Song:As Long As I've Got You
Album:Stax: The Soul Of Hip-Hop
For all the great music that was produced at Stax Records, they were never able to produce a best selling girl group. The Charmels recorded a total of four singles in 1967. And despite their obscurity, As Long As I've Got You is a song that has been sampled by hip hop guys so it turns up on Stax various artists comps. The Charmels were from Memphis and they started out in the early 60s as The Tonettes. Members were Shirley Thomas, Mary Hunt and Mildred Patchett. They recorded two singles for the Stax label Volt Records in 1961. Then they became The Dixie Belles. They did a lot of studio work especially with The Anita Kerr Singers. But they also recorded for producer Bill Justis at Monument Records and had a top ten hit with (Down At) Papa Joe's in 1963 and a top 20 hit with Southtown USA in 1964. They recorded an album but it didn't sell and they went back to studio work. Shirley Thomas was replaced by Eula Jean Rivers and fourth member Barbara McCoy was added. They wound up at Stax as The Charmels working with Isaac Hayes and David Porter and of course they wrote and produced As Long As I've Got You. I can't say why it wasn't a hit but the song is as good as anything produced at Stax and has been sampled by hip hop guys. You can get it on this Stax various artists comp. After recording four singles at Stax as The Charmels, they returned to studio work and that's the last we heard about them. Here's a video for As Long As I've Got You by The Charmels.
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