About Me
Thank you Ronnie, my best friend, for the wonderful times.....
To write a loving, thoughtful message in Ronnie I's guestbook go to this link:
http://www.legacy.com/NorthJersey/DeathNotices.asp?Page=Life
Story&PersonID=105050401
THE GROUP HARMONY ALLEY with CHRISTINE VITALE
Sundays, 6PM TO 9PM Eastern
89.1/FM -WFDU - Teaneck, NJ
streaming live at www.wfdu.fm..........
I became interested in vocal groups of the 1950s when I discovered the Doo-Wopp Shop on WCBS-FM. Hungry for greater diversity and deeper insight into the roots of this music, I began reading everything I could find on it, developing and cultivating, and refining my taste.
SELF DEVELOPMENT:..........At about this time I became a member of, and by 1988, an employee of, the United In Group Harmony Association (UGHA), the unique nonprofit organization founded in 1976, by its President, Ronnie Italiano (Ronnie I.), dedicated to the preservation, exposure and education of rhythm & blues vocal group music from the 1940s, 1950s and early 1960s.
For years, under the tutelage of UGHA President Ronnie I., I studied this music and began to realize the multiple perspectives with which one could view the phenomenon of this largely-urban musical subculture, not only because of its diverse styles in harmony and overall sound, but also how the music as a whole related to the larger part of society in which it experienced its fashionable prime, and noticing its tremendous influence on musical styles that followed it. I found opportunities to teach seminars about the history of r&b/doo-wopp vocal group music to a variety of audiences: adults, young adolescents, teenagers and to striving acappella groups who wanted to capture the sound and essence of the era.
RADIO EXPERIENCE:........
I served as co-host with Ronnie I. for a combined five years on UGHA’s educational trademark radio program, “Ronnie I’s R&B Party†on WNYE/91.5-FM public radio, and on commercial radio WNWK/105.9-FM, and the “Ronnie I Just For U†program. Eventually I became newscaster on WFDU/89.1FM.
In 2003, with CBS-FM having dropped its doo-wopp Shop, WFDU-FM rolled the dice and took a chance on the R&B/doo-wopp vocal group genre, with me at the helm. Its proven success bodes for its formidable place in the Sunday night vocal group tradition.
CHOICE...Jersey City's Bad Boys of Acappella performing Sonny Norton & The Crows "Gee" for a Japanese television documentary, in front of Ronnie I's Clifton Music at 1135 Main Ave., Clifton, NJ.
The Flamingos' "Voit Voit" (aka "Jump Children")