Written By Karen Nitkin
Even if you’ve never heard of Peggy Davison or her doo-wop group, the Angels, you may know their hit song, “My Boyfriend’s Back.”
It starts, “My boyfriend’s back and there’s gonna be trouble. Hey la, hey la, my boyfriend’s back.”
Singing along yet?
The song came out in 1963, and it changed the life of Peggy, who grew up in New Jersey and has lived in Carroll County for the past 13 years. It sold more than a million records, propelling her into a glamorous life of touring and recording with the top names of the day.
“It’s sort of like a cultural icon,” she said.
Partly because of the song, The Angels – Peggy, plus sisters Barb and Jiggs Allbut-sang backup with Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. So it makes sense that she would lead a tour of locals to see Jersey Boys, a new Broadway show about the Four Seasons, featuring performers playing the Angels and singing “My Boyfriend’s Back.”
More than 100 people got up at the crack of dawn on March 8 to
take a bus into New York City and attend a matinee at the August Wilson Theatre.
The tour, organized by the Carroll County Arts Council, included a backstage tour, chats with cast members, plus a chance to hear stories about the early days of rock and roll by one of the early hit-makers, Peggy herself. Peggy was able to make the arrangements because of her connection to the show.
“It’s such a big hit and it’s about my friends,” she said before the show. “I’m really looking forward to seeing it.”
Petite and vivacious, with dark brown hair and an animated, unlined face, Peggy still gets together with partner Jiggs Allbut Sirico to perform at casinos,
night clubs and other venues. They play other hits from their career, including “ÔTil,” “Cry Baby Cry” and “Dream Boy.” But “My Boyfriend’s Back” is requested most.
In Peggy’s antique-filled home, a library bookshelf is crammed with books that include references to her and her various bands.
Although she does not play an instrument and never had formal music lessons, her role as lead singer of The Angels has led to worldwide recognition. On an upstairs wall, magazine covers, photos of the group members with sprayed-in-place beehive hairdos, newspaper articles and Billboard charts tell the story
of their meteoric rise at a time in music – and American – history when so many things seemed possible.
“We were young. It was very exciting,” said Jiggs. (Yes, Jiggs has a real first name, but, like Peggy’s age, it won’t be revealed here.) ?“We grew up in a special era and shared in making some of its history.”
Peggy’s story includes tours with Gerry and the Pacemakers and Freddie and the Dreamers, as well as appearances on the Ed Sullivan Show, the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson and the Mike Douglas Show.
But it all started with a little girl, growing up in New Jersey and listening to a portable radio hidden under her pillow late at night. Peggy (Peggy Santiglia at the time) came from a musical family – her father played mandolin and her sister sang opera – but she was more interested in rock and roll.
“It was the first time, if you think about it, that kids had their own music,” she said. “People who listen to these oldies now think they’re sweet, but at the time, the music and lyrics were considered shocking. (Even “My Boyfriend’s Back” talks about reputations and rumors, and one boy’s plans to beat up another boy.)
In fifth grade, Peggy got together with two friends, Denise Ferri and Arlene Lanzotti and begin singing at local events, include church gatherings and mayoral ribbon-cuttings. They called themselves The Delicates.
Late at night, when she was supposed to be asleep, Peggy would sneak her transistor radio under her pillow so she could listen to New York disc jockey Murray the K, a pioneer who ruled the airwaves from 1958 to 1967 and discovered Dionne Warwick and Bobby Darin, among others.
He also discovered Peggy Davison.
Peggy, with the confidence of the very young, decided that Murray the K needed a theme song. She and Denise skipped school one winter day and took a bus to New York City. Peggy remembers that it was snowing and their sneakers got soaked.
They walked into the radio station and announced that they wanted to meet Murray the K. The receptionist must have known that these young girls belonged in school, but she let them in, Peggy recalled.
The girls sang a few songs they had created, and Murray the K instantly took them into his recording studio to immortalize the tunes on plastic. “That night, we were on his show,” Peggy said.
Of course, the girls didn’t think to obtain a copyright, and they received no money for the jingles. That was the start of an unfortunate pattern. Peggy never received adequate compensation for her songs, including “My Boyfriend’s Back,” she said.
“I never regretted,” she said. “I still had a wonderful life and career meeting people from all over the country and the world. I never would have had that.”
