Peggy Santiglia

Margaret "Peggy" Santiglia (born May 4, 1944) is an American singer-songwriter of the "girl group era". She is perhaps best known for her 1963 pop hit "My Boyfriend's Back" with The Angels, which she recorded at the age of 19.

Peggy Santiglia
Birth name	Margaret Santiglia
Born	May 4, 1944 Belleville, New Jersey, U.S.
Genres	Pop
Occupation(s)	Singer-songwriter
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	1958–present
Labels	Roulette, Unart, Mercury-Smash, Polygram, Tiki, Tollie, DynoVoice, United Artists
Associated acts	The Delicates, The Angels, Dusk, Jessica James and the Outlaws, The Serendipity Singers
Website	The Angels Official Website

Biography

Santiglia was born in Belleville, New Jersey, United States where she was raised in a musical Italian family with two older siblings.

Career: 1950s

In 1958 she and childhood friends Denise Ferri and Arleen Lanzotti formed The Delicates. Starting out at the Brill Building in New York City under the management of Ted Eddy (Louis Prima's manager), they recorded for Tender, Unart, United Artists and Roulette.

The Delicates were most famous for writing the Murray The K theme song, The Submarine Race Watchers Theme and appearing at many Murray the K concerts including several at the Brooklyn Fox Theatre.

In 1959, they released a song that they wrote called "Black and White Thunderbird" on the Unart label. The record was produced by Don Costa. It became a significant hit on the East Coast, which afforded The Delicates a guest spot on American Bandstand on March 8, 1960.

Career: 1960s

Santiglia, still a senior at Belleville High School (Belleville, New Jersey), was then asked to join sisters Phyllis ("Jiggs") and Barbara ("Bibs") Allbut, replacing Linda Jansen as lead singer in The Angels in 1962 in live performances and then to record on their new label, Smash with producers FGG.[1][2] "My Boyfriend's Back" became a No. 1 hit. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc. Two albums followed the single. After their hit, The Angels frequently worked as background singers in the New York area, and Santiglia was also in the chorus backing Lou Christie's "Lightnin' Strikes". Additionally, under the pseudonym Peggy Farina, she wrote the lyrics for The Four Seasons's 1967 hit single "Beggin'".

Career: 1970s

In the early 1970s, Santiglia was the lead vocalist for Dusk, a girl group formed by Bell Records producers Hank Medress and Dave Appell in an effort to continue the success they had with the group Tony Orlando and Dawn. The group released three singles: "Angel Baby", "I Hear Those Church Bells Ringing" and "Treat Me Like a Good Piece of Candy". None of them rose above #53 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart, and the effort was abandoned. Santiglia was offered a position as one of the touring members of another studio group, Dawn, behind Tony Orlando, but declined. A dance record called "Sweet, Sweet City Rhythm" was produced in 1978 by Billy Terrell under Santiglia's actual name for Tiki Records.

Return to recording in 2008

Santiglia has continued to perform in live concerts with The Angels and on television throughout the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s.[3] In 2008, she recorded her first album of new material with The Angels since the late 1970s (Love, The Angels).

References

1. The Illustrated Discography of Hot Rod Music, 1961-1965. Popular Culture. 1990. ISBN 978-1-56075-002-4. Retrieved January 17, 2021.
2. Jay Warner (April 6, 2000). The Da Capo Book Of American Singing Groups. Da Capo Press. ISBN 978-0-306-80923-1. Retrieved January 17, 2021.
3. Bruce Pollock (1984). When the Music Mattered: Rock in the 1960's. Holt, Rinehart and Winston. ISBN 978-0-03-060426-3. Retrieved January 17, 2021.

External links

• The Angels Official Site