Chiffons top nostalgia bill at Stardust

Wednesday, June 30, 2004 | 8:08 a.m.

Today Craig and her daughter, 38-year-old Dawn Mann, are the heart of the Chiffons.

The mother-daughter team, joined by Sharie Mitchell, head an all-nostalgia star lineup at the Stardust this week for four nights of fond memories.

Included on the bill of "Legendary Ladies of Rock and Roll" are the Chiffons, Lesley Gore ("It's My Party"), Darlene Love ("He's a Rebel") and "Little" Peggy March ("I Will Follow Him").

Among the Chiffons' biggest hits from the '60s were "He's So Fine," "One Fine Day," "I Have a Boyfriend" and "Sweet Talkin' Guy."

During a recent telephone interview from her home in New York City, Craig, 58, remembered the glory days of rock 'n' roll.

"There were a lot of good times," Craig said. "Opening for the Beatles, now that was an experience, one of the best. And Jimi Hendrix. We performed with him at the Palladium in London. There have been so many great people we have been onstage with, it's hard to remember them all. One of the first was Marvin Gaye."

The Chiffons were formed in 1960 at James Monroe High School in the Bronx. Craig was the lead singer. Joining her were Patricia Bennett and Barbara Lee.

Songwriter Ronnie Mack liked their sound.

"Ronnie was the brother of my girlfriend," Craig said. "He had heard us sing around the neighborhood and he wanted us to sing his songs."

Mack, who died at age 25 of Hodgkin's disease, actually got the group together and acted as their road manager.

Mack was known in Philadelphia for a local hit by Little Jimmy and the Tops called "Puppy Love." He signed the Chiffons to Big Deal Records, and they recorded "Tonight's the Night," which also was covered by the Shirelles.

The Shirelles' version went to No. 39 on the charts. The Chiffons' only reached No. 76.

Two years later Mack wrote "He's So Fine" for the Chiffons, and it went to No. 1 on both the Pop and R&B charts. They followed up with "One Fine Day," which reached No. 5 on the Pop chart and No. 6 on R&B.

On Feb. 11, 1964, the Chiffons were among the opening acts on the Beatles' first U.S. concert at Washington Memorial Coliseum. In June 1964 they opened for the Rolling Stones on their first U.S. tour.

When Craig left the group in 1974 she became a medical records clerk while raising Dawn and her two young sons. She left the group on good terms, returning from time to time to fill in for someone who was ill or absent for some other reason.

Founding member Lee died in 1992, and Craig rejoined the group permanently a short time later.

"It wasn't my intention to stay," Craig said. "But the kids were older and the group said things would be so much easier if I came back.

"And then, I started liking it. I think I'm having more fun now than I did when I was a teenager."

Craig's daughter joined the group in 1999.

"The others didn't want to go on, so my daughter and I kept going," she said.

The Chiffons perform two or three weekend dates a month, staying about as busy as Craig says she wants to.

"We do pretty good," Craig said. "In the winter months we don't work that much, but April until September we stay pretty busy."

She said the Chiffons perform with other legendary groups two or three times a year. The rest of the time they do their own concerts.

Surprisingly, the Chiffons didn't headline in Las Vegas until recently.

"In the early days we only performed at private parties," Craig said. "We didn't do a showroom in Vegas until 2001."