Louis, Missouri; the Box Tops, from Memphis, Tennessee; and Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels, from Detroit, Michigan. Other performers who were regarded as blue-eyed soul singers included Laura Nyro in the 1960s, Robert Palmer and the Average White Band in the 1970s, and in the 21st…

…the teenage lead singer of the Box Tops, a blue-eyed soul group also from Memphis. Despite scoring seven hit singles with the Box Tops, the singer chafed against the limited opportunities for him as a songwriter, and the group broke up in 1970. He joined with Bell, and they briefly…

Penn produced the group—now renamed the Box Tops—on the song “The Letter.” “The Letter” was a surprise hit, spending four weeks at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1967. It later resurfaced as a cover version by Joe Cocker. The Box Tops returned to the top 10…