The Crests
Encyclopedia
The Crests were a New York
R&B
doo-wop
group
of the late 1950s and early 1960s. Their most popular song was "16 Candles", which rose to number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100
chart
in 1959. It sold over one million copies, earning a gold disc
. The interracial group had three black
members (one female), one Puerto Rica
n, and one Italian-American.
of R&B great Luther Vandross
). Carter selected vocalist Johnny Mastrangelo (later just Johnny Maestro) to perform as lead vocalist for the group. Maestro's vocal style on the group's recordings became instantly recognizable and a juke box favorite of the national teen audiences. Maestro's quality vocals, great song selections, and recordings with dance-easy beats made the winning combination for charted hits. The group had several Top 40 hits in the late 1950s and early 1960s on Coed Records
, including "16 Candles", "Six Nights a Week", "The Angels Listened In", "A Year Ago Tonight", "Step By Step" and "Trouble In Paradise". They also charted with "Sweetest One" (Joyce label) in 1957. The Crests appeared and performed several times on national teen dance television shows in the late 1950s.
Van Dross left The Crests in 1958 after recording two singles for Joyce Records. Maestro left for a solo career in 1961. He would later join The Del Satins, which would merge with The Rhythm Method to become Johnny Maestro & The Brooklyn Bridge
. They had a Top 5 hit with "The Worst That Could Happen
" in 1969. His place in The Crests was taken by new lead James Ancrum. The group recorded a new single, "Little Miracles". It was the first single not to chart in the Top 100. They also recorded "Guilty" (Selma label). Gough quit the group after the single, and was replaced by Gary Lewis (not to be confused with Gary Lewis of Gary Lewis & the Playboys
fame). The group failed to find success throughout the decade.
Torres would also be gone by the late 1960s. The group continued as a trio of Carter, Ancrum, and Lewis. This lineup continued until 1978, when the group split. Carter went on to sing with Charlie Thomas' Drifters
.
Carter then reformed the group in 1980. He auditioned over 200 singers, finally settling on lead Bill Damon, Greg Sereck, and Dennis Ray and New York drummer Jon Ihle. Carter continued the group well into the 1990s. He sold the trademarks to The Crests name to Tommy Mara in the late 1990s. Mara was Carter's lead vocalist at the time, and now continues the group without Carter. Carter now performs as part of the three person group Starz. Lewis is now singing with The Cadillacs
.
The 1984 John Hughes teen film, Sixteen Candles
, took its title from The Crests' song
, which was re-recorded by The Stray Cats for the Sixteen Candles soundtrack
.
In 1987, Maestro, Carter, Torres and Gough reunited as The Crests for a reunion concert in Peekskill, New York.
Patricia Van Dross died in 1993 of complications from diabetes. Hal Torres is deceased, and Tommy Gough is living in Flint, Michigan.
Johnny Maestro, died Wednesday, March 24, 2010, at his home in Cape Coral, Florida
. He was 70 and had lived in Islip, New York
, until 2003.
In April 2010, the Los Angeles-based rights-management firm Beach Road Music, LLC, acquired the Coed Records
catalog, subsequently re-releasing the Maestro song "The Great Physician" on the 2011 compilation album From The Vault: The Coed Records Lost Master Tapes, Volume 1. "The Great Physician" was originally released in 1960 as Coed 527, under the pseudonym "Johnny Masters".
The Crests were inducted into The Vocal Group Hall of Fame
in 2004.
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
R&B
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
doo-wop
Doo-wop
The name Doo-wop is given to a style of vocal-based rhythm and blues music that developed in African American communities in the 1940s and achieved mainstream popularity in the 1950s and early 1960s. It emerged from New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Baltimore, Newark, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and...
group
Band (music)
In music, a musical ensemble or band is a group of musicians that works together to perform music. The following articles concern types of musical bands:* All-female band* Big band* Boy band* Christian band* Church band* Concert band* Cover band...
of the late 1950s and early 1960s. Their most popular song was "16 Candles", which rose to number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
chart
Record chart
A record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....
in 1959. It sold over one million copies, earning a gold disc
Music recording sales certification
Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...
. The interracial group had three black
Black people
The term black people is used in systems of racial classification for humans of a dark skinned phenotype, relative to other racial groups.Different societies apply different criteria regarding who is classified as "black", and often social variables such as class, socio-economic status also plays a...
members (one female), one Puerto Rica
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
n, and one Italian-American.
Career
The band was founded by J. T. Carter and included Talmoudge Gough, Harold Torres, and Patricia Van Dross (older sisterSibling
Siblings are people who share at least one parent. A male sibling is called a brother; and a female sibling is called a sister. In most societies throughout the world, siblings usually grow up together and spend a good deal of their childhood socializing with one another...
of R&B great Luther Vandross
Luther Vandross
Luther Ronzoni Vandross was an American singer-songwriter and record producer. During his career, Vandross sold over twenty-five million albums and won eight Grammy Awards including Best Male R&B Vocal Performance four times...
). Carter selected vocalist Johnny Mastrangelo (later just Johnny Maestro) to perform as lead vocalist for the group. Maestro's vocal style on the group's recordings became instantly recognizable and a juke box favorite of the national teen audiences. Maestro's quality vocals, great song selections, and recordings with dance-easy beats made the winning combination for charted hits. The group had several Top 40 hits in the late 1950s and early 1960s on Coed Records
Coed Records
George Paxton and Marvin Cane formed Coed Records, Inc. in New York City in 1958, and had offices at 1619 Broadway in the Brill Building. George Paxton produced many of the songs on this label, most of which were of the East Coast Doo-wop group style, and some of these became hit songs of the day...
