The Angels Vinyl Record Memories.

The Angels vinyl record memories return to 1963 with the original recording of "My Boyfriend's Back" written by the songwriting team of Bob Feldman, Jerry Goldstein, and Richard Gottehrer.

The Angels girl group originated in New Jersey as The Starlets which consisted of sisters, Barbara “Bibs” and Phyllis “Jiggs” Allbut, along with Bernadette Carroll, and Linda Malzone.

The group had some minor local hits and continued to perform backup work in the studio. When Linda Malzone left, Linda Jankowski (later Jansen) became the new lead singer. The Angels started out singing doo-wop ballads on the low-budget Caprice label. Linda Jansen sang lead on these songs.

When Jansen left the group to get married, the remaining two Angels moved to a new label and got a new lead singer, Peggy Santiglia.

Santiglia had sung jingles for WINS Radio, appeared on Broadway, and had songwriting experience.  

Her voice lent something that was sorely missing from the group...Attitude!  Her voice could save even the weakest song simply because of its pure sassiness.

The early 60's was still somewhat a time of innocence. The Angels sang of true love, dreamy boys, heartbreak, crying, and vengance.

After Santiglia joined the group they became known for their vengeful anthem, "My Boyfriend's Back." Santiglia was just 19 when the song was recorded.

In 1963, songwriter and producer, Bob Feldman was a staff writer for April-Blackwood Music. He heard that a place called the Sweet Shoppe, across the street from his old high school in Brooklyn, was being torn down and went back for one last look.

“While I was there“, Feldman recalled, “an altercation started between a young girl and a hoody-looking young man with a leather jacket.  Inspired by this confrontation and the girl's bold declarations, the songwriters decided to capture the essence of this dramatic and emotional situation in their music.

She was pointing a finger at him and screaming “My boyfriend’s back and you’re gonna be in trouble. You’ve been spreading lies about me all over school and when he gets ahold of you, you’re gonna be sorry you were ever born.”

That night Bob told his writing partners, Jerry Goldstein and Richard Gottehrer (a.k.a. FGG Productions) about the incident and they sat down and wrote a song about “My Boyfriend’s Back“.

 The resulting song narrates a similar story in which a girl's boyfriend returns to confront the boy who has caused trouble for her, thus promising retribution and protective justice.

"My Boyfriend's Back" became a defining song of the early 1960s girl group era, celebrated for its catchy melody, strong vocal performances, and the dramatic, relatable story line. The Angels' spirited rendition, coupled with tight harmonies and a driving beat, successfully brought the song to life and cemented its place in pop culture history.

The song became a major hit, reaching #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. 

On July 28th 1963, "My Boyfriend's Back" entered Billboard's Hot Top 100 chart at position #75.

Four weeks later on August 25th, 1963 it peaked at #1 for 3 weeks and eventually spent 14 weeks on the Top 100. It reached #2 for 1 week on Billboard's R&B Singles chart and the week it was at #2, the #1 record was "Heat Wave" by Martha and the Vandellas.

“My Boyfriend’s Back” sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc. Their album "My Boyfriend’s Back" made the top forty, charting at #33.

Between 1961 and 1964 The Angels had six Top 100 records. After "My Boyfriend's Back" their next biggest hit was "'Til", charting at #14 for 1 week on December 31st, 1961.