Johnny Maestro & The Brooklyn Bridge
Encyclopedia
Johnny Maestro and The Brooklyn Bridge (or simply The Brooklyn Bridge) is an American
musical group, best known for their million selling rendition of Jimmy Webb
's "The Worst That Could Happen
" (1968).
-born Johnny Maestro (born John Mastrangelo; May 7, 1939 – March 24, 2010) began his career in 1957 as the original lead singer of The Crests
, one of the first interracial groups of the recording industry. Patricia Van Dross, older sister to famed R&B singer Luther Vandross
, sang with Johnny Maestro while The Crests were signed to the Joyce Record label. Before The Crests signed with Coed Records
, Patricia left the group because her mother didn't want her 15-year old daughter touring with the older guys. After a regional hit with "My Juanita"/"Sweetest One" on the Joyce label, and two years of chart success on Coed Records
with "16 Candles", "Six Nights A Week", "Step by Step", "The Angels Listened In", and "Trouble in Paradise", Maestro left The Crests for a solo career. Maestro was unable to reach his former chart heights with The Crests, but did have Top 40 hits with "What A Surprise" and "Model Girl" in 1961.
By 1967, another New York vocal group called The Del-Satins—who had become well-known in the New York area as weekly performers on the local dance party program The Clay Cole Show, had made several non-charting recordings between 1959 and 1967 under their own name, and were also noted for backing up Dion
on his post-Belmonts
recordings—were looking for a new lead singer to replace original lead Stan Zizka. Other members were brothers Fred and Tom Ferrara (baritone and bass), Les Cauchi (first tenor) and Bobby Faila (second tenor). According to Cauchi, members of the group ran into Maestro at a local gym, playing his guitar, and approached him with the offer to join the group. After initially turning them down, Maestro's manager, Betty Sperber, called Cauchi and told him Maestro had changed his mind.
In 1968, Sperber, owner and founder of the talent management and booking agency Action Talents in New York City, was hosting her once a month Battle of the Bands talent search at the Cloud Nine nightclub in Long Island and brought Maestro along as the evening's special guest star. Action Talents' Vice President and General Manager Alan White suggested that Maestro be backed up that night by a seven-piece brass-filled group of youngsters called The Rhythm Method. That night's performance was such a success that the next day Sperber decided to combine the talents of Maestro, the four Del-Satins, and The Rhythm Method. The new group's name came about after White made the off-handed comment that "it would be easier to sell the Brooklyn Bridge" than book the proposed 11-piece act.
Johnny and the Bridge rehearsed their unusual combination of smooth vocal harmonies and full horns, and signed a recording contract with Buddah records. Their first release, a version of the Jimmy Webb
song "Worst That Could Happen" (a note-for-note cover of the version previously recorded by The 5th Dimension on the album The Magic Garden
, which had not been released as a single), reached No. 3 on the Billboard pop chart. It sold over one and a quarter million copies, and was awarded a gold disc
by the R.I.A.A.. The follow-up, "Welcome Me Love", and its flip side, "Blessed is the Rain" — both by Tony Romeo
— each reached the Top 50. A dramatic version of "You'll Never Walk Alone" and the controversial "Your Husband, My Wife" also reached the middle ranges of the charts. The group sold over 10 million records by 1972, including LP sales, mostly produced by Wes Farrell
. Appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show
, The Della Reese Show
, and other programs helped to bring the group to the national stage.
After its heyday, The Brooklyn Bridge downsized to a five-man group, with the vocalists playing their own instruments. For example, Maestro could be seen on stage playing rhythm guitar, while former Rhythm Method bassist Jim Rosica picked up a vocal part. Later in the 1970s, as the Rock and Roll Revival evolved from a nostalgic fad to a respected genre, the group began to add members, retaining its core vocalists. By 1985, the group had solidified into an eight piece group, including original Del Satins, Cauchi and Fred Ferrara, and original Bridge member Rosica, and augmented by a horn section for special occasions. The drummer for the current line up, Lou Agiesta, was the drummer for the Original American Touring Company of Jesus Christ Superstar
.
