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The Crests
The Crests are an American doo-wop group, formed by bass vocalist J.T. Carter in the mid 1950s. The group had several Top 40 hits in the late 1950s and early 1960s on Coed Records. Their most popular song, "16 Candles", rose to No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in February 1959 selling over one million copies and earning a gold disc status. 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 Torres, and one Italian American.
Founded by J.T. Carter, the group included Talmadge "Tommy" Gough (1939–2014), Harold "Chico" Torres (deceased) and Patricia Van Dross (1943–1993) (older sister of R&B singer Luther Vandross). Carter selected vocalist Johnny Mastrangelo (1939–2010) (shortened to Johnny Mastro and later changed to Johnny Maestro) as lead vocalist.
The Crests were discovered in 1956 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 1957, 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 1958 to finish her education.[citation needed]
Their next single after "16 Candles" on COED Records was "Six Nights A Week" which hit No. 28 on the Billboard Hot 100 Charts and No. 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 No. 79.[citation needed]
From 1958 to 1960 the group was almost always on the road. In the late 1950s, 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 1961, The Crests recorded a new single, "Little Miracles", with Tony Middleton, lead singer of The Willows, singing lead; it was their first single not to chart in the Top 100. 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]
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The Crests
The Crests are an American doo-wop group, formed by bass vocalist J.T. Carter in the mid 1950s. The group had several Top 40 hits in the late 1950s and early 1960s on Coed Records. Their most popular song, "16 Candles", rose to No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in February 1959 selling over one million copies and earning a gold disc status. 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 Torres, and one Italian American.
Founded by J.T. Carter, the group included Talmadge "Tommy" Gough (1939–2014), Harold "Chico" Torres (deceased) and Patricia Van Dross (1943–1993) (older sister of R&B singer Luther Vandross). Carter selected vocalist Johnny Mastrangelo (1939–2010) (shortened to Johnny Mastro and later changed to Johnny Maestro) as lead vocalist.
The Crests were discovered in 1956 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 1957, 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 1958 to finish her education.[citation needed]
Their next single after "16 Candles" on COED Records was "Six Nights A Week" which hit No. 28 on the Billboard Hot 100 Charts and No. 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 No. 79.[citation needed]
From 1958 to 1960 the group was almost always on the road. In the late 1950s, 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 1961, The Crests recorded a new single, "Little Miracles", with Tony Middleton, lead singer of The Willows, singing lead; it was their first single not to chart in the Top 100. 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]