, including "16 Candles", "Six Nights a Week", "The Angels Listened In", "A Year Ago Tonight", "Step By Step" and "Trouble In Paradise". They also charted with "Sweetest One" (Joyce label) in 1957. The Crests appeared and performed several times on national teen dance television shows in the late 1950s.
Van Dross left The Crests in 1958 after recording two singles for Joyce Records. Maestro left for a solo career in 1961. He would later join The Del Satins, which would merge with The Rhythm Method to become Johnny Maestro & The Brooklyn Bridge
Johnny Maestro & The Brooklyn Bridge
Johnny Maestro and The Brooklyn Bridge is an American musical group, best known for their million selling rendition of Jimmy Webb's "The Worst That Could Happen" .-History:...
. They had a Top 5 hit with "The Worst That Could Happen
The Worst That Could Happen
"The Worst That Could Happen" is a song with lyrics and music written by singer-songwriter Jimmy Webb. Originally recorded by The 5th Dimension on their 1967 album of nearly all-Jimmy Webb songs, The Magic Garden, "The Worst That Could Happen" was later recorded by Johnny Maestro & The Brooklyn...
" in 1969. His place in The Crests was taken by new lead James Ancrum. The group recorded a new single, "Little Miracles". It was the first single not to chart in the Top 100. They also recorded "Guilty" (Selma label). Gough quit the group after the single, and was replaced by Gary Lewis (not to be confused with Gary Lewis of Gary Lewis & the Playboys
Gary Lewis & the Playboys
Gary Lewis & the Playboys were a 1960s rock group fronted by Gary Lewis, son of comedian Jerry Lewis. They are best known for their 1965 Billboard Hot 100 number-one single "This Diamond Ring."-Original members:* Gary Lewis - Drums and vocals...
fame). The group failed to find success throughout the decade.
Torres would also be gone by the late 1960s. The group continued as a trio of Carter, Ancrum, and Lewis. This lineup continued until 1978, when the group split. Carter went on to sing with Charlie Thomas' Drifters
The Drifters
The Drifters are a long-lived American doo-wop and R&B/soul vocal group with a peak in popularity from 1953 to 1963, though several splinter Drifters continue to perform today. They were originally formed to serve as Clyde McPhatter's backing group in 1953...
.
Carter then reformed the group in 1980. He auditioned over 200 singers, finally settling on lead Bill Damon, Greg Sereck, and Dennis Ray and New York drummer Jon Ihle. Carter continued the group well into the 1990s. He sold the trademarks to The Crests name to Tommy Mara in the late 1990s. Mara was Carter's lead vocalist at the time, and now continues the group without Carter. Carter now performs as part of the three person group Starz. Lewis is now singing with The Cadillacs
The Cadillacs
The Cadillacs were an American rock and roll and doo-wop group from Harlem, New York; active from 1953 to 1962. The group was noted for their 1955 hit "Speedoo", which was instrumental in attracting White audiences to Black rock and roll performers.-History:...
.
The 1984 John Hughes teen film, Sixteen Candles
Sixteen Candles
Sixteen Candles is a 1984 American film starring Molly Ringwald, Michael Schoeffling and Anthony Michael Hall. It was written and directed by John Hughes.- Plot :...
, took its title from The Crests' song
Song
In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...
, which was re-recorded by The Stray Cats for the Sixteen Candles soundtrack
Soundtrack
A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...
.
In 1987, Maestro, Carter, Torres and Gough reunited as The Crests for a reunion concert in Peekskill, New York.
Patricia Van Dross died in 1993 of complications from diabetes. Hal Torres is deceased, and Tommy Gough is living in Flint, Michigan.
Johnny Maestro, died Wednesday, March 24, 2010, at his home in Cape Coral, Florida
Cape Coral, Florida
Cape Coral is a municipality located in Lee County, Florida, United States, on the Gulf of Mexico. Founded in 1957 and developed as a master-planned, pre-platted community, the city grew to a population of 154,305 by the year 2010. With an area of , Cape Coral is the largest city between Tampa and...
. He was 70 and had lived in Islip, New York
Islip, New York
Islip is a hamlet and CDP that lies within the much larger Town of Islip in Suffolk County, New York. Located on the south shore of Long Island, the CDP had a population of 20,575 at the time of the 2000 census.-Geography:...
, until 2003.
In April 2010, the Los Angeles-based rights-management firm Beach Road Music, LLC, acquired the Coed Records
Coed Records
George Paxton and Marvin Cane formed Coed Records, Inc. in New York City in 1958, and had offices at 1619 Broadway in the Brill Building. George Paxton produced many of the songs on this label, most of which were of the East Coast Doo-wop group style, and some of these became hit songs of the day...
catalog, subsequently re-releasing the Maestro song "The Great Physician" on the 2011 compilation album From The Vault: The Coed Records Lost Master Tapes, Volume 1. "The Great Physician" was originally released in 1960 as Coed 527, under the pseudonym "Johnny Masters".
Awards and recognition
The Crests were inducted into the United in Group Harmony Association (UGHA) Hall of Fame in 2000.The Crests were inducted into The Vocal Group Hall of Fame
Vocal Group Hall of Fame
The Vocal Group Hall of Fame was organized to honor outstanding vocal groups throughout the world. It is headquartered in Sharon, Pennsylvania, United States. It includes a theater and a museum....
in 2004.
External links
- Tommy Mara's Crests
- The Crests Vocal Group Hall of Fame
- United in Group Harmony Association (UGHA)