Tony Mantor's : Almost Live..... Nashville - Barbara Hawkins of the Dixie Cups: Celebrating 60 Years of "Chapel of Love

Episode Date: December 11, 2024

Can you imagine the whirlwind of emotions tied to a 60-year musical legacy? This episode of Almost Live Nashville brings you an intimate conversation with Barbara Hawkins of the Dixie Cups. In celebration of the 60th anniversary of their timeless hit "Chapel of Love," Barbara recounts the electrifying events in New Orleans, including performances at Loyola University and the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. She shares the honor of being featured on the festival poster, offering listeners an insider's view of the group's incredible journey and the profound appreciation from their community. Ever wondered about the gritty realities behind the glamour of the music industry? Barbara takes us back to the early days of the Dixie Cups, revealing the pivotal moments and key industry figures like Larry McKinley and Joe Jones who helped catapult them to fame. She narrates the serendipitous meetings, the relentless auditions, and the eventual collaborations with songwriting legends Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich. This chapter paints a vivid picture of the challenges and triumphs that come with pursuing a career in music, highlighting the relentless determination that fueled their dreams. Barbara's story also touches on personal resilience, as she shares her family's harrowing experience during Hurricane Katrina and their subsequent move to Tampa, Florida. Despite the hardships, she reflects on the overwhelming support they received from the Tampa community, including organizations like Music Cares. This heartfelt episode concludes with gratitude for Barbara’s courage and contributions, leaving listeners with a profound appreciation for the strength and tenacity of artists both on and off the stage. Join us for a captivating journey through the life and legacy of one of music's enduring icons. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

My career in the entertainment industry has enabled me to work with a diverse range of talent. Through my years of experience, I've recognized two essential aspects. Industry professionals, whether famous stars or behind-the-scenes staff, have fascinating stories to tell. Secondly, audiences are eager to listen to these stories, which offer a glimpse into their lives and the evolution of their life stories. This podcast aims to share these narratives, providing information on how they evolved into their chosen career. We will delve into their journey to stardom, discuss their struggles and successes, and hear from people who help them achieve their goals.

Get ready for intriguing behind-the-scenes stories and insights into the fascinating world of entertainment. Hi, I'm Tony Mantor. Welcome to Almost Live Nashville. Today, we have the pleasure of being joined by Barbara Hawkins, a member of the iconic Dixie Cups. She will share the tale of their origins, their path to success, and how she weathered the storm of Hurricane Katrina. Thanks for coming on, Barbara. Yeah, yeah. But see, this year, 2024, long 60 years anniversary for Chapel of Love. Oh, wow.

Okay. Yeah. Oh, that's, yeah, that was a great song that you guys did. Mm-hmm. So is there anything going on for celebration of it? Oh, we've done a few things in New Orleans where we're from. Loyola University, the music department, he put together a show we did

in the university theater. Oh, that must have been really great. It was packed, and it was just awesome. It was awesome. Yeah, and I talked to one of the council people next time I go in, they want to do a special day for us. And of course, we did the French Quarter Fest, that's an annual thing.

Danny Boker, guitar, and blues festival, that's an annual thing. The New Orleans Bears and Heritage Festival, that's an annual thing. And this year, the Jazz Fest featured us on their poster. Oh, nice. Every year, they've been in business like 50-some years, and each year they do an artist. We were honored this year, and it was an honor, because. When you look back and think about all the mega artists and everybody that has been a part of in the New Orleans' chance, for us to be chosen, it just felt good.

Yeah, yeah, that's really good. And plus, when you released that song, and of course, when you was out there performing and just getting started, you, along with other groups like yourself, was breaking ground for the future of the females in the music business. Right, right, right. We came to Tampa, Florida because of Hurricane Katrina. Okay. We were actually on our way to Tennessee with the Nevels

because whenever a hurricane would come to New Orleans, the Nevels and us, we would get together and drive out of town, go stay somewhere for three, four days, and then go back home and clean up. Right. But Katrina said that's not going to happen this time. Yeah. So we could not be reached.

Some friends and family members had called the Red Cross, and they had put out people saw it on TV. We're looking for the Dixie Cups, and if you see them, have them called this number. And my sister's son lives here in Tampa, Florida. He attended Florida State University. and after he graduated, he called and say, well, hey, I think I want to stay in Tampa. So he did.

And he had been trying to get in touch with us, and he couldn't reach it. So finally, when we reached him, I mean, it was a teary thing, you know, and he said, I want to see you. And we say, we're okay. And he said, Ma, I want to see you. And she said, but Eric, we're good. We're going to Tennessee to meet Joelle and Aaron in him. Yeah. And he said, okay, but stop here first.

