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Barbara McCoy, Mary Hunt, Mildred Pratchett and Eula Jean Rivers became The Charmels after Isaac Hayes made McCoy the lead singer changing the group from a trio to a quartet. They were on the Stax/Volt label and mentored by Hayes who wrote songs for them with David Porter. Their first recordings on Volt were as The Tonettes before the departure of Shirley Thomas and they also toured as The Dixie Belles. As The Charmels they recorded 4 singles that never received any radio play and six unreleased songs. Hip-hop made The Charmels relevant years later when The Rza of The Wu-Tang Clan sampled “As Long As I’ve Got You” for their successful hustle anthem “C.R.E.A.M.” The Emotions covered “As Long As I’ve Got You” in 1972 for their Songs Of Innocence and Experience album that was not released until 2004.
