Frankie Ford born Vincent Francis Guzzo, Jr. on 4 August 1939 in Gretna, Louisiana, USA.
died 28 September 2015 (aged 76) in Gretna, Louisiana.
Taking the stage name Frankie Ford, he made his first recordings for Ace in 1958. He toured locally in Louisiana, before a vocal overdub on the song 'Sea cruise', a song written and originally recorded by Huey 'Piano' Smith with his group, The Clowns, and featuring overdubbed bells and ships' horns. As Smith already had a record in the charts, and was away touring, the label decided to release Ford's version, and it rose to # 14 on the US pop and # 11 on the R&B chart, selling over 1,000,000 copies, and gaining gold disc status.
Carlo Mastrangelo, a doo-wop voice for ‘Dion and the Belmonts’, dies at 78
Carlo Mastrangelo, an original member of Dion & the Belmonts, whose baritone vocals under-girded the group's harmonies on a string of doo-wop hits like 'No one knows' and 'A teenager in love' died on 4 April 2016 in Tampa Bay, Fla. He was 78. The cause was cancer, saide Warren Gradus, a member of the Belmonts version 2016.
Mr. Mastrangelo grew up in a mostly Italian neighbourhood around Arthur Avenue in the Bronx. He played drums, wrote songs and sang, often on street corners or in subway stations, with his Roosevelt High School classmates Angelo D'Aleo and Fred Milano.
They formed The Belmonts in the mid-1950s, taking the band name from the avenue where Mr. Milano lived. (The neighbourhood is also called Belmont.) Dion DiMucci, another boy from the hood, joined the group as a lead tenor in 1957.
In 1958 they released their first hit, 'I wonder why', an upbeat earworm that began with a memorable wordless vocal by Mr. Mastrangelo.
earworm: a song that sticks in your mind, and will not leave no matter how much you try. The best way to get rid of an earworm is to replace it with another. Be prepared to become a jukebox.
'You hear this kind of nasally bass coming out of Carlo Mastrangelo,' Mark Rotella, author of 'Amore: The story of Italian American song' (2010), said in an interview with NPR. 'And i sounds like the revving of a car engine.'
In January 1959 The Belmonts toured with Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper (real name: J.P. Richardson). Mr. Holly's drummer got frostbite during the tour, so Mr. Mastrangelo filled in. Holly, Valens and the Big Bopper died in a plane crash on 3 February 1959.
'I wonder why' climbed to no. 22 on the Billboard singles chart. The group reached no. 5 with 'A teenager in love' in 1959 and no. 3 with 'Where or when' in 1960.
'He actually arranged some of the vocals, and Dion learned a lot of his scatting from Carlo,' said Mr. Gradus, who joined the Belmonts in 1963.
Mr. DiMucci left the group in 1960 for a solo career; as Dion, he had a string of hits including 'Runaround Sue' and 'The wanderer'.
The Belmonts continued to chart with hits like 'Tell me why' and 'Come on little angel', but Mr. Mastrangelo left in 1962 to pursue a solo career of his own.
Carlo Mastrangelo was born in the Bronx on 5 October 1937. He lived in Tampa Bay with his wife, Lucille, who survives him. Fred Milano died in 2012. Mr. D'Aleo still performs with the group.
Carlo Mastrangelo, a doo-wop voice for ‘Dion and the Belmonts’, dies at 78
Carlo Mastrangelo, an original member of Dion & the Belmonts, whose baritone vocals under-girded the group's harmonies on a string of doo-wop hits like 'No one knows' and 'A teenager in love' died on 4 April 2016 in Tampa Bay, Fla. He was 78. The cause was cancer, saide Warren Gradus, a member of the Belmonts version 2016.
Mr. Mastrangelo grew up in a mostly Italian neighbourhood around Arthur Avenue in the Bronx. He played drums, wrote songs and sang, often on street corners or in subway stations, with his Roosevelt High School classmates Angelo D'Aleo and Fred Milano.
They formed The Belmonts in the mid-1950s, taking the band name from the avenue where Mr. Milano lived. (The neighbourhood is also called Belmont.) Dion DiMucci, another boy from the hood, joined the group as a lead tenor in 1957.
In 1958 they released their first hit, 'I wonder why', an upbeat earworm that began with a memorable wordless vocal by Mr. Mastrangelo.
earworm: a song that sticks in your mind, and will not leave no matter how much you try. The best way to get rid of an earworm is to replace it with another. Be prepared to become a jukebox.
'You hear this kind of nasally bass coming out of Carlo Mastrangelo,' Mark Rotella, author of 'Amore: The story of Italian American song' (2010), said in an interview with NPR. 'And i sounds like the revving of a car engine.'
In January 1959 The Belmonts toured with Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper (real name: J.P. Richardson). Mr. Holly's drummer got frostbite during the tour, so Mr. Mastrangelo filled in. Holly, Valens and the Big Bopper died in a plane crash on 3 February 1959.
'I wonder why' climbed to no. 22 on the Billboard singles chart. The group reached no. 5 with 'A teenager in love' in 1959 and no. 3 with 'Where or when' in 1960.
'He actually arranged some of the vocals, and Dion learned a lot of his scatting from Carlo,' said Mr. Gradus, who joined the Belmonts in 1963.
Mr. DiMucci left the group in 1960 for a solo career; as Dion, he had a string of hits including 'Runaround Sue' and 'The wanderer'.
The Belmonts continued to chart with hits like 'Tell me why' and 'Come on little angel', but Mr. Mastrangelo left in 1962 to pursue a solo career of his own.
Carlo Mastrangelo was born in the Bronx on 5 October 1937. He lived in Tampa Bay with his wife, Lucille, who survives him. Fred Milano died in 2012. Mr. D'Aleo still performs with the group.
The Belmonts; from left to right: Fred Milano, Dion DiMucci & Carlo Mastrangelo.
Julius La Rosa
* 2 January 1930 in Brooklyn-NY
+ 12 May 2016
Julius La Rosa
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