"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".
References
- ^ a b "Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone. April 2010.
- ^ "Maybe – The Chantels – Song Info - AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
- ^ Christgau, Robert (1981). "A Basic Record Library: The Fifties and Sixties". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 0899190251. Retrieved March 16, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
- ^ "100 Greatest Girl Group Songs of All Time: Critics' Picks". Billboard. Retrieved July 11, 2017.
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