Since 2004 Plastic Crimewave (aka Steve Krakow) has used the Secret History of Chicago Music to shine a light on worthy artists with Chicago ties who’ve been forgotten, underrated, or never noticed in the first place.
In 1969 the Lovelites enjoyed their first hit with “How Can I Tell My Mom and Dad (That I’ve Been Bad).” Written by Patti Hamilton with producer and former Chi-Lites member Clarence Johnson, this downer ditty came out on Lock Records, cofounded by Johnson. It echoes the teen-pregnancy theme of the Supremes’ 1968 smash “Love Child,” telling the tale of a young mother abandoned by her baby’s father and afraid to let her parents know about her predicament—a much more scandalous situation 50 years ago. The single reached number 15 on the Billboard soul chart, hit the top five on WVON, and sold roughly 400,000 copies, 55,000 of them locally. Its success earned the Lovelites a contract with Uni Records (a division of major label MCA), which had picked up the single for distribution. By the time they signed it, Petty had been replaced by Joni Berlmon, who’d attended Hyde Park High School.
After a few more sides for the Lovelite and 20th Century labels, the Lovelites called it a day in 1973. Johnny Cameron, who’d been the group’s producer and arranger for most of their career, met an untimely death, and Berlmon and Grayson quit. They soon hooked up with Theresa Davis, who’d been a member of the Emotions, and the three of them became in-demand backup singers around Chicago into the 1980s. Hamilton briefly reunited the original Lovelites lineup in 1975, then put the name to rest.
- This 2007 compilation includes 20 tracks by the Lovelites.
