The group originated in New Jersey as the Starlets which consisted of sisters, Barbara "Bibs" and Phyllis "Jiggs" Allbut, Bernadette Carroll, and Lynda Malzone. They had some minor local hits and wound up doing back-up work in the studio. When Lynda Malzone left, Linda Jansen became the new lead singer. Their manager, Tom DeCillis, turned his focus to Bernadette Carroll and dropped the rest of the group. Carroll would find solo success in 1964 with her Laurie Records single "Party Girl." After a failed attempt at a record deal with producer Gerry Granahan, the Allbut sisters turned their focus to education. Phyllis Allbut was in teacher's college at the time and Barbara Allbut was accepted into the Juilliard School for her abilities as a musical arranger. Soon Granahan, who had previously rejected the group, suddenly saw hit potential in the song they had performed for him in their audition, a version of "Till," and wanted them to record it in the studio. "Till" became their first single under their new name, the Angels, and also their first hit (No. 14 US) released by Granahan's Caprice label in 1962. The song was followed up with a second national hit, "Cry Baby Cry." The Angels had one album on Caprice, titled "...And the Angels Sing" in 1962.