Arlene Smith, the singer who formed and fronted the Chantels, one of the earliest and most influential "girl groups" in pop music, has died aged 84. Her powerful lead vocal on the 1957 ballad Maybe, which sold more than a million copies, helped establish a template that later shaped acts such as the Shirelles, the Crystals, the Chiffons and the Ronettes.

Smith formed the group four years before their breakthrough, recruiting fellow choristers from St Anthony of Padua school in the Bronx, New York, and drawing on influences ranging from Duke Ellington and Sarah Vaughan to R&B singers such as Etta James. After impressing the manager Richard Barrett with an a cappella performance, the group signed to George Goldner's label, releasing He's Gone, written by Smith, followed by Maybe, the hit that cemented their place in pop history.