EASTON, Pa. — When 1960s blue-eyed soul hitmakers The Box Tops lost its famed vocalist Alex Chilton to a heart attack in 2010, the band’s other members saw it as the end.
Chilton’s growly voice on hits such as “The Letter,” “Cry Like a Baby” and “Soul Deep” had so defined the band’s sound that it seemed pointless to continue without him.
But when original Box Tops guitarist Gary Talley and bassist Bill Cunningham got together in a studio in 2015, it felt so familiar, they thought it was worth rekindling the band.
"I’ll tell you — the band sounds so good."Rick Levy, guitarist for The Box Tops
Key to making that happen was Lehigh Valley native Rick Levy.
Levy had been The Box Tops' manager for years before Chilton died. This time, not only did Levy rebuild the band, he became its guitarist.
More than a decade later, The Box Tops continue to perform.
And at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 25, they will be the opening act for another 1960s act, Herman's Hermits with Peter Noone, at Easton's State Theatre.
Tickets for the show, at $70-$90, remain available at the State Theatre website or the box office at 453 Northampton St.,
Easton.
"I’ll tell you — the band sounds so good," Levy said in a recent call from St. Augustine, Fla., where he now lives.
"We just upped from a two-piece horn section to a three-piece horn section now. The Box Tops still have a real good name. They’re great, they’re great."
Seminal blue-eyed soul
The Box Tops was among the first acts to combine soul music with radio pop, making it seminal in the 1960s and ’70s blue-eyed soul movement.
The Box Tops' 1967 debut song “The Letter” was No. 1 for four weeks, sold more than 4 million copies and got two Grammy Award nominations.Billboard
The group's 1967 debut song “The Letter” was No. 1 for four weeks, sold more than 4 million copies and got two Grammy Award nominations.
The group followed with the million-selling No. 2 song “Cry Like a Baby” in 1968, and through 1969 had six Top 30 hits, with its last being “Soul Deep.”
The group called it quits the first time in 1970, when Chilton left to form Big Star, the Memphis power-pop band that influenced such groups as The Replacements and R.E.M.
Talley became a session musician, working with Billy Preston and Sam Moore of Same and Dave. Cunningham performed with Eddie Arnold, Isaac Hayes and Dionne Warwick.
The Box Tops reformed in 1996 with Chilton, Talley, Cunningham and original drummer Danny Smythe and keyboardist John Evans.
Levy, who left the Lehigh Valley in 1993 and managed and played with ’60s pop singer Tommy Roe and Herman’s Hermits, became The Box Tops' manager.
He even booked the band at Bethlehem’s Stabler Arena in 1997 and Allentown’s Mayfair festival in 2001.
The Box Tops also released a new album, "Tear Off," in 1998.
But Chilton died of a heart attack at age 59 in 2010.
From the Lehigh Valley to top acts
Levy grew in Allentown and formed a top Lehigh Valley band, The Limits, in the late 1960s and ’70s.
A later band, WAX, formed when Levy was in college in Philadelphia, and included Rob Hyman, future vocalist/songwriter of The Hooters, and Rick Chertoff, who became a famed record producer of albums such as Cyndi Lauper’s “She’s So Unusual.”
WAX opened for The Everly Brothers, John Mayall and Manfred Mann, and signed a record deal, but with a label that quickly shut down.
In 1985, Levy joined Jay & The Techniques, the Allentown-based band that in the 1960s had Top 10 hits with “Apples, Peaches, Pumpkin Pie” and “Keep The Ball Rollin," and played with it for 25 years.
That also got Levy into management, and he put together package shows with Jay & The Techniques and Tommy Roe, who had the chart-topping hits “Sheila,” “Dizzy,” “Sweat Pea” and “Jam Up and Jelly Tight.”
In 2000, Peter Noone of Herman's Hermits approached him to form a new band. Levy recruited a band of all Allentown players — including himself — who backed Noone for more than two years.
Levy continued managing acts before joining the re-united The Box Tops.
Only legacy group from Memphis
The Box Tops have continued to have success in the years since, Levy said.
The group has participated in oldies shows such as the Happy Together Tour and the American Pop tour, as well as playing a couple of dozen solo shows a year.
In 2018 was when The Box Tops got inducted into the Memphis Music Hall of Fame, and the band even recorded and released a Christmas EP, "Happy Holly Daze," in 2023.
"Any kids who delve into music are going to get to Memphis one way or another."Rick Levy, guitarist for The Box Tops
“We'll do shows during the Christmas season, so we put a little five-song EP," with songs such as "Winter Wonderland" played in the Memphis style — "most of them were one with a horn section — they’re done in kind of a Memphis style.”
Recently, he said The Box Tops in their shows “have been digging into the catalog and performing album cuts" — lessor-known songs such as the 1968 minor hit “I Met Her at Church” or “Sweet Cream Ladies,” a 1968 Top 40 hit.
They also do "some other Memphis-based material — that’s the hook of the whole show. We’re going to take you on a history lesson of Memphis."
Such songs include "Green Onions" by Booker T & The M.G.s, BB King blues songs or Creedence Clearwater’s "Born Under a Bad Sign."
"We might even be doing some rockabilly," Levy said.
The intent of that is to appeal to "smattering of young kids, who have just discovered the ’60s" who come to the shows.
“We get that fairly often," he said. "I’m not sure if it’s because of [the song] ‘The Letter,’ or because of the Memphis connection. Any kids who delve into music are going to get to Memphis one way or another.
“As far as I know now, and I’ve talked to Bill and Gary about this alot, I think we may be the only legacy group from Memphis actively performing.”
People still come out
But Levy said interest is slowing as the Baby Boomer generation, which he said still is the largest segment of The Box Tops' audience, ages.
"And as each year goes by, when we do 'The Letter," before we play it, Bill always mentions all of the original five guys — Danny and John and Alex, all three of whom have gone.
“When we used to mention Alex, we used to get a lot of applause. But now, I don’t know if people just forget or it’s just getting further away."Rick Levy, guitarist for The Box Tops
“When we used to mention Alex, we used to get a lot of applause. But now, I don’t know if people just forget or it’s just getting further away."
Levy said, “The problem is the [talent] buyers don’t know who any of these groups are anymore."
"They’re so young — especially casino buyers. That used to be a big market for all of us — showrooms at the casino or outdoor events in the summer."
But when The Box Tops play, he said, "people come out."
"We just played in the middle of nowhere in Washington state a couple of weeks ago," he said.
"And when I say nowhere, I mean nowhere. I mean, the closest city was Spokane, and that was three hours away. And over 1,300 people came to the casino."
