The Charmaines

Personnel

Supported by Irene Vinegar and Dee Watkins, the group's lead singer and sometime lyricist was Gigi Jackson. Born Marian Jackson, and later known as Gigi Griffin after marrying her producer Herman Griffin, Jackson had started her career in a family band called the Jackson Sisters. On certain recordings Dee Watkins was replaced by Gigi's sister Jerri Jackson who later recorded in her own right.

Career

The Charmaines were considered Cincinnati's leading female R&B trio in the early 1960s, notably as a backing unit for many better known artists on the King label including Conway Twitty, James Brown, Hawkshaw Hawkins, Little Willie John, Bobby Freeman and Gary U.S. Bonds As a group in their own right, The Charmaines' first single was Rockin’ Old Man (late 1960) with lyrics by Jackson and backed with If You Were Mine. The nearest they came to a hit was #117 on the billboard chart in 1961 with What Kind Of Girl (Do You Think I Am) which out-sold a rival version of the same song by Erma Franklin It was in the time left over at the end of one of their King recording sessions that fellow Fraternity artist Lonnie Mack got the opportunity to record his first improvised hit Memphis. The Charmaines went on to appear on Lonnie Mack's best-known album Wham of That Memphis Man as well as recordings of comedian-singer Jack Larson. They would also record for Columbia and other labels.

Rediscovery

In 2006 a 28-track compilation of the trio's 1960s recordings was issued on Ace Records and described by Record Collector as a delight for Northern fans and all girl group collectors. In 2012, NME celebrated The Charmaines as one of the unfairly forgotten girl groups of the 1960s. On the death of Lonnie Mack in April 2016, The Charmaines were one of the groups featured in a Lonnie Mack special on Classic 21's radio show Dr Boogie