Member Since: 11/20/2007
Band Website: theelegants.net
Band Members:
provided by: www.commentbaby.comVito Picone , born and raised in South Beach, Staten Island spent four years at New Dorp H.S. Graduated from the Germain School of Photography in NYC. He has owned Headline Talent Inc., a booking agency on Broadway in New York City for almost 20 years. He has two sons and one daughter. He is still a resident of Staten Island.Antonio " Nino" Amato grew up in the Mariners Harbor section of Staten Island. He graduated from Port Richmond H.S. Nino has one brother and two sisters. Married with three sons and a daughter, he now resides in Westerleigh, Staten Island.Vincent "Jimmy" Moschello was born in New Brighton, Staten Island and has two brothers and a sister. Jimmy went to McKee H.S. and married his childhood sweetheart. While working for the N.Y. Transit Authority he raised five (count'em) sons and lives in Eltingville, Staten Island.Bruce "Sonny" Copp played guitar with his father's band when he was just 13 years old. He grew up in the Berry Projects in Dongan Hills, Staten Island and graduated from the first class at Monsignor Farrell High School He is now in King of Prussia, PA with his wife and two sons.
Influences: History (Original Group)Vito Picone and original member Carmen Romano met in the 1st grade at P.S. 39 in the South Beach Section of Staten Island NY. Both had a young widowed mother and just one sibling and lived two blocks away from each other, it was inevitable that the two would become friends immediately. As they approached the 4th grade, the NYC Board of Education started a music program and oddly enough Vito and Carmen were chosen as two of the four trombone players. The other two were Vinny Licastri, who became Vito's best friend (who would later die of leukemia at age 16, the night The Elegants recorded "Little Star") and Ronnie Jones.Vito, Carmen and Ronnie would form their first singing group in 1955 with a pretty trumpet player in the band named Patricia Crocitto (daughter of the owner of a popular night club Crocitto's).They fashioned their sound after the red hot vocal group "The Teenagers" because Patricia had the high Frankie Lymon sounding voice and Vito could do the bass like Sherman Garnes. They called themselves "Pat Cordel and The Crescents".After winning a singing contest, where the 1st prize was a recording contract, they recorded two songs "Darling Come Back" written by Vito and "My Tears" written by the whole group.One of the first white rock and roll artists to have a recording contract, they toured with such acts as The Willows, The Fi-Tones, The Solitaires, etc. in mostly "Black" venues.After their manager/Record Label Owner was tragically killed in Little Italy, they disbanded.Pat became one of the June Taylor dancers (Jackie Gleason Show), Ronnie became a commercial artist. Vito and Carmen decided that they enjoyed the entertainment world and would like to continue.So back to their old hangout, the F.D.R Boardwalk in South Beach where at any given summer night you could find a hundred or so teenagers including Bobby Darin or Johnny Maestro who's families had summer bungalows nearby.They met Artie Venosa (co-wrote "Little Star" with Vito) who sang with various local groups and found he was also interested in pursuing a singing career. He contacted Jimmy Moschello who enjoyed singing and introduced him to Vito and Carmen.The last piece of the puzzle was Frank Tardogno who attended New Dorp High School with Vito. Their first rehearsal was magic, but now they needed a name. On his way to one of their rehearsals, Vito passed a local tavern owned by the father of his other close friend, Ben Sarullo (Head Coach at Monsignor Farrell High School). In the window was a cardboard placard which read "Schenley, The Whiskey of Elegance".He converted the word Elegance, suggested it to the other guys when he arrived, and the rest is history.They knocked on the doors of their favorite record labels in Manhattan, giving live auditions, and were ecstatic when Hull records the home of their idols "The Heartbeats" gave them a record deal.The group was sub-let to ABC-Paramount and their first record "Little Star" was released on a subsidiary APT records.The song sold 80,000 copies in New York City within the first week and reached no. 1 almost immediately, not only in the U.S. but internationally as well.The Elegants became only the second "white" vocal group to register a no. 1 record. (Preceded 6 months earlier by Danny and The Juniors, "At The Hop").
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Record Label: APT (SUBSIDIARY OF ABC PARAMOUNT)
Type of Label: Major