The Tonettes – No Tears

27th January 2023 · 1960s, 1962, Music, Soul

I first heard The Tonettes on a vast box set anthology of Stax/Volt singles… though they were called The Charmels at that point. This was their first single – and the second to come out on Volt in early 1962.

The Tonettes released a second single, I Gotta Know, a few months later and then caught an unexpected break when Nashville label Sound Stage 7 needed a black female group to go out as the Dixiebelles to promote a studio-created hit called Down At Papa Joe’s.

The Tonettes masqueraded as the Dixiebelles until that concept had run its course and returned to the Volt roster in late 1966 as the Charmels (and, on their final Volt 45, the Charmells).

Working with Isaac Hayes and David Porter they rolled out four exemplary 45s over an 18-month period that extended into the early days of Stax’s post-Atlantic era and included the sultry ballad As Long As I’ve Got You – whose intro became one of hip-hop’s most beloved breakbeats in C.R.E.A.M. by the Wu-Tang Clan.

They also backed up a number of the label’s solo artists during part of that period, a role they shared with another trio, Jeanne & The Darlings, led by Arkansan Jeanne Dolphus (Jeanne Darling as she was known professionally) whose string of singles included the classic answer-back record Soul Girl.

The cleverly synchronised dancing girls in the video are an additional treat.