With the Chantels, a groundbreaking female vocal group, she tugged heartstrings with the indelible hit and paved the way for a wave of “girl groups.” ...

She was memorable on the heartbreaking hit "Maybe," which brought the R&B girl group from the Bronx instant fame in 1957.

Arlene Smith, whose teenage plea on "Maybe" turned a Bronx church-choir kid into a pillar of early girl-group music, has died at 84. Her manager and friend Paul Errante said she suffered a heart ...

Smith went on to be a teacher, and continued to perform with The Chantels ...

Arlene Smith, the commanding lead singer and co-founder of the pioneering vocal group the Chantels, has died at age 84. Smith ...

Singer with one of the first ‘girl groups’, the Chantels, whose 1950s hit Maybe sold more than a million copies ...

NEW YORK (AP) — Arlene Smith, one of the first “girl group” stars who as a teenager and a founder of the Chantels co-wrote and sang lead on the 1950s doo-wop classic “Maybe,” has died at 84. Smith’s ...

Arlene Smith, the iconic voice behind The Chantels’ timeless hit ’Maybe,’ died at 84 following a heart attack.

Smith went on to be a teacher, and continued to perform with The Chantels Rachel DeSantis is a senior writer on the music team at PEOPLE. She has been working at PEOPLE since 2019, and her work has ...

Arlene Smith, the pioneering singer-songwriter who co-founded the influential R&B group The Chantels and helped lay the foundation for generations of Black girl groups, has died. She was 84. Smith ...