The Chi-Lites is an American group formed in 1959 in Chicago and originally composed of Robert Lester, Eugene Record, Clarence Johnson, Burt Bowen and Eddie Reed.
Group which in its very beginnings was called 'The Hi-Lites', name under which they produced a first single “You did that to me” in 1964.
They were subsequently found under the name 'Mashall & The Chi-Lites', a name under which they produced several Singles between 1966 and 1967.
It was in 1969 that they achieved their first success and this time under the official name of 'Chi-Lites' thanks to the title "Give it away", a title taken from the album of the same name which was also released on same year.
But it is above all the albums “(For God’s sake) Give more power to the people” and “A lonely man” which will allow them to move from the shadows to the light in a shattering way to say the least. The first produced the flagship Single “Have you seen her” in 1971 and the second “Oh girl” in 1972, two huge titles which were a hit worldwide and gave them the two biggest hits of their entire discography.
They achieved a third major success in 1974 with the title “Homely girl”, a title taken from the album “Chi-Lites” released a year earlier in 1973.
Other albums and other Singles would be released subsequently but the group would never regain the level of success reached in the mid-70s.
To discover or rediscover...
Discography (among others...) :
60s Decade :
You did that to me (The Hi-Lites) 1964
I’m so jealous 1965
Pretty girl (Mashall & The Chi-Lites) 1966
Price of love (Mashall & The Chi-Lites) 1967
(Um, um) My baby loves me 1968
Give it away 1969
Let me be the man my dadywas 1969
The twelfth of never 1969
70s Decade :
24 hours of sadness 1970
I like your lovin’ (Do you like mine) 1970
Are you my woman ? (Tell me so) 1970
(For God's Sake) Give More Power to the People 1971
We are neighbors 1971
I want to pay you back (For loving me) 1971
Have you seen her 1971
Oh girl 1972
The coldest day of my life (Part 1) 1972
A lonely man 1972
We need order 1972
A letter to myself 1973
My heart just keeps on breakin’ 1973
Stoned out of my mind 1973
I found sunshine 1973
Homely girl 1974
There will never be any place (Until God is seated at the conference table) 1974
You got to be the one 1974
Too good to be forgotten 1974
Toby 1974
I forgot to say I love you till I’m gone 1975
It’s time for love 1975
Here I am 1975
Don’t burn no bridges 1975
The devil is doing his work 1976
You don’t have to go 1976
Happy being lonely 1976
Vanishing love 1977
My first mistake 1977
If I had a girl 1977
The first time (Ever I saw your face) 1978
Higher 1979
80s Decade :
Heavenly body 1980
Me and you 1981
Hot on a Thing (Called Love) 1982
Bottom’s up 1983
Changing for you 1983
Stop what you’re doin' 1984
Gimme watcha got 1984
Hard act to follow 1985
90s Decade :
There’s a change 1990
Solid love affair 1990
Just say you love me 1990
Help wanted (Heroes are in shot supply) 1997
Hold on to your dreams 1998
Tracks :
1964...a first title which will go somewhat unnoticed but which is far from unworthy in any case. There is potential in this group, it is clear...
1965...it now remains to be seen what they are going to do with this potential. The future will tell us...
1966...for the moment not much in view of the little success achieved in the Charts. After all, it's only the beginning as they say...
1967...you have to start well one day and success is not always there from the first titles. Time takes time...
1968...still nothing in sight. The group is doing everything he can to take off a little but at this stage nothing is working anyway...
1969...patience and goodwill will finally pay off with this first success achieved at the very end of the decade...
1969...so everything comes at just the right time. The work always pays off in the end and they are starting to reap the rewards here...
1969...of course we're not yet talking about mega hits or top hits but there is success in any case and that's the main thing...
1970...all the titles that are now released are almost all classified which can only reassure us about the future of events...
1970...the best is inevitably to come given the group's certain potential, it cannot be otherwise. Still a little patience...
1970...it will not be for this year 1970 but it could be that the year to follow is the right one, that is to say that of the big takeoff...
1971...this time and for the first time in their career success finally became global. A fair recognition of their talent...
1971...a sequel which will not be able to compete with the title which preceded it but it doesn't matter, this time the group has indeed become one of the phenomena of the moment...
1971...a year 1971 which is far from over and which will still have some nice, even very nice surprises in store for them...
