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I was a french horn from the beginning till about 1963. In the snap shots donated by Hickey, the top right picture shows 4 french horns. Don't know who the short guy is. Next is John, then me, then Pete Raimo. Here's some more snap shots, some taken at the same time John got his shots....I'm so sad that I didn't find the web site till Hickey passed. I moved to Maryland in 1964.
Did you know Herman & Reggie Jones? We had a singing group, Herman, Reggie, John, myself & usually one other would join. The Jones's sang lead & tenor, I was the base man. I remember one competition in New England, I think it was in Wooster, Mass, when we got on stage to sing. There was a party for all the bands the night after the competition. We were hangin outside and started singing in our little 5 man group. As we kept on singing, a crowd started gathering around us. They cheered each song and kept wanting to hear more. The crowd grew so much that they tried to rig up a microphone outside to us, but it didn't work. So, they asked us to go inside & get on the stage & sing. We didn't have a group name. It wasn't really anything formal. We just liked to get together & harmonize. It's one of the things you did on the street corners of Brooklyn in the fifties. So we go inside & the first song we do is "Get A Job" by the Silhouettes. That song starts out with the base man doing a little solo lick: yip-bip-bip-bip-bip-bip-boom ...many was I ever real nervous! The curtains opened & the kids cheered then went silent. I did my lick & thought it sounded so godawfully flat, but when the song ended the kids went wild! They loved us! What a great memory.
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Here's some of the names she remembers:
"Butchie & his girlfriend Carol Guasco, Joey Longo and his sister ( can't remember her name), that slutty looking girl Fran, Neal, Annmarie Rella, Grace DiOrio, Barbara Videtto and her brother and father Tony; Desto Cuomo, Mike Gesuele, Celia Condello, Armando Minitoli, Johnny Annaruma and Jimmy Ravert, Moose Corrigan, Angelo Mazza (Ga Ga), Billy Smith, Johnny Englebert, Raimo (and his girlfriend Paula - not in St. Rocco's), Hickey, Little Andy, Curtis Eskew (he died) and his sister. There was another little soprano guy who hung around with Andy. I think his name was Joey something. Then there was Pascarelli (big crooked nose) - I think he dated Longo's sister. I remember loud mouth Tony Boccamore, and the goofy cymbal kid. "
I remember the long bus rides all over new England. I usually stayed in the back & played cards by flashlight.
Being in the band was a great character builder. Al Koch was a great instructor & disciplinarian.
I have a 1962 Cadet recording of St. Rocco's. Here's the repertoire:
An Army of Youth
Thou swell
Just The Way YOu Are
Let's Fall In Love
Milk & Honey (color presentation)
If I Loved You (concert)
Heartaches
My Foolish Heart
Also have a Skyliners record from 1960. Had to put them on tonight...whew...the Skyliners were incredible! still get goosebumps.
Thanks again for putting the web site together. I hope to meet you some day.
Jerry Philips
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