Box Tops

The Box Tops were a Memphis pop music group of the late 1960s. They are best known for the hits "The Letter," "Soul Deep" and "Cry Like A Baby," and are considered a major blue-eyed soul group of the period. They performed a mixture of current soul music songs by artists such as James and Bobby Purify and Clifford Curry, pop tunes such as "A Whiter Shade of Pale" by Keith Reid and Gary Brooker of Procol Harum, and songs written by their producers, Dan Penn and Chips Moman. Vocalist Alex Chilton went on to front the pop band Big Star and to launch a career as a solo artist, during which he occasionally performed songs he had sung with the Box Tops.

Personnel

Founding core band members:

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• Alex Chilton — lead vocals, guitar (1967–current)
• Bill Cunningham — bass, keyboards, backing vocals (1967–1969; 1996–current)
• John Evans — keyboards, guitar, backing vocals (1967–1968; 1996–2000)
• Danny Smythe — drums, backing vocals (1967; 1996–current)
• Gary Talley — lead guitar, bass, backing vocals (1967–current)

Later additional members for some touring and recording:

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• Rick Allen — keyboards, backing vocals (1968–1969)
• Tom Boggs — drums, backing vocals (1968–1969)
• Harold Cloud — bass (late 1969–Feb. 1970)
• Bobby Guidotti — drums, backing vocals (late 1969–Feb. 1970)
• Swain Schaefer — keyboards, backing vocals (late 1969–Feb. 1970)