So we drove from Baton Rouge to Tampa. What actually happened was we was just almost homeless for like nine months. Wow. What was good about it, his in-laws cook for us every day. She shared us every day, so we weren't hungry. And when we stopped at the hotel and I gave my ID with children, then I had a Louisiana driver's license. The hotel put us up, so we didn't have to pay that.

Oh, that was nice. Yeah. And then when it was time to pay, other people paid for us. And then Music Care in New York found out that we didn't have a place to stay. So they got in touch with somebody here, and they found us an apartment. Oh, okay. And we moved into the apartment and music care paid for it until we were able to get on our feet and get money from the house because, you know, the house was really, my mom's house where we moved from. Oh.

We were in a no flood zone and we had 16 feet of water in the no flood zone. Wow. Yeah. So that house was totally destroyed, and Rosa had just bought a house, and it was kind of up off the ground, but the roof came off. Wow. And the water came in from the bottom, so we got it both ways. Wow, that's really tough. Yeah.

So where are you based now? Are you in Louisiana or still in Florida? Tampa. Tampa. Okay. Tampa. All right. Tampa.

Mm-hmm. Well, that was good that you was able to get away from that situation. because Katrina was a disaster for a lot of people. Right, right, right. And the people here in Tampa were really good because the hotel owner, when he found out who we are, he called the TV station. Okay.

They came out and interviewed us, and the hotel gave us a little sweet after that, after he found out who we were. Yeah, and then some of the places here, boutique, they called us and we were able to go over and pick out some clothes. That's nice. So they were really good to us here. That's really nice.

Okay, so going back in time a little bit, it was you, your sister, and your cousin that started out in the music, right? Right, right. So I heard that it started out as the Meltones and then eventually you transformed into the Dixie Cups. Right. So how did that transformation have? happen. Okay, wow. We got together for a talent show in New Orleans and all the same high school. They're known all over the world. It's the old boy school. Right. Yeah, so you're familiar with them. Yes. So they played for kings and queens and everybody. Yes. So they used to do a talent show once a year.

Okay. So this girl I had never met, I was going to the grocery store and she'd say, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, you. And I said me, she said, yeah. She said, yeah. She said, I heard that you sing. I said, okay. She'd say, and we're putting together a group to do the St. Augustine talent show. Would you want to be in the group? And I say, that sounds nice. I said, but I have to ask my mom. She said, okay.

So she said, well, when can you ask your mom? I say, well, I'm on my way to the store. And I think, you know, we'll get back to it. So she was waiting when I came back from the grocery store. And it was her, her brother, another guy. And then there were five other guys that had a group called the five DJs. All right. So all these people were standing up there waiting for me to come from the store.

So she said, well, you say you're going to ask your mom, right? I say, yeah. She said, well, when you go ask your mom? Can you ask them now? I say, well, I guess so. So we walked to my house. And my mom saw it coming. And she came downstairs.

So she'd say, what's going on? Because, I mean, I went to the store just me, and I come back with like eight, nine people. So I say, I say, this girl, what's your name? She said, Joan. I say, Joan asked me to be in the group. So thank for saying all the scenes calendar show. My mom said, well, do you want to do it? And I say, yeah, I think so.

So I say, is it okay? And she said, yeah, because my mom used to sing with Papa Celestan band. She was the female singer for his band. So we go up there and we start rehearsing, Jones said, we got a voice listening. I'll say, well, my sister sang bass. I just kid rose all the time, so she sang second out too. So I said, Rose, do you think you want to be in the group? And she said, I guess it's okay with mother.

So my mom said, yeah, it's good. So that part of group was far. And we named ourselves the Meltones, M-E-L-N-E-S. So we did the talent show, did not win anything, not very, second upstairs, but we did the show. And afterwards, my sister and I used to babysit for Larry McKinley, who worked a big dish jockey in New Orleans, W-Y-L-D. I was at Larry's house. It was my kind of babysat. And his wife's niece, whose name is also Barbara, he had done the talent show also. Well, she came in second place, or Joyce her second place. So there's supposed to a talent scout

had talked to her, and she had an appointment to go see him. So she said she didn't want to go about herself, or she asked me where I go with her. I said, yeah, let me call my mom and let him know what's going on. So we went to the musicians union where she was supposed to meet him, and there was a note on the door saying something came up, come to my house. So we look at each other and say, yeah, right.

