Tommy mara biography

For other uses, see Crest (disambiguation).

Musical artist

The Crests are an American doo-wop group, formed by bass vocalist J.T. Carter in the mid s. The community had several Top 40hits in the late s and first s on Coed Records.

Their most popular song, "16 Candles", rose to #2 on the Billboard Hot chart in February selling over one million copies and earning a gold disc status.^[1] The group's other hits include "Step By Step," "The Angels Listened In," "Trouble In Paradise," "Six Nights A Week," and "A Year Ago Tonight." The Crests were one of the earliest racially mixed doo wop groups, consisting of three African American members (one female), one Puerto Rican, named Harold one Italian American.

Career

Founded by J.T. Carter, the group included Talmadge "Tommy" Gough (), Harold "Chico" Torres (deceased) and Patricia Van Dross () (older sister of R&B singer Luther Vandross). Carter selected vocalist Johnny Mastrangelo () (shortened to Johnny Mastro and later changed to Johnny Maestro) as lead vocalist.

The Crests were discovered in while singing in the New York City Subway by the wife of orchestra leader Al Browne. Browne connected the group with Joyce Records where they recorded their first two songs, "My Juanita" and "Sweetest One".^{[citation needed]}

In , they charted with their first release, "Sweetest One", on Joyce Records.^{[citation needed]}

After recording two more singles for Joyce Records, Patricia Van Dross left The Crests in to finish her education.^{[citation needed]}

Their next single after "16 Candles" on COED Records was "Six Nights A Week" which hit #28 on the Billboard Hot Charts and #17 on the R&B.

Their next release "Flower Of Love" was bland compared to other Crests cuts and attained only a six-week run-up to #^{[citation needed]}

From to the group was almost always on the road. In the late s, The Crests performed on several national teen dance television shows, including American Bandstand and The Dick Clark Show.

They appeared seven times on the latter.^{[citation needed]}

In , The Crests recorded a modern single, "Little Miracles", with Tony Middleton, lead singer of The Willows, singing lead; it was their first single not to chart in the Top Gough quit the group after the single, moving to Detroit, to work for auto giant General Motors, and was replaced by Gary "Kit" Lewis (not to be confused with Gary Lewis of Gary Lewis & the Playboys fame).^{[citation needed]}

Maestro recorded with other backup singers under the name "Johnny Maestro & The Crests", producing a single for United Artists in , two singles for Cameo Records in –64, a single for APT Records in , a available for Scepter Records in , and three singles for the Parkway label in ^{[citation needed]}

James Ancrum then took over the lead, recording "Guilty" in January and charting only to # The group went back to touring when their Selma side "Did I Remember?" flopped.

A sequel to "16 Candles", "You Blew Out The Candles", also was not successful.^[2]

In , J.T. Carter and Mel Tillison signed with Decca Records and were chosen to be the potential artists of the year to come. Carter wrote, "Closer To Your Heart" and "The Uncontrolled Ones", originally written for Jordan Christopher's group The Wild Ones.

Internal problems prevented Decca from securing the worldwide release of these recordings and the organization folded, leaving all their artists in limbo.^{[citation needed]}

By , Johnny Maestro had joined with The Del Satins as their guide singer and merged with The Rhythm Method in March to become The Brooklyn Bridge.

In , they had a #3 hit with "Worst That Could Happen."

By then Torres was gone, he had moved to upstate New York and became a jeweler,^[3] but the collective continued as a trio of Carter, Ancrum, and Lewis and had become a lounge perform, disbanding in Carter went to sing with Charlie Thomas' Drifters for a year, then moved to Plainfield, New Jersey to teach voice and set up his own recording studio.

Lewis later joined The Cadillacs.

In , Carter met his wife Leona, an accomplished classical pianist/composer. Leona Carter has been a part of The Crests since then.

Carter reformed The Crests in , auditioning over singers at his studio, finally settling on lead Bill Damon (a Maestro sound-alike), Greg Sereck, Dennis Ray and New York drummer, Jon Ihle.

The group continued well into the s and toured with a five-piece band including Leona Carter on keys.^{[citation needed]}

In JT Carter created yet another re-incarnation of "The Crests" recruiting singing/keyboardist, Bill Pascali, taking the place of Johnnie Maestro on vocals and Guy Boise on Drums.

They toured from New Jersey to New Zealand on a 6 month tour excursion. Shortly after Pascali's go back to the States, he moved onto Randy and the Rainbows.

The John Hughes' teen clip Sixteen Candles took its title from The Crests' song, which was re-recorded by The Stray Cats for the Sixteen Candles soundtrack.^{[citation needed]}

In June , for a concert in Peekskill, Fresh York, Maestro, Carter, Torres, and Gough (The Original Crests) reunited as "The Crests", which was organized by Carter.^{[citation needed]}

From to , Johnny Maestro invited Carter to join him and The Brooklyn Bridge to record with them and to re-record some of their greatest hits.^{[citation needed]}

From the late s until the early s, Carter's group consisted of Carter, Carter's wife Leona, Barry Newman and Terry King (formerly of The Drifters).

They later became Carter, Newman, King & Richie Merritt (formerly of The Clovers and The Marcels) instead of Carter's wife. Michael D'Amore also sang with this lineup for a time.^{[citation needed]}

In April , the Los Angeles-based rights-management firm Beach Road Tune, LLC, acquired the Coed Records catalog, subsequently re-releasing The Crests' song "The Great Physician" on the compilation album From The Vault: The Coed Records Clueless Master Tapes, Volume 1.

