 | This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (March 2012) |
The Box Tops | |
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 The Box Tops in 1967 (clockwise from left): Bill Cunningham, Danny Smythe, Alex Chilton, Gary Talley, John Evans | |
| Background information | |
| Also known as | The Devilles |
| Origin | Memphis, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 1967–1970, 1996–2010, 2015–present |
| Labels | |
| Members |
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| Past members |
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| Website | boxtops |
The Box Tops is an American rock band formed in Memphis, Tennessee in 1967. They are best known for the hits "The Letter", "Cry Like a Baby", "Choo Choo Train," and "Soul Deep" 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 & Bobby Purify and Clifford Curry; pop tunes like "A Whiter Shade of Pale" by Procol Harum; and songs written by their producers, Dan Penn, Spooner Oldham, and Chips Moman. Vocalist Alex Chilton later fronted the power pop band Big Star and launched a career as a solo artist. During that time he occasionally performed songs he had sung with the Box Tops.
The Box Tops' music combined elements of soul music and light pop. Their records are prime examples of the styles made popular by Moman and Penn at American Sound Studio in Memphis. Many of their lesser known Top 40 hits, including "Neon Rainbow", "I Met Her in Church", and "Sweet Cream Ladies, Forward March", are considered minor classics. As rock critic Lester Bangs wrote in a review of the group's Super Hits album, "A song like 'Soul Deep' is obvious enough, a patented commercial sound, yet within these strictures it communicates with a depth and sincerity of feeling that holds the attention and brings you back often."