1961 Top right: Barbara Allbut, Linda Jansen, Bottom: Phyllis "Jiggs" Allbut
Linda Jansen was the original lead singer of "Til" and "Cry Baby Cry"
1963
Left to right: Publisher and former Manager Tom DeCillis, Linda Jansen, Barbara Allbut, Dick Clark, "Jiggs" Allbut
Record: "Til"
1963
Peggy Santiglia, Barbara Allbut, Phyllis "Jiggs" Allbut "My Boyfriends Back"
1963 Smash Record's album cover,
"My Boyfriends Back"
Barbara Allbut, Peg Santiglia, "Jiggs Allbut"
1963, "My Boyfriends Back"
Barbara Allbut, Jiggs Allbut
and Peggy Santiglia
1963 On the road in Spearfish, South
Dakota. Barbara, Peggy and "Jiggs"
1966, DJ Dex Card when Toni Mason joined Barbara and Jiggs
and they were called The Halos
1967 Jiggs Allbut, Debra Swisher, Barbara
Allbut, RCA Records: "You're the Cause of It," "The Modley" and "With Love"
1968 Jiggs, Berndatte and Barbara
RCA Records, "Merry Go Round," "So Nice" and "But for Love"
The Angels, Sisters Barbara Allbut and Phyllis "Jiggs" Allbut and Linda Jansen had their first hit in 1961, "Till", followed by a lesser success called "Cry Baby Cry." Both songs were released on Gerry Granahan's Caprice label. Linda left and was replaced by Peggy Santiglia, (formerly with Denise Ferri in The Delicates, featured in my 1962 Twist-a-rama revue.) In 1963 , the trio signed to the Smash label and began working with the Feldman-Goldstein-Gottehrer songwriting team, who wrote "My Boyfriend's Back." The Angels' recording was meant as a demo for The Shirelles, but the publishers decided to release the Angels version. The song reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100, rewarding the trio with an Ed Sullivan show appearance.
From 1964 – 1967, Peggy was replaced by Toni Mason, as "The Halos," and in 1967, was replaced by Debra Swisher (of The Pixies Three); other singers in-and-out were Lana Shaw and Kerry Downs . This lineup returned to using the name "The Angels" and released a handful of singles on RCA Records, and appearing on "The Dean Martin Show" in 1968. Jiggs and Barbara Allbut with Peggy Santiglia continue performing as The Angels; Peggy Santiglia, along with former Angels lead singer Bernadette Carroll (who had her own hit "Party Girl") and Denise Ferri (who had her own hit “Black and White Thunderbird”), sang background on Lou Christie's #1 hit "Lightning Strikes" as well as his follow-up smash, "Rhapsody In The Rain. As the Jersey Girls, the three became in-demand session singers; Toni Mason became a William Morris agent with Bill Cosby and Regis Philbin among her high-powered clients.
1968 Barbara Allbut, Jiggs Allut and
Bernadette Carroll, RCA Records
"The Boy with the Green Eyes" written by Neil Diamond
American Bandstand
1968 Closing night of a two week engagement headlining The San Jeronimo Hilton, Puerto Rico
1968 The Steel Pier Atlantic City, New Jersey Barbara, Bernadette, Jiggs
Peggy Santiglia, first a member of the Delicates, then the Angels with Jiggs and Barbara "Bibs" Allbut, has a new CD, Love, The Angels, co-produced by "Bibbs" and Stan Sirico, released in October. Internet fans have voted the Angels into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame, Class of 2008. For the four-day induction celebration, induction and concerts, they graciously invited original lead singer Linda Jansen ("Til" and "Cry Baby Cry") to join them in the honor.
"Bibs" Allbut say Jiggs' daughter Karalyn is now the third member since "Bibs" no longer tours. Peggy just sat for a three part interview with Phlash Phelps on 60's XM. It has been posted on
the Jersey Boy’s Blog - just scroll down." Beggin’ - the Four Season's most recent single release was co-written by Peggy Santiglia and Bob Gaudio. All the original Angels will appear at the 2010
"Weekend of 100 Rock Stars" fan-fest at the Sheraton Meadowlands. Angels Website
*Footnote:
Linda Jansen
'Love' the Angels
New CD
Angels: Peggy, Karalyn
(daughter of Jiggs Sirico) and Jiggs
This page was last updated: May 21, 2010
'Til (The Angels, 1961)
Debra Swisher also did several recordings on RCA with and was on the Dean Martin Show with Barb and Jiggs. Jiggs took maternity leave in 1969 to have her first child, and Toni Mason, Peggy and Barb continued to work until she returned. Luckily the "oldies" revival had begun and everything changed drastically for the Angels and all the artists who had hung in there and who are still working.
