Peggy Santiglia is an American singer-songwriter of the "girl group era". She is perhaps best known for her 1963 pop hit "My Boyfriend's Back" with The Angels, which she recorded at the age of 19.
Biography
Santiglia was born in Belleville, New Jersey, United States where she was raised in a musical Italian family with two older siblings.
Career: 1950s
In 1958 she and childhood friends Denise Ferri and Arleen Lanzotti formed The Delicates. Starting out at the Brill Building in New York City under the management of Ted Eddy, they recorded for Tender, Unart, United Artists and Roulette. The Delicates were most famous for writing the Murray The Ktheme song, The Submarine Race Watchers Theme and appearing at many Murray the K concerts including several at the Brooklyn Fox Theatre. In 1959, they released a song that they wrote called "Black and White Thunderbird" on the Unart label. The record was produced by Don Costa. It became a significant hit on the East Coast, which afforded The Delicates a guest spot on American Bandstand on March 8, 1960.
Career: 1960s
Santiglia was then asked to join sisters Phyllis and Barbara Allbut, replacing Linda Jansen as lead singer in The Angels in 1962 when a senior at Belleville High School in live performances and then to record on their new label, Smash with producers FGG. "My Boyfriend's Back" became a No. 1 hit. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc. Two albums followed the single. After their hit, The Angels frequently worked as background singers in the New York area, and Peggy was also in the chorus backing Lou Christie's "Lightnin' Strikes". Additionally, under the pseudonym Peggy Farina, she wrote the lyrics for The Four Seasons's 1967 hit single "Beggin'".
Career: 1970s
In the early 1970s, Santiglia was the lead vocalist for Dusk, a girl group formed by Bell Records producers Hank Medress and Dave Appell in an effort to continue the success they had with the group Tony Orlando and Dawn. The group released three singles: "Angel Baby", "I Hear Those Church Bells Ringing" and "Treat Me Like a Good Piece of Candy". None of them rose above #53 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart, and the effort was abandoned. Santiglia was offered a position as one of the touring members of Dawn behind Tony Orlando, but declined. A dance record called "Sweet, Sweet City Rhythm" was produced in 1978 by Billy Terrell under her real name Peggy Santiglia for Tiki Records.
Return to recording in 2008
Santiglia has continued to perform in live concerts with The Angels and on television throughout the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s. In 2008, she recorded her first album of new material with The Angels since the late 1970s.