So I'll call my mom to tell her, well, the place had been changed, and I gave it an address where we were going. So when we got to his house and he opened the door for us, his name, by the way, was Joe Jones. Okay. So got to his house and he opened the door and greeted up and he just kept looking at me. He was looking at me so hard until he made me uncomfortable. So I asked him, why are you looking at me like that? And he said, you were on a talent show, the girls with the green dresses, right?

And I said, yeah. So he said, wait a minute. So he went in the back and came back with the program, and he had circled the mail tone. Who are they? They were great. I've got to reach them. Okay.

He supposedly had been looking for us. He said, these girls were beautiful. He said, I don't know why you didn't win, but don't worry about it. I want to talk to you guys about recording and taking it to New York.

I'll say it all. Okay. I mean, it was no excuse me as or anything. He said, you worry me. I say, yeah, I heard this. I said, but I can ask my mom. I got to talk to the rest of the group.

If they're interested, and he said, okay. And they had another group. It was an old boy group. And he looked at the program. He said, the five days. I said, well, they're at my house right now. So he said, well, can I come to your house? I say, I don't know.

Let me call and ask my mom. He said, because I want to talk to them. I say, you have to talk to their mom. So he said, okay. So I called my mom, and she said, if we wanted to. So she called Rosen Jones to the phone and they said, yeah, I get through. I gave him the address and I went back to Larry Townington and told him what was going on. Well, he's wife anyway.

And so I went home. So he came over and when he came and we sang and the five DJs saying, Joe's eyes popped out so big. I thought they would not come on his head. Yeah. So he asked my mom, could he use the phone? Well, back then you had your regular line. and you had long distance.

And, you know, long distance was more. Right, right. So he didn't call my mom. He was making a long-distance call, which we should have called us right then. Right. Because what was being deceitful, okay? Yeah.

So he called Mickey of, not Mickey. He called Sylvia of Mickey and Sylvia. Okay. He was telling her that he had these groups and they were awesome and blah, blah, blah. And he wanted to take them to New York, but he didn't have the money. So he was going to drive, but if she would put up the money, then he was going to sign us to a manager's contract,

and she would get half until she got her money back for us, whatever. So she sank him the money. So we rehearsed in New Orleans with Earl King, who was also an artist. Okay. He wrote songs. He had hits. He played the guitar. He wrote two songs for us, maybe more.

One was, thank you, Mama, thank you, Papa. And that's the song that we sang. when we got to New York, we drove to New York and we'll put up in this hotel. Then we walked the pavement. I didn't know what that meant until I did it. Yeah, I've done that a few times. We'll go from record company to record company to record company. And you sing for everybody.

Yeah. And they tell you they'll get back to you. Everywhere we went. And Jill brought other artists. He brought a guy named Moody Scott and a girl, Vivian Bates, And one of his, well, two of his band members sang, Alexine Robinson and, oh, God, last clean shirt. I can't think of that man's name.

But anyway, he had all these artists. So we all went through these appointments. And everywhere we sang, they wanted to sign us. But he kept saying it wasn't the right deal. Well, we were happy because we thought he was looking out for us. Sure. Finally, he got to Lieber and Stolen. They gave him what he wanted because they wanted up.

So when we sang for them, they put us with Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich, which were two of their writers. And they sang songs for us to see which one we wanted to record. When they played chapel, we looked at them and said, I said, well, you want us to sing it like that? So they looked at each other and said, well, how would you say it? And I said, well, give me a minute. So the three of us walked to the corner of the room and came up with Chapel,

the way it was recorded. Okay. We didn't know at the time that that's producing, you know. Right, right. We didn't know. We were green. We didn't know. So Chapel was recorded, and they were so happy when we walked over there and sang it.

Well, Chapel, the rest is history, you know. Absolutely. That was a number one song for you. Yeah. The Beatles had come over. So it was Beatlemania in the United States of America. Right. And they had a lot of stuff.

stones on the top 100. Yeah. Our song went up and knocked all their rooms out and stayed on number one. I think it was three weeks, three or four weeks. Right. So, and it has done, Chapel has done a lot for us. It has gotten us into a lot of doors. We are the only artist that I know from that era that did not do the, um,

De Clark? Ed Sullivan show. Oh, Ed Sullivan. Okay. Oh, we did all of it. the clock stuff. We did D. Club tools and everything. Okay. And we didn't do that Sullivan show because Joe wanted them to pay money up front for him. Oh, okay. And for what? Because when you do the TV shows, you sign up and they send you your money after.

