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On this day, May 7, 1939, Johnny Maestro was born.
Johnny Maestro
Maestro (right) in 1985. {Arnie John Runge is on the left.}
Background information
Birth name: John Peter Mastrangelo
Also known as: Johnny Maestro
Born: May 7, 1939; Manhattan, New York City, USA
Died: March 24, 2010 (aged 70); Cape Coral, Florida, USA
John Peter Mastrangelo (May 7, 1939 – March 24, 2010), known as Johnny Maestro, was an American pop singer. He was the lead vocalist for the doo-wop group The Crests, whose song "16 Candles" went to number two on the Billboard Hot 100. He later lead The Brooklyn Bridge, who are best known for their cover of the Jimmy Webb song "Worst That Could Happen".
Maestro continued singing as frontman for the Brooklyn Bridge. With this group, they were inducted into three major music hall of fames. After his death from cancer in 2010, a section of Mason and Midland avenue in Staten Island was remained to "Johnny Maestro Way" in his honor in 2011.
Career
The Crests
In 1956, seventeen-year old Mastrangelo (performing as Johnny Maestro) formed The Crests. The band was formed by J.T. Carter and other street kids living in Manhattan, including first tenor Talmadge “Tommy” Gough, second tenor Harold Torres, and tenor Patricia Van Dross (the older sister to Luther Vandross), all residents of the Alfred E. Smith housing project in the lower east side of Manhattan. In 1956, Mastrangelo, who lived on nearby Mulberry Street, met the group at the Henry Street Settlement House. "The three background singers had originally formed the group themselves. When I met them, they were learning harmonies from a gospel singer. They were looking for a lead singer, and they lived in the same neighborhood as I did. They had heard I was singing with a couple of friends in the neighborhood, approached me and asked if I would sing with them. I was very impressed with the sound they were getting and joined them. We’d sing in the park and at dances and on the trains."
In 1958, they recorded the song "16 Candles", that went to number two on the Billboard Hot 100 that same year. They were one of the first multi-racial groups. In just more than four years, the group placed 13 records on Billboard's pop chart, six inside the Top 20 including "Step By Step" and "The Angels Listened In", defining examples of the rock ’n’ roll vocal group genre. At one point, it was said that Tony Orlando was a member of the Crests. After leaving the Crests in the early 1960s, Maestro performed briefly as a solo singer.
The Brooklyn Bridge
In 1968, Maestro joined The Del-Satins. The same year, Maestro combined the Del-Satins, and Long Island group The Rhythm Method to become the group The Brooklyn Bridge. Johnny told The New York Times in 1994 about choosing the name "Brooklyn Bridge": "So we decided we’d pick a new one, we were sitting around the office, and someone said: ‘This is going to be difficult. We have 11 people. That’s hard to sell. It’s easier to sell the Brooklyn Bridge.’ We said, ‘That’s the name!’".
{snip}
Maestro (right) in 1985. {Arnie John Runge is on the left.}
Background information
Birth name: John Peter Mastrangelo
Also known as: Johnny Maestro
Born: May 7, 1939; Manhattan, New York City, USA
Died: March 24, 2010 (aged 70); Cape Coral, Florida, USA
John Peter Mastrangelo (May 7, 1939 – March 24, 2010), known as Johnny Maestro, was an American pop singer. He was the lead vocalist for the doo-wop group The Crests, whose song "16 Candles" went to number two on the Billboard Hot 100. He later lead The Brooklyn Bridge, who are best known for their cover of the Jimmy Webb song "Worst That Could Happen".
Maestro continued singing as frontman for the Brooklyn Bridge. With this group, they were inducted into three major music hall of fames. After his death from cancer in 2010, a section of Mason and Midland avenue in Staten Island was remained to "Johnny Maestro Way" in his honor in 2011.
Career
The Crests
In 1956, seventeen-year old Mastrangelo (performing as Johnny Maestro) formed The Crests. The band was formed by J.T. Carter and other street kids living in Manhattan, including first tenor Talmadge “Tommy” Gough, second tenor Harold Torres, and tenor Patricia Van Dross (the older sister to Luther Vandross), all residents of the Alfred E. Smith housing project in the lower east side of Manhattan. In 1956, Mastrangelo, who lived on nearby Mulberry Street, met the group at the Henry Street Settlement House. "The three background singers had originally formed the group themselves. When I met them, they were learning harmonies from a gospel singer. They were looking for a lead singer, and they lived in the same neighborhood as I did. They had heard I was singing with a couple of friends in the neighborhood, approached me and asked if I would sing with them. I was very impressed with the sound they were getting and joined them. We’d sing in the park and at dances and on the trains."
In 1958, they recorded the song "16 Candles", that went to number two on the Billboard Hot 100 that same year. They were one of the first multi-racial groups. In just more than four years, the group placed 13 records on Billboard's pop chart, six inside the Top 20 including "Step By Step" and "The Angels Listened In", defining examples of the rock ’n’ roll vocal group genre. At one point, it was said that Tony Orlando was a member of the Crests. After leaving the Crests in the early 1960s, Maestro performed briefly as a solo singer.
The Brooklyn Bridge
In 1968, Maestro joined The Del-Satins. The same year, Maestro combined the Del-Satins, and Long Island group The Rhythm Method to become the group The Brooklyn Bridge. Johnny told The New York Times in 1994 about choosing the name "Brooklyn Bridge": "So we decided we’d pick a new one, we were sitting around the office, and someone said: ‘This is going to be difficult. We have 11 people. That’s hard to sell. It’s easier to sell the Brooklyn Bridge.’ We said, ‘That’s the name!’".
{snip}
Johnny Maestro & Brooklyn Bridge - "16 Candles" Live - 1990
DOOWOP TRB
6.53K subscribers
19,698 views Jul 6, 2020
Original lead singer Johnny Maestro reprises his 1958 hit with the Crests, "16 Candles" on stage in New York, NY in 1990 with the Brooklyn Bridge.
DOOWOP TRB
6.53K subscribers
19,698 views Jul 6, 2020
Original lead singer Johnny Maestro reprises his 1958 hit with the Crests, "16 Candles" on stage in New York, NY in 1990 with the Brooklyn Bridge.
