- The Dixie Cups
Infobox musical artist
Name = The Dixie Cups
Img_capt = The Dixie Cups at the New Orleans Jazz Fest, 2006
Landscape = yes
Background = group_or_band
Origin =New Orleans, Louisiana
Years_active = 1964 - present
Genre =Rhythm and blues , Pop
Label =Red Bird Records
Current_members =Barbara Ann Hawkins Rosa Lee Hawkins Athelgra Neville Gabriel
Past_members =Joan Marie Johnson Dale Mickle
URL = [http://www.thedixiecups.net/ http://www.thedixiecups.net/]The Dixie Cups are an American
pop music girl group of the 1960s.Career
The group hit the top of the charts in 1964 with "
Chapel of Love ," a song thatPhil Spector ,Jeff Barry andEllie Greenwich had originally written forThe Ronettes . The trio consisted of sisters Barbara and Rosa Lee Hawkins; plus their cousin Joan Johnson, from the Calliope housing project in New Orleans. They first sang together in grade school. Originally they were to be called Little Miss and the Muffets, but were named The Dixie Cups just prior to their first release. [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:g9ftxqy5ld6e http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:g9ftxqy5ld6e] ]By 1963 the trio had decided to pursue a career in
music and began singing locally as the Meltones. Within a year Joe Jones, a successfulsinger in his own right with the Top Five 1960 single " [http://www.oldielyrics.com/lyrics/joe_jones/you_talk_too_much.html You Talk Too Much] ," became their manager. After working with them for five months, Jones took them to New York, whererecord producer s /songwriter sJerry Leiber and Mike Stoller signed them to their newRed Bird Records .Their first release, "Chapel of Love," proved to be their biggest hit, although they had other hits with "People Say" (#12, 1964), "You Should Have Seen the Way He Looked at Me" (#39, 1964), "
Iko Iko " (#20, 1965), and "Little Bell" (#51, 1965). [ [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:g9ftxqy5ld6e~T51 http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:g9ftxqy5ld6e~T51] ]"Iko Iko," a New Orleans R&B standard, was recorded early in 1965. Barbara Hawkins had heard her grandmother sing the song, first recorded in 1954 as "Jock-a-Mo" by James "Sugar Boy" Crawford. Barbara Hawkins: "We were just clowning around with it during a session using drumsticks on ashtrays. We didn't realize that Jerry and Mike had the tapes running". Leiber and Stoller overdubbed a
bassline and percussion, and released it. It was The Dixie Cups' fifth and last hit.In 1966, the Dixie Cups were moved to the ABC-Paramount
record label and later temporarily retired from therecord industry .In 1969 the Hawkins sisters moved from New York to New Orleans, where Rosa Hawkins began a successful modelling career. [http://lpintop.tripod.com/thedixiecups/id1.html http://lpintop.tripod.com/thedixiecups/id1.html] ] Both Rosa and Barbara also worked as make-up artists. They continued to tour and make personal appearances, with Dale Mickle replacing Joan Johnson who became a Jehovah's Witness and abandoned her music career.
In 1987, the song "Chapel of Love" appears in the
Full Metal Jacket soundtrack.On
August 29 ,2005 ,Hurricane Katrina swept throughLouisiana , flooding and flattening most of New Orleans and displacing Barbara and Rosa Hawkins, who subsequently relocated toFlorida . Joan Johnson relocated toTexas .In April 2007, The Louisiana Music Hall Of Fame honored The Dixie Cups for their contributions to Louisiana music by inducting them into The Louisiana Music Hall Of Fame.
The Dixie Cups continue to perform and make personal appearances. The current line-up consists of the same Hawkins sisters along with Athelgra Neville, sister of the singing Neville Brothers.
ingles
Red Bird Records
*"Chapel Of Love" / "Ain't That Nice" (1964)
*"People Say" / "Girls Can Tell" (1964)
*"You Should Have Seen The Way He Looked At Me" / "No True Love" (1964)
*"Little Bell" / "Another Boy Like Mine" (1964)
*"Iko Iko" / "I'm Gonna Get You Yet" (1965)
*"Iko Iko" / "Gee, Baby, Gee" (1965)
*"Gee, The Moon Is Shining Bright" / "I'm Gonna Get You Yet" (1965)ABC-Paramount Records
*"That's Where It's At" / "Two-Way-Poc-A-Way" (1965)
*"I'm Not The Kind Of Girl (To Marry)" / "What Goes Up Must Come Down" (1965)
*"A-B-C Song" / "That's What The Kids Said" (1965)ABC Records
*"Love Ain't So Bad (After All)" / "Daddy Said No" (1966)Original group members
* Barbara Ann Hawkins (born
23 October 1943 ) [ [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:3nfpxqygldde http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:3nfpxqygldde] ]
* Rosa Lee Hawkins (born24 September 1944 )
* Joan Johnson (born Joan Marie Johnson,15 January 1945 )External links
* [http://lpintop.tripod.com/thedixiecups/ The Dixie Cups - Official Site]
* [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:g9ftxqy5ld6e Biography on All Music Guide]References
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