The later version of the Brooklyn Bridge released a Christmas EP in 1989 and a greatest hits compilation in 1993, re-recording Maestro's hits with The Crests. In the early 1990s, Maestro moonlighted as the background tenor on Joel Katz's studio project CD Joel & the Dymensions (which also featured baritone-bass Bobby Jay). In 1994, The Brooklyn Bridge recorded a 10-song a cappella CD.
Recently, the Brooklyn Bridge was featured in one of PBS's biggest fundraising events ever, "Doo Wop 50", performing both "16 Candles" and "The Worst That Could Happen"; the entire program was released on VHS and DVD. In 2005, the Brooklyn Bridge released a full concert-length DVD as part of the Pops Legends Live series. They continue to tour and in 2004 released a CD on the Collectables label titled Today
, featuring more re-recordings of their hits and versions of other groups' songs of the 1950s and 1960s.
The Brooklyn Bridge was inducted into the Vocal Group Hall Of Fame
in 2005. They were inducted into the South Carolina Music (Rhythm & Blues) Hall of Fame in May 2006 and the Long Island Music Hall of Fame on October 15, 2006.
In 2007, Collectables Records
reissued the Brooklyn Bridge album Peace on Earth
as Songs of Inspiration. On March 31, 2009, the album Today, Volume 2
was released on CD by Collectables Records.
Johnny Maestro died on March 24, 2010, from cancer
in Cape Coral, Florida
, at age 70.
Roy Michaels is now lead vocalist for The Brooklyn Bridge. In April 2010, the Los Angeles-based rights-management firm Beach Road Music, LLC, acquired the Coed Records
catalog, subsequently re-releasing the Maestro song "The Great Physician" on the 2011 compilation album From The Vault: The Coed Records Lost Master Tapes, Volume 1. "The Great Physician" was originally released in 1960 as Coed 527, under the pseudonym "Johnny Masters".
Freddy Ferrara died on October 21, 2011, from cardiac arrest
.
Musical Director Tom Sullivan, keyboardist Carolyn Wood, guitarist Richie Macioce, bass guitarist Jimmy Rosica, trumpeter Shelly Davis, saxophonist Joe Ruvio and drummer Artie...and very briefly substituting for Richie Macioce, due to illness, Rick Solomon.
Current: Vocals: Roy Michaels, Les Cauchi, Joe Ruvio, keyboards and vocals Marty D'Amico, bass and vocals Jimmy Rosica, guitarist Jim Sarle and drummer Lou Agiesta. (This lineup also previously included members Ed Lisciandro [guitar and vocals], who was with the group for some of their earlier [PBS] performances, and Richie Bono, who played saxophone on many of their earlier recordings).
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
musical group, best known for their million selling rendition of Jimmy Webb
Jimmy Webb
Jimmy Webb is an American songwriter, composer, and singer. He wrote numerous platinum selling classics, including "Up, Up and Away", "By the Time I Get to Phoenix", "Wichita Lineman", "Galveston", "The Worst That Could Happen", "All I Know", and "MacArthur Park"...
's "The Worst That Could Happen
The Worst That Could Happen
"The Worst That Could Happen" is a song with lyrics and music written by singer-songwriter Jimmy Webb. Originally recorded by The 5th Dimension on their 1967 album of nearly all-Jimmy Webb songs, The Magic Garden, "The Worst That Could Happen" was later recorded by Johnny Maestro & The Brooklyn...
" (1968).
History
New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
-born Johnny Maestro (born John Mastrangelo; May 7, 1939 – March 24, 2010) began his career in 1957 as the original lead singer of The Crests
The Crests
The Crests were a New York R&B doo-wop group of the late 1950s and early 1960s. Their most popular song was "16 Candles", which rose to number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1959. It sold over one million copies, earning a gold disc. The interracial group had three black members , one Puerto...
