Caravelles

Artist Biography by Andrew Hamilton A female duo consisting of Lois Wilkinson and Andrea Simpson from London, England, whose peak recording period was from 1963 to 1968. They were co-workers who entertained at office parties and amateur shows. Encouraged by co-workers to cut a record, they did a demo of "You Don't Have to Be a Baby to Cry," a tune they discovered on the back of Tennessee Ernie Ford's "Sixteen Tons." They named themselves the Caravelles after the French airliner. A local company, BPR Records, liked the demo and redid the song in a professional studio. It became a big hit in the United Kingdom and was picked up by Smash Records for North American distribution; it nearly aced the Billboard chart before nesting at number three on December 21, 1963. Smash released several more singles from the duo including "Don't Blow Your Cool" in 1964 and "Hey Mama, You've Been on My Mind" in 1967. Eventually, Wilkinson left to go solo, recorded as Lois Lane, married, and appeared on BBC's programs singing pop hits. Simpson carried on with the Caravelles performing live with various partners throughout the '80s and '90s.