Category: DION/DION AND THE BELMONTS
HOPE YOU WILL JOIN ME FOR SOME NEW POSTS AND TRIVIA TEASER QUESTIONS THIS WEEK….THANKS FOR READING MY BLOG EACH DAY.
I WILL BE BROADCASTING MY INTERNET RADIO SHOW THIS WEEK ON…TUESDAY & THURSDAY FROM 10AM-2PM AND FRIDAY FROM 9AM-12NOON…EASTERN TIME ZONE ON www.oldiesplus.net HOPE YOU CAN JOIN ME…
I WILL ALSO BE BROADCASTING ON SATURDAY FROM 11AM-1PM ON www.doowopcafe.net HOPE YOU CAN JOIN ME ALSO.
TILL THE NEXT TIME—JOE
Fred Milano of The Belmonts and Dion and The Belmonts died on January 4, 2012 of lung 
cancer. He lived in Massapequa, on New York’s Long Island. He and his friends Angelo D’Aleo and Carlo Mastrangelo from the Bronx, formed The Belmonts in the mid 1950′s.
They became Dion and The Belmonts after Dion DiMucci joined the group in 1958. Dion and The Belmonts charted one classic hit after another, including…I WONDER WHY… in 1958…A TEENAGER IN LOVE…1959…WHERE OR WHEN…1959…NO ONE KNOWS…1958 and other classic hit single records. In 1960 Dion left the group to go solo. The Belmonts charted a string of hits in 1961 with…TELL ME WHY and COME ON LITTLE ANGEL in 1962. They charted 7 Billboard Hot 100 hit single records between 1961 and 1981.
Fred Milano was born in the Bronx on August 26, 1939. He became a legal coordinator at New York’s Rikers Island jail complex, helping inmates research their cases…his place in rock history is secured through the legacy of his outstanding music with Dion and The Belmonts and The Belmonts…he lives in the “GOLDEN ERA OF ROCK AND ROLL”.
Till the next time—Joe
“MERRY CHRISTMAS” FROM THE “GOLDEN ERA OF ROCK AND ROLL”
Norman Fox & The Rob Roys never charted a national hit record, but their 1957 re
cording of TELL ME WHY on Back Beat Records is considered a classic by doo-wop music fans of the era. The Rob Roys single on Back Beat Records (501) was a hit on the East coast, especially, New York and Philadelphia. The group was originally called The Velvetones. Back Beat records was a Gospel Music label and not equiped for the rock and roll market. This in itself led to poor promotion of Norman Fox & The Rob Roys recordings…in a market that was flooded with new material.
The group would record other great material on Back Beat…DANCE, GIRL, DANCE, LOVER DOLL and DREAM GIRL / PIZZA PIE in 1958 on Capitol Records. The group that formed in the Bronx, New York in 1956 was one of the few interracial groups recording at this time. The group took their name from the “Rob Roy” cocktail. Members included: Norman Fox-lead, Bob Trotman, Andre Lilly, Robert Thierer and Marshall “Buzzy” Helfand. Back Beat Records was a subsidiary of the Duke/Peacock Records in 1957. The group without a national hit split in 1963. They reunited briefly in 1971 and 1986.
The Belmonts, without Dion, recorded their version of TELL ME WHY in 1961. The single on Sabrina Records became a hit for them when it made its Billboard Hot 100 debut on May 22, 1961. TELL MY WHY climbed the Hot 100 to #18, becomming The Belmonts first Hot 100 hit, after their split with Dion.
The “GOLDEN ERA OF ROCK A
ND ROLL” BRINGS THE ORIGINAL HIT BY…NORMAN FOX & THE ROB ROYS…AND…THE BELMONTS…1961 HIT. Great music, from the earl days of rock and roll.
Norman Fox & The Rob Roys – Tell Me Why – 1957
The Belmonts – Tell Me Why – 1961
Till the next time—Joe
