammy Award statuette The Grammy Awards, presented by the Recording Academy (an association of Americans professionally involved in the recorded music industry) for outstanding achievements in the recording industry, is one of four major music awards shows held annually in the United States (the Billboard Music Awards, the American Music...

By January 1968, John Evans and Danny Smythe returned to school and were replaced by Rick Allen (from the Gentrys) and Tom Boggs (from the Board of Directors). The band recorded seven more singles, including the Chips Moman-produced "Soul Deep," which was the group's final Top 40 entry. Bill Cunningham left to return to school in August 1969 and was replaced by Harold Cloud, but by February 1970, the Box Tops' recording contract ran out and the group disbanded. 1968 was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1968 calendar). ... Chips Moman is the record producer and songwriter who: founded the Stax Records McLemore Avenue studio played lead guitar on Aretha Franklins I Never Loved A Man; co-wrote (with Dan Penn) Arethas Do Right Woman, Do Right Man; formed American Sound Studios where he produced over 120... Top 40 is a radio format based on frequent repetition of songs from a constantly-updated list of the forty best-selling singles. ... 1970 was a common year starting on Thursday. ...

The Box Tops combined elements of soul music and light pop and their records are some of the prime examples of the style made popular by Moman and Penn at American Studios in Memphis. Many of their less-popular songs are now regarded as minor classics; these include "Neon Rainbow," "Sweet Cream Ladies," "I Met Her in Church" and "Turn On a Dream." As rock critic Lester Bangs wrote in a review of the group's Super Hits album, "A song like 'Soul Deep' is obvious enough, a patented commercial sound, yet within these strictures it communicates with a depth and sincerity of feeling that holds the attention and brings you back often." Lester Bangs (born Leslie Conway Bangs, December 14, 1948–April 30, 1982) was an American music journalist, author and musician. ...

Chilton and the four other original founding members of the Box Tops reunited for a show in Nashville in the mid-'80s, recorded new material in the 1990s, and continued to perform. Village Voice writer Josh Goldfein said of Chilton during a 1999 New York performance by the reunited Box Tops, "He seemed pleased himself: the Box Tops' Memphis soul is certainly closer to his solo act than last year's mummified Big Star tour." For other cities named Nashville, see Nashville (disambiguation). ...

REFERENCES

Editors of Rolling Stone (1971). The Rolling Stone Record Review. New York: Pocket Books. [ISBN 671-78531-1]. (Review by Lester Bangs of Box Tops LPs Super Hits, Dimensions and Non-Stop. Review originally published Dec. 31, 1969. pp. 425-426.)

Goldfein, Josh. Village Voice, Sept. 8-14, 1999. "Box Bottom."

SELECTED DISCOGRAPHY

• The Letter/Neon Rainbow (1967)

• Cry Like a Baby (1968)

• Non-Stop (1968)

• Dimensions (1969)

• The Best of the Box Tops--Soul Deep (1996)

• Tear Off! (1998)