# Sweet Soul Music - The Chi-Lites



## Guest (Aug 29, 2018)

_"Do you like good music
That sweet soul music
Just as long as it's swingin'
Oh yeah oh yeah!"_

- Arthur Conley

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*The Chi-Lites*

The Chi-Lites - ("shy lights") are an American R&B/soul vocal quartet from Chicago, Illinois.

The group's greatest fame came during the early 1970s. They were led by Eugene Record, and scored *eleven Top Ten R&B hits *from 1969 to 1974.They also charted 21 songs in the Billboard Hot 100 Pop Chart, and had chart hits in the UK, Ireland, and Canada, as well as in the U.S.

The group was formed at Hyde Park High School in Chicago in the late 1950s as the Chanteurs (Eugene Record, Robert "Squirrel" Lester, and Clarence Johnson). They later teamed up with Marshall Thompson and Creadel "Red" Jones of the Desideros to form the Hi-lites. Noting that the name Hi-lites was already in use, and wishing to add a tribute to their home town of Chicago, they changed their name to "The Chi-Lites" in 1964.

Their major hits came in 1971 and 1972, "Have You Seen Her" and "Oh Girl", the latter becoming a #1 single on the Billboard Hot 100 on 27 May 1972. Each sold over one million copies and was awarded a gold disc by the RIAA. Other transatlantic chart hits followed, although their output became more fragmented as the group's personnel came and went.

In 1980, the mid-1960s quartet of Record, Thompson, Jones, and Lester re-formed the Chi-lites. Creadel Jones left for a second time in 1982, and the group would remain a trio.

In 1983, the group released the critically acclaimed "Bottoms Up" album and achieved notable club and R&B chart success with the title track and "Changing For You." Released on LARC Records, the album was also released in the UK on the R&B label under the distribution wing of PRT.

"Changing For You" album version was released in the UK as a 12" single which became popular in London clubs including Flicks in Dartford and The Goldmine in Canvey Island. "Changing For You" also remained on the Caister Weekender playlist for two years. "Changing For You" and the title track "Bottoms Up" were heavily played and promoted by UK Jazz Funk Soul DJ Robbie Vincent. An edited version of "Changing For You" entered the UK Charts and reached #61.

The group was inducted into the Rhythm and Blues Foundation in 2000 and Record appeared with the group on stage to perform and accept the award. The group was inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2005, and were honored with an induction into the R&B Music Hall of Fame on August 17, 2013 at the Waetejen Auditorium in Cleveland.

Peak chart position on the US Billboard R & B list in parentheses -

"*Give It Away*" - 1969 - (# 10) -






"*Are You My Woman? (Tell Me So)*" - 1970 - (# 8) -






"*(For God's Sake) Give More Power to the People*" - 1971 - (# 4) -






"*Have You Seen Her*" - 1971 - (# 1) -






"*Oh Girl*" - 1972 - (# 1) -






"*The Coldest Days of My Life (Part 1)*" - 1972 - (# 8) -






"*A Letter to Myself*" - 1973 - (# 3) -






"*Stoned Out of My Mind*" - 1973 - (# 2) -






"*Homely Girl*" - 1974 - (# 3) -






"*There Will Never Be Any Peace (Until God Is Seated at the Conference Table)*" - 1974 - (# 8) -






"*Toby*" - 1974 - (# 7) -






"*Bottom's Up*" - 1983 - (# 7) -






"*Changing For You*" - 1983 - (# 61 UK Charts) -


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