And having Murray the K play her jingles was the beginning. From there, The Delicates won a contract with the Unart label, a subsidiary of United Artists, to record a single called Black and White Thunderbird.
“At that point, we did in fact have to confess to our parents,” Peggy recalled. “I was punished for a number of weeks, but I had my recording contract.”
Peggy managed to graduate from high school even though she was on the road, singing, recording and writing music at the music publishing company April Blackwood, alongside such greats as Neil Diamond.
“Beggin’,” written by Peggy and Bob Gaudio, reached number 11 on national charts and appears in Jersey Boys.
“I didn’t realize at the time that it was a big deal to be a high school kid and have office space and write songs,” she said.
On he road, Peggy met Jiggs and Barbara Allbut, sisters who were performing as the Starlits. She agreed to perform with them while continuing to work with Denise. (Arlene had dropped out of the business by then.)
The group became The Angels, and in 1963 – the year after Peggy graduated from high school – their world turned upside-down when “My Boyfriend’s Back” was put out by Smash records.
Peggy said that at the time, she didn’t know that the song – written by Robert Feldman, Gerald Goldstein and Richard Gottehre -would be a hit, but her partners did.
“It really went on a huge national scale,” Peggy said. “I would turn to any station on the radio, and hear it over and over again.” It became a gold record, selling more than a million copies, and topped the Billboard charts. They began to tour.
“We were a team,” Jiggs said.
“ We worked hard to get where we were.? We had differences just like three sisters would have differences.? But, our goals were the same.? We did our show and forgot anything that might have occurred earlier.”
Eventually, the furor died down. The Vietnam War made songs about boyfriends and cars seem outdated, and musicians such as the Beatles and Bob Dylan were taking the form in a more serious direction.
The Angels continued to perform, but they also found other things to do. Barbara moved to Arizona and Jiggs lives in California.
Peggy got a job with Revlon. She probably didn’t need the work, since she was still making good money recording and touring, but, she said, “I was always afraid the bottom would drop out.”
So one day it was recording with Tony Orlando – she was Dusk [?] – and the next it was setting up cosmetic displays.
She met her husband, Jim, through mutual friends. At first, he didn’t want to meet her. “All he had to hear was that I was a rock and roll singer,” she said. But he agreed to go on one date. They were married in 1981. Since he’s from Maryland, they settled here. Peggy earned a bachelor’s degree from Goucher and a master’s in clinical psychiatry from Loyola.
She takes classes, is involved with a group called Truth in Rock, which works to protect the rights of artists, and she’s putting together a collection of her recordings, some of which are only available on eBay. She has an idea of mixing the recordings with an oral history about the time period.
She is also involved with the Carroll County Arts Council, so leading the tour to Jersey Boys was a natural fit for her. “I’m interested in everything,” she said. “I think that’s part of what keeps me young.”
For more information on The Angels, visit their Web site at www.theangelsonline.com.
Leave the Driving to Them
Want to see “Jersey Boys” on Broadway, visit a museum, eat lunch in Manhattan? Or just spend the day shopping in New York? Here are a couple of Carroll County-based bus services that can make it happen.
Bill Rohrbaugh’s Charter Service
3395 Main St. , Manchester, MD 21102
(410) 239-8000 ¥ www.rohrbaughs.com
Rohrbaugh’s Charter Service offers periodic overnight and day tours to New York City as well as to other destinations (Lancaster, Longwood Gardens, Delaware, Washington DC, etc.) They offer weekend trips (including hotel reservations) as well as transportation to Broadway shows, Yankees/Orioles games at Yankee Stadium, and a Twin Islands tour of Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. During December, they make numerous trips to Radio City Music Hall for the holidays shows. Contact Rohrbaugh’s for their newsletter and information on upcoming trips.
Rill’s Bus Service
218 Dutrow Road, Westminster, MD 21157
(410) 848-4649; (410) 876-7530; (800) 801-7530
www.rillsbusservice.com
Rill’s Bus Service offers overnight and day trips to New York City several times each year (usually in April, Nov., and Dec.) as well as trips to other destinations (Philadelphia, Lancaster, PA, Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard, Washington DC, etc.). Reservations and payment must be made no later than one month in advance. Groups may plan their own trips and charter Rill’s motor coaches for any transportation needs from their requested pickup location. Rill’s Bus Service also arranges day and overnight tours to various destinations. Contact Rill’s for their newsletter and information on upcoming trips.
-Compiled by Linda Morton