Right, right. Through the union. But, so he ruined that for us. Yeah. And then when the World Fair came to New Orleans, he ruined that for us because we had left him then. And he wrote a letter to the, administration of the world fan told him if they booked us he was going to do and all of there so they didn't want to go through all that so who suffered we did right right so now you went from redbird to ABC right yeah but that was an underhand thing okay he was angry with redbird for whatever reason so he went to ABC Paramount and told them that we didn't have a contract with Redbird anymore oh so they recorded us we did a whole album. They said that we were going to be there, Andrew sister.

Okay. So when our first record came out, then Red Bird and ABC were fighting, but guess who got lost, the group. Yeah, you get. Yeah. Because they pulled the songs that were out at that time, which were climbing the chart. Right. Both of them, the one on Redbird and the one on ABC, they pulled them. So when they pulled them, that heard up. Yeah, I've seen that happen before. You know? Yeah, absolutely. So we have been through it.

Yeah, unfortunately, sad to say you hear that story from a lot of artists from that era. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Yep. So you and your sister sang together. I have to say, I've been in the business a long time. Anytime you hear a brother or you hear sisters sing together, it's just awesome. They know each other so well and they sing so well again.

And I mean, you guys just had harmonies that were just so good. Yeah, thank you. That's because when we were little, we used to sing with our mom. And we did trials in church and stuff like that. Yeah. But I lost my sister in 22. Yeah, I was sad to hear that. Yeah.

And it's been really, really hard. It's been really hard. Sure. Being without her because she was my right hand. Yeah. Well, understandable. You blended so well together. Yeah, we have been together her whole life. Right.

Just about because when she was born, I was living with my grandmother because at that time, my mom didn't have a house and, you know, the story about the mom and dad, not together and all of this. Right. And the place where my mom was going to live, you could only have one child, which it sounds harsh, but now as I'm grown, I understand. thinking why, you know, people don't train their children and they tear yourself up. Right.

So you could only have one child. So Roachere was a baby and I went to live with my grandma until my mom could get on her feet. And when she got a place in the Calio Project, they didn't have a two-bedroom, but she said, she said, I'm desperate. And she talked to the people over there. She said, I have to have a place. I want my two children together.

Sure. So they gave her this one-bedroom apartment. That was our first house as a family. Then a few years later, they gave us a two-bedroom. So Rose and I shared a bedroom. And I can say my mom raised us by herself. My dad was no help. He was one of those dead dads.

And my grandmother helped her a lot. I can honestly say I never saw a hungry day. Yeah, that's good. I always had a roof over my head. I always had food to eat. We had clothes. And when we were in school, my sister and I was in everything. And whatever you were in, you had to buy, like, I was a cheerleader.

So she had to buy my cheerleader outfit from head to toe. Sure. We never wanted for anything. We had everything we needed and some of the things we wanted. And I'm so glad my mother raised up that way. Right. because Rose raised her child that way, and I raised my daughter that way. Yeah, that's really good.

You know, you're okay. So you took a little break there for a while, and then I heard that you went into modeling. When we moved back to New Orleans, Rose went to school and became a model, and she went to a modeling school because she finished modeling school, and then an instructor asked her to be an instructor. So she started teaching at the modeling school that she finished from, and she did a lot of of modeling. She did hand modeling. She did in-store modeling. She did runaway modeling. She caught me everything. She worked for two different makeup companies. She worked in-store teaching people how to apply to makeup. Then she got me to do it. So after that, I heard you get back to

performing again. Only this time, you had to change the trio up a little bit because Joan had made a decision to leave the band. So what led up to her making the decision to ultimately leave? John got out the group way back when we were in New York. Okay. John was sick. She had sicker selenemia. Oh. She used to swell up and she couldn't eat everything so she wasn't eating right. We weren't getting the right kind of rest because we were on tour. Right. Living on the bus, you know, so she had to quit. Right. And that, along with. the way Joe Jones was treating us. Right.

That really made her quit. So she left the group. This was in the 60s. And we got a young lady named Beverly Brown. Beverly is the thing in the wallet. And Beverly was with us for a while until she got sick. She had sarco doses. And we did a lot of traveling then.

And it was just too much for her. Right, right. And then we got this young lady from the wall and her name Dale Michael. Uh-huh. So she was with us for a long time. Right. And then after her, we got Athelga Neville. Yeah, the Neville Brothers sister.