1971...we are no longer talking about a global top hit but rather a mega hit ! A magical title that will also delight a certain...MC Hammer almost 19 years later !
1972...but the consecration, the real one, arrives with THIS title ! A title which will remain as their highest ranked and which offers them a direct ticket to posterity at the same time. But it will also delight Paul Young once again in 1990. Clearly, their titles are endless sources of inspiration...
1972...impossible for this title to compete with its predecessor as the bar was set high, which will not prevent it from making a most honorable run in the Charts...
1972...just like this one. Afterwards, we're not going to lie, the group will never again reach the level of success achieved previously...
1972...this does not mean that the adventure must stop there, far from it because they still have beautiful musical pages to write...
1973...from now on success is limited exclusively to the United States but there continues to be success in any case. Isn't that the main thing...
1973...depending on the titles there is minor success or greater success. The previous title will have been part of the 1st category and this one of the 2nd...
1973...return to success on both sides of the Atlantic. Not sure it will last very long but what is taken is no longer to be taken as they say...
1973...for the moment it lasts so they will have to make the most of it. But given what's on the horizon, it should last a little longer...
1974...not only will it last a little longer but in what way ! Here they land a new global top hit with this new title, a title which will delight a group called...UB40 almost 15 years later !
1974...there will be success with this new title but of much less importance. But the adventure continues to be beautiful in any case...
1974...as long as their titles are classified why worry more than that ? They can't only produce mega hits, that's clear...
1974...another title that will bring joy to another group a few years later, namely...Amazulu in 1986. And paradoxically, it will not even be classified for the original group...
1974...the first part of the 1970s which saw them produce a number of big, even very big titles that were impressive to say the least...
1975...and it's not over because there is still material to exploit behind. They haven't said their last word, and especially not sung their last song, far from it...
1975...the proof with this new title which will allow them to add an additional star of prestige to a list of prizes which is beginning to number quite a few...
1975...it now remains to be seen whether the second part of the decade will be as favorable to them. Only the future once again can answer this question...
1975...the level of success will drop a notch and they will now only be classified in the R&B Charts. Always better than nothing...
1976...this does not slow them down in any way and the level of productivity remains high to say the least at this stage. Let's hope it lasts...
1976...their last success on both sides of the Atlantic, it had to happen one day. Of course it happens a little early but it's the hard law of the trade...
1976...there will also be this one but to a lesser extent. In the end, 1976 went better than expected...
1977...from this title the group will seriously start to slide in the Charts. But it could be that everything is not yet decided...
1977...this end of the decade will prove to be a little more complicated to manage than expected but it could be that the transition to the following decade will allow them to get back into the race...
1977...they will therefore have to be patient and wait for a new clearing. Clearing that will come, it's sure...
1978...rare to see them cover other people's titles but this will indeed be the case on this title with this revisited version of Roberta Flack's title dating from 1972...
1979...the very end of a freewheeling decade with a level of success at rock bottom. It happens even to the best...
1980...in any case they will try to move on to the next decade and it could be that it has some nice surprises in store for them...
1981...of course we are not talking about a return to the top of the race but a return to the Charts in any case, both on the Singles side and on the album side...
1982...shows that in music nothing is ever finished. The proof with this unexpected return to the forefront...
1983...they will have been able to adapt to the new musical trends of the moment and this will inexorably pay off in the Charts...
1983...they didn't miss much for them to be able to win a new prestigious star but this will not be the case in the end unfortunately...
1984...they will have at least tried and for that reason alone, respect as they say. We must remember that they started their career in 1964, which has already been more than 20 busy years...
1984...the qualitative level remained sufficient in any case to allow them to continue the adventure calmly. It's already that...
1985...not sure it will last for decades and decades but they are hanging on in any case. But the competition is getting tougher and tougher...
1990...we will lose sight of them throughout the second part of the 80s but here they are again in any case at the very beginning of the 90s...
1990...a comeback which will not allow them to get back into the race any more but which still proves that they still exist...
1990...they will not rank any single during this year 1990 but the album from which they will be taken will, which is already that...
1997...we will lose sight of them for almost 7 years but here they are again. Unstoppable little guys !
1998...an adventure which will not go further than this year 1998 but it was a wonderful adventure with a plethora of now cult titles...
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Official Website :
Greatest Hits :
Discography :
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