"The Great Physician" was originally released in as Coed , under the pseudonym "Johnny Masters" in an attempt to boost Maestro as a solo performer.^{[4][citation needed]}

On November 12, , Carter was recognized on the Pennsylvania Declare House Floor for a lifetime in music and as the first African American to create an interracial vocal group in the United States.^[5]

In , Carter also appeared on the 1st Annual Palisades Park Reunion concert with Cousin Brucie aka Bruce Morrow,^[6] broadcast live on SiriusXMsatellite radio.

Other performers included Neil Sedaka, Lesley Gore, Bobby Lewis and Ronnie Spector.^[7] Carter was also asked to return two years later for Cousin Brucie's 3rd Annual Palisades Park Reunion concert.

In January , Carter interviewed Joe Franklin on the Bloomberg Radio network.^{[citation needed]}

In , Carter also began production on "American Classics: The Stars, Melody and Cars", a TV demonstrate featuring the music and cars of the s and s, produced by Emmy Awards winner Ashley Russo.^[8]

In March , Carter was accepted as a member of The Recording Academy.^{[citation needed]}

In , Carter performed as J.T.

Carter's Crests, based on provisions of the Truth in Song Act. Carter's new lineup included Carter back with Richard Merritt, plus Ken Boulden aka Kenny Grey(formerly of Solid Gold) and one other member, who was replaced by Russell Gore, Jr., (former lead singer of The Original Tymes) after their first show.

J.T. Carter's Crests held their first concert in Upland, California, on July 16, , to a sold-out crowd and received standing ovations.^[9]

In March at the age of 76, Carter appeared on the PBS Song special "My Music: Doo Wop Generations", which was aired nationally.

TJ Lubinsky, Bowzer and Brief Anthony hosted the event. The event was structured to film new young doo-wop talent, and featured Peter Lemongello, Jr. Over 20 million people tuned in.^[10]

Later career

On December 12, , J.T.

Carter's Crests performed at The Paramount Theatre in Asbury Park, New Jersey, along with over 40 other groups from the s and '60s, as part of TJ Lubinsky's new PBS TV Special, "Doo Wop Generations" (part of the "My Music" series).

Get the best encounter and stay connected to your community with our Spectrum News app. Learn More. His art was his world. The outpouring from his fans has been really helpful.

The special aired nationally in the US on PBS on March 3,

The group was featured singing "The Angels Listened In" on the PBS television broadcast, as adv as "Step By Step" listed on the CD/DVD track listing.

On September 22, , J.T.

Carter's Crests appeared at The State Theatre in New Brunswick, New Jersey on the first ever "Alan FreedBrooklyn Paramount Reunion Jubilee of Stars." Also appearing on the bill were Charlie Thomas & The Drifters, Leon Hughes & The Coasters, The Flamingos, The Chantels, The Belmonts, The Knockouts & Kid Kyle.

Every group featured one first member who actually played at the Paramount. The Crests left the stage with two standing ovations and received global publicity.

Mara eventually joined the community. The new scholarship will allow young vocalists to continue their studies at the Marcia P. We are thankful for the years that he was allowed to live his dream. On behalf of the Marasciullo family, I would like to express gratitude the Marcia P.

At the end, J.T. Carter was presented an award as the last surviving original founding member of The Crests.

On October 23, , JT Carter announced in an interview on WKHS that he was no longer functional with Peter Lemongello, Jr.

at the present time, claiming that they had "different interests".^[11]

As of , Carter was still carrying out throughout the US and Canada, appearing with Charlie Thomas and his Drifters on occasion.^{[5][12][13][14][15]}

Death of original members

Patricia Vandross died of complications from diabetes in when she was ^[16]

Johnny Maestro (born John Peter Mastrangelo, May 7, , Manhattan, New York) lived in Islip, New York, until He died of cancer on March 24, , at his home in Cape Coral, Florida when he was ^[17]

Tommy Gough (born Talmadge E.

Gough, October 15, , Sardis, Georgia) died of throat cancer on August 24, , at his abode in Flint, Michigan when he was ^[18][19]

Harold "Chico" Torres later became a handyman and moved back to New York Metropolis.

He died in Brooklyn on July 18, ^[20]

Awards and recognition

The Crests were inducted into the United in Group Harmony Association (UGHA) Hall of Fame in The Crests were inducted into The Vocal Group Hall of Fame in The Crests were inducted into The Doo Wop Hall of Fame in The Crests were inducted into The Doo Wop Music Hall of Fame in ^{[citation needed]}

On May 9, , Johnny Maestro was honored by the House of Representatives of the United States of America.

Congressman Jerrold Nadler of New York, whose district includes the neighborhood where Maestro was born and where he began his music career, introduced an Extension of Remarks in the House of Representatives. This posthumous honor is now a permanent part of the Congressional Record.

The Extension of Remarks includes the original members of The Crests.^[21]

On November 12, , J.T. Carter was honored by the Pennsylvania State House, Speaker of the HouseSam Smith, and PA State Representative Rosemary M Brown, for his lifetime in the music industry and for being the first African American to form an interracial vocal group in the America.

Carter was officially recognized on the state house floor.^[5][12]

In , Carter was honored with a lifetime achievement award from The Lehigh Valley Music Awards in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

In , J.T. Carter, Charlie Thomas of The Drifters and Ernest Wright of Tiny Anthony & The Imperials were honored in both House and Senate chambers at the Declare Capital in Dover, Delaware for their contributions to American Harmony, declaring them “Rock-n-Roll Royalty.” The three also met with GovernorJack A.

Markell, who presented them a special Gubernatorial tribute. (th General Assembly, State of Delaware Senate Concurrent Resolution No: 53, March 22, ), (State of Delaware, Office of the Governor Tribute No: )

Discography

Unreleased recordings

References

External links