The Chantones

A vocal quartet best known for their work backing rock & roller and country star Jack Scott, the Chantones at one time bidded fair to become as well known as the Jordanaires. Their three years with Scott and seven years in the recording industry put the group on more than a dozen hit singles, but they never charted a hit of their own in the United States. The group started out in Windsor, Ontario in the early 1950s as the Teen Tones. Roy Lesperance sang bass, Jim Nantais sang baritone, Larry Desjarlais was the tenor, and Jack Grenier was the lead tenor of the group, which won a talent contest in 1953 sponsored by the Catholic Your Organization. They changed their name to the Chantones and became a standard (if highly polished) white pop vocal group -- the real-life version of the "Four Neat Guys" from SCTV. The group's fortunes changed somewhat when they were recruited by Scott to sing back-up on his single of "My True Love." The group did benefit from that record's number three national chart placement; they became the resident backing group on Scott's subsequent records for the next four years, singing on numerous hits. They were paired with other artists as well, including Jerry Keller, on whose hit "Here Comes Summer" they sang, but they never managed to secure a hit of their own in America, possibly due in part to the fact that they weren't really a rock & roll group or, for that matter, a white gospel group like the Jordanaires, of Elvis Presley fame. The Chantones were a white pop vocal group, most similar to the Four Lads. The quality of their singing was undeniable but, in contrast to some other white vocal outfits of the time, such as the Mints, the Diamonds, or the Crew Cuts, the Chantones never got closer than arm's length to rock & roll or R&B. The group...