, one of the first interracial groups of the recording industry. Patricia Van Dross, older sister to famed R&B singer Luther Vandross
Luther Vandross
Luther Ronzoni Vandross was an American singer-songwriter and record producer. During his career, Vandross sold over twenty-five million albums and won eight Grammy Awards including Best Male R&B Vocal Performance four times...
, sang with Johnny Maestro while The Crests were signed to the Joyce Record label. Before The Crests signed with Coed Records
Coed Records
George Paxton and Marvin Cane formed Coed Records, Inc. in New York City in 1958, and had offices at 1619 Broadway in the Brill Building. George Paxton produced many of the songs on this label, most of which were of the East Coast Doo-wop group style, and some of these became hit songs of the day...
, Patricia left the group because her mother didn't want her 15-year old daughter touring with the older guys. After a regional hit with "My Juanita"/"Sweetest One" on the Joyce label, and two years of chart success on Coed Records
Coed Records
George Paxton and Marvin Cane formed Coed Records, Inc. in New York City in 1958, and had offices at 1619 Broadway in the Brill Building. George Paxton produced many of the songs on this label, most of which were of the East Coast Doo-wop group style, and some of these became hit songs of the day...
with "16 Candles", "Six Nights A Week", "Step by Step", "The Angels Listened In", and "Trouble in Paradise", Maestro left The Crests for a solo career. Maestro was unable to reach his former chart heights with The Crests, but did have Top 40 hits with "What A Surprise" and "Model Girl" in 1961.
By 1967, another New York vocal group called The Del-Satins—who had become well-known in the New York area as weekly performers on the local dance party program The Clay Cole Show, had made several non-charting recordings between 1959 and 1967 under their own name, and were also noted for backing up Dion
Dion DiMucci
Dion Francis DiMucci , better known as Dion, is an American singer-songwriter whose work has incorporated elements of doo-wop, pop oldies music, rock and R&B styles....
on his post-Belmonts
Dion and the Belmonts
Dion and the Belmonts was a leading American vocal group of the late 1950s. The group formed when Dion DiMucci, lead singer , joined The Belmonts - Carlo Mastrangelo, baritone , Freddie Milano, second tenor , and Angelo D'Aleo, first tenor , in late 1957.-History:After an unsuccessful first single,...
recordings—were looking for a new lead singer to replace original lead Stan Zizka. Other members were brothers Fred and Tom Ferrara (baritone and bass), Les Cauchi (first tenor) and Bobby Faila (second tenor). According to Cauchi, members of the group ran into Maestro at a local gym, playing his guitar, and approached him with the offer to join the group. After initially turning them down, Maestro's manager, Betty Sperber, called Cauchi and told him Maestro had changed his mind.
In 1968, Sperber, owner and founder of the talent management and booking agency Action Talents in New York City, was hosting her once a month Battle of the Bands talent search at the Cloud Nine nightclub in Long Island and brought Maestro along as the evening's special guest star. Action Talents' Vice President and General Manager Alan White suggested that Maestro be backed up that night by a seven-piece brass-filled group of youngsters called The Rhythm Method. That night's performance was such a success that the next day Sperber decided to combine the talents of Maestro, the four Del-Satins, and The Rhythm Method. The new group's name came about after White made the off-handed comment that "it would be easier to sell the Brooklyn Bridge" than book the proposed 11-piece act.
Johnny and the Bridge rehearsed their unusual combination of smooth vocal harmonies and full horns, and signed a recording contract with Buddah records. Their first release, a version of the Jimmy Webb
Jimmy Webb
Jimmy Webb is an American songwriter, composer, and singer. He wrote numerous platinum selling classics, including "Up, Up and Away", "By the Time I Get to Phoenix", "Wichita Lineman", "Galveston", "The Worst That Could Happen", "All I Know", and "MacArthur Park"...
song "Worst That Could Happen" (a note-for-note cover of the version previously recorded by The 5th Dimension on the album The Magic Garden
The Magic Garden
The Magic Garden is the second album by American pop group The 5th Dimension, released in 1967 .-Track listing:All songs written by Jimmy Webb, except where noted#"Prologue" – 1:24#"The Magic Garden" – 2:48...