Neville Brothers. Yeah, yeah. The brothers are like our big brothers. Oh, that's good. What I didn't tell you was, after we recorded Chapel and everything, we came back to New Orleans. And when we got back to New Orleans, we used to background art Nevel. Oh, okay.

He used to tell people that Dixie Cubs that started in my living room because, you know, we were with him, you know, and he took her everywhere. We sang with him everywhere. Right, right. So Adelberg and I were friends. We went to Southern University together, and I used to go to her house every day. And then her dad used to drive taxi. He would bring me home. Yeah.

So I was part of the Neville House. Yeah, that's good. We are close friends like this, and it was this year. A Thelga had brain surgery. Wow. We did this gig. We did the festival, the Danny Balker Festival that Sunday. So I came home that Monday.

I flew back to Tampa. Okay. And she was at home and she said she was talking and the words weren't coming out right. So she knew something was wrong. So she called her husband and her daughter and they took us to the hospital. And she had to have surgery like two days late. Wow. She's doing well, nothing, God.

Oh, that's just so good to hear. Yeah. So your group came in some ways around the time that the Supremes were going strong. Is that correct? We came after the Supreme. The first female group really was the Sherelles and the Chantelle, then the Supremes. And then Marfan and the Supremes and then Marcia Van der Leyen, then everybody else. Now, because when we first got in the business, we did.

the Apollo Theater. And we were one with the Sherelle. They are the one that taught us what to wear, how to do your hair, how to do your makeup, and all these things because we had only done, we

were doing what we saw others do and what was on this was before Rose became a model. Okay, all right. Okay, yeah. So the Shirelle took us by the hand and they came to a dressing room because I think you did either four or five shows a day.

Yes, that's what I understand, yeah. So when you waited for your last show, you waited, first and you waited, and you waited. And then that's when we were introduced to LaRae. He was a beautician, and he used to do our hair. But with traveling and not having a beautician with you, it was hard to keep up with the hair. Okay.

So that's how we got into the weed. Yeah, but our first picture, that's my natural hair. Okay, yeah. What I really loved about the songs and the style that you had is that everything just came across so natural. Your harmonies were good, your vocals were good. It was just a truly great sound. Right, right.

And we thank God for that because he's the one that created the Dixigup. Yeah. Because when John asked me about thinking, I had no idea that thinking, going to New York, I was going to have a goal. And Jill did tell us the truth about this. He said, your chances at having a number one record is $150 million to one. Yeah. Yeah, he's, yeah, that's definitely very hard to do. So. But you beat it. You did it.

Right, right. And that's how I know God was in the plan, because I didn't know anything. The three of us didn't know. We didn't have any ideas. You know what I'm saying? Yeah. And the song, Chapel of Love, that was just so good. And it opened up so many doors for you. Mm-hmm. And it was just one of those songs.

It was the right time, the right song. Right. The right everything. Right. And it stands the test of time because it's big even today on stuff. Yeah, it is. It is. I was talking to someone and he was telling me how popular it is streaming.

Right. You know, God is good, and we're getting ready to do something with ICO. We're trying to get it done before Mardi Gras, New Orleans. Okay. All right. So if this comes up, we can do this. It'll be something really big. It'll be great for us.

Yeah, that's good. That's really good. I'm just so glad that things are going good for you. You've had a great career and great songs. Right, right, right, right. My dream, you know how you have a bucket list? Right. On my bucket list is to do a concert at home in New Orleans at UNALL Arena.

That holds 10,000 people. And the people I want on the show are Beth Midler because she recorded Chapel. So I think that would be great to have her on the show and maybe we could do it together or something. Right. Dolly Pardon because when she came to New Orleans, we did her. show and we think I go together. So that would be great for that. The temptation, because the last time I talked to Odette, he said, well, Barbara, he

said, I'm going to call you the oldest Williams of the Dixie Cup. I say, well. Yeah, I saw Otis. He came here in Nashville about four, five years ago, I think. Uh-huh. And I got a chance to see him for a while and talk with him. Uh-huh. And he was still doing good.

Yes. Yes, he's still doing good. So I want his group on and Stevie Wonder because what we did a show with Steve, he used to call us his little bixie crap. Yeah, yeah. So, yeah, so that's the people I want on my show. And, of course, I'm going to put our DD and the crystals on. Yeah, that would be so great.

I hope that happens for you. I have to say this has been a great conversation, and I've truly enjoyed you coming on. Thanks so much. Thank you. Thank you. It's been my pleasure. Thanks for joining us today.

We hope you enjoyed the show. This has been a Tony Mantor production. For more information, contact media at plateaumusic.com.