, which had not been released as a single), reached No. 3 on the Billboard pop chart. It sold over one and a quarter million copies, and was awarded a gold disc
Music recording sales certification
Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...
by the R.I.A.A.. The follow-up, "Welcome Me Love", and its flip side, "Blessed is the Rain" — both by Tony Romeo
Tony Romeo
Tony Romeo was an American songwriter. He is famous for writing the No.1 hit "I Think I Love You" by The Partridge Family as well as many other hit records, mostly during the 1960s and 1970s....
— each reached the Top 50. A dramatic version of "You'll Never Walk Alone" and the controversial "Your Husband, My Wife" also reached the middle ranges of the charts. The group sold over 10 million records by 1972, including LP sales, mostly produced by Wes Farrell
Wes Farrell
Wes Farrell was an American musician, songwriter and record producer, who was most active in the 1960s and 1970s...
. Appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show
The Ed Sullivan Show
The Ed Sullivan Show is an American TV variety show that originally ran on CBS from Sunday June 20, 1948 to Sunday June 6, 1971, and was hosted by New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan....
, The Della Reese Show
Della Reese
Delloreese Patricia Early, known professionally as Della Reese , is an American actress, singer, game show panelist of the 1970s, one-time talk-show hostess and ordained minister. She started her career in the 1950s as a gospel, pop and jazz singer, scoring a hit with her 1959 single "Don't You...
, and other programs helped to bring the group to the national stage.
After its heyday, The Brooklyn Bridge downsized to a five-man group, with the vocalists playing their own instruments. For example, Maestro could be seen on stage playing rhythm guitar, while former Rhythm Method bassist Jim Rosica picked up a vocal part. Later in the 1970s, as the Rock and Roll Revival evolved from a nostalgic fad to a respected genre, the group began to add members, retaining its core vocalists. By 1985, the group had solidified into an eight piece group, including original Del Satins, Cauchi and Fred Ferrara, and original Bridge member Rosica, and augmented by a horn section for special occasions. The drummer for the current line up, Lou Agiesta, was the drummer for the Original American Touring Company of Jesus Christ Superstar
Jesus Christ Superstar
Jesus Christ Superstar is a rock opera by Andrew Lloyd Webber, with lyrics by Tim Rice. The musical started off as a rock opera concept recording before its first staging on Broadway in 1971...
.
The later version of the Brooklyn Bridge released a Christmas EP in 1989 and a greatest hits compilation in 1993, re-recording Maestro's hits with The Crests. In the early 1990s, Maestro moonlighted as the background tenor on Joel Katz's studio project CD Joel & the Dymensions (which also featured baritone-bass Bobby Jay). In 1994, The Brooklyn Bridge recorded a 10-song a cappella CD.
Recently, the Brooklyn Bridge was featured in one of PBS's biggest fundraising events ever, "Doo Wop 50", performing both "16 Candles" and "The Worst That Could Happen"; the entire program was released on VHS and DVD. In 2005, the Brooklyn Bridge released a full concert-length DVD as part of the Pops Legends Live series. They continue to tour and in 2004 released a CD on the Collectables label titled Today
Today (Johnny Maestro and The Brooklyn Bridge album)
Today is collection of classic songs by The Brooklyn Bridge and The Crests, as well as other notable doo wop songs, that were re-recorded by the current line-up of Johnny Maestro & The Brooklyn Bridge. The album was released on May 11, 2004 by Collectables Records...
, featuring more re-recordings of their hits and versions of other groups' songs of the 1950s and 1960s.
The Brooklyn Bridge was inducted into the Vocal Group Hall Of Fame
Vocal Group Hall of Fame
The Vocal Group Hall of Fame was organized to honor outstanding vocal groups throughout the world. It is headquartered in Sharon, Pennsylvania, United States. It includes a theater and a museum....
in 2005. They were inducted into the South Carolina Music (Rhythm & Blues) Hall of Fame in May 2006 and the Long Island Music Hall of Fame on October 15, 2006.
In 2007, Collectables Records
Collectables Records
Collectables is a reissue record label founded in 1980 by Jerry Greene. Greene was previously associated with New York City's Times Square Record Shop, Philadelphia's Record Museum retail chain, and the Lost Nite and Crimson record labels....
reissued the Brooklyn Bridge album Peace on Earth
Peace on Earth (Johnny Maestro album)
Peace On Earth is an album of inspirational songs by Johnny Maestro and The Brooklyn Bridge. Originally released in 2002, it was reissued in 2007 as Songs of Inspiration by Collectables Records.-Track listing:...
as Songs of Inspiration. On March 31, 2009, the album Today, Volume 2
Today, Volume 2 (Johnny Maestro and The Brooklyn Bridge album)
Today, Volume 2 is a studio recording made by Johnny Maestro & The Brooklyn Bridge and released on March 31, 2009 by Collectables Records. It was issued as a follow-up to their 2004 album, Today.-Track listing:#"The Star-Spangled Banner"...
was released on CD by Collectables Records.
Johnny Maestro died on March 24, 2010, from cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
in Cape Coral, Florida
Cape Coral, Florida
Cape Coral is a municipality located in Lee County, Florida, United States, on the Gulf of Mexico. Founded in 1957 and developed as a master-planned, pre-platted community, the city grew to a population of 154,305 by the year 2010. With an area of , Cape Coral is the largest city between Tampa and...
, at age 70.
Roy Michaels is now lead vocalist for The Brooklyn Bridge. In April 2010, the Los Angeles-based rights-management firm Beach Road Music, LLC, acquired the Coed Records
Coed Records
George Paxton and Marvin Cane formed Coed Records, Inc. in New York City in 1958, and had offices at 1619 Broadway in the Brill Building. George Paxton produced many of the songs on this label, most of which were of the East Coast Doo-wop group style, and some of these became hit songs of the day...
catalog, subsequently re-releasing the Maestro song "The Great Physician" on the 2011 compilation album From The Vault: The Coed Records Lost Master Tapes, Volume 1. "The Great Physician" was originally released in 1960 as Coed 527, under the pseudonym "Johnny Masters".
Freddy Ferrara died on October 21, 2011, from cardiac arrest
Cardiac arrest
Cardiac arrest, is the cessation of normal circulation of the blood due to failure of the heart to contract effectively...
.
Discography
- See Johnny Maestro & The Brooklyn Bridge discographyJohnny Maestro & The Brooklyn Bridge discographyA discography for the band Johnny Maestro & The Brooklyn Bridge.-Studio albums:*1968 Brooklyn Bridge*1969 The Second Brooklyn Bridge*1970 The Brooklyn Bridge*1972 The Bridge in Blue*1989 Christmas Is...*1993 Johnny Maestro and The Brooklyn Bridge...
for a complete discography.
Lineups
Original: Vocals: Johnny Maestro, Les Cauchi, Fred Ferrara, Mike Gregorio.Musical Director Tom Sullivan, keyboardist Carolyn Wood, guitarist Richie Macioce, bass guitarist Jimmy Rosica, trumpeter Shelly Davis, saxophonist Joe Ruvio and drummer Artie...and very briefly substituting for Richie Macioce, due to illness, Rick Solomon.
Current: Vocals: Roy Michaels, Les Cauchi, Joe Ruvio, keyboards and vocals Marty D'Amico, bass and vocals Jimmy Rosica, guitarist Jim Sarle and drummer Lou Agiesta. (This lineup also previously included members Ed Lisciandro [guitar and vocals], who was with the group for some of their earlier [PBS] performances, and Richie Bono, who played saxophone on many of their earlier recordings).