Classic Urban Harmony
Celebrates Vocal Group Harmony
And the Masqueraders’ 50th
Anniversary
June 10, 2012, Morristown, NJ
Part 3 - The Concert
The focus of our June 10 event celebrating vocal harmony was
a spectacular concert featuring seven vocal groups each singing in a
different style of group harmony. For the concert, we all moved into
the Bickford Theatre, 313 seat theatre in the Morris Museum. We (Pam
and Charlie) decided we'd MC the concert ourselves. We were helped
greatly by Joe Loud, who volunteered to be our backstage manager. Joe
managed the backstage of just about all of the UGHA shows, so we knew he'd
keep things running smoothly. We also planned to give the Masqueraders
plaques for their 50 years of great R&B harmony just before their
performance, though they didn't know that yet.
All photos (except where noted) were taken by JDV Music (www.jdvmusic.com)
and are the sole property of Classic Urban Harmony.
Framed concert poster
(designed by Warren Tesoro)
outside the Bickford Theatre.
(Photo courtesy of Marian Cicerale)
Guests begin filling the
theatre.
Members of Quiet Storm who would sing later in the program.
Kitten Kaboodle & Little
Isidore from the Inquisitors
Mrs. & Mr. Emanual "Doc"
Robinson (Mastertones)
Elaine Wade, Karen Efron,
Paul Ressler, Paul's driver.
(Photo courtesy of Marian Cicerale)
Angelo & Delores Pompeo
(Photo courtesy of Marian Cicerale)
Families of Re-MemberThen:
Jamie & Liz Butkowski,
Eileen Offner, Pat Maitland, Helene Geliebter
(Photo courtesy of Marian Cicerale)
Eric Hafen, Director of
the Bickford Theatre introducing Pam & Charlie
Pam & Charlie Horner
welcome the audience
(Photo courtesy of Marian
Cicerale)
(Photo courtesy of Marian
Cicerale)
Pam & Charlie introducing
the first group of the evening.
(Photo courtesy of Marian Cicerale)
Re-MemberThen started the
concert singing a parody of "On the Streets Of The Bronx"
Re-MemberThen shocked the
audience with a great version of the obscure
Net Roman record, "Tears From My Eyes"
(Photo courtesy of Marian Cicerale)
Re-MemberThen had sung
earlier as a strolling acappella group at the reception
On stage, they sang an original tune, "Thank You Johnny,"
written by member Harry Maitland as a tribute to Johnny Maestro.
(Photo courtesy of Marian Cicerale)
Frank Cicerale leading Re-MemberThen
on
"Crying In The Chapel" in tribute to theirs (and our) friend,
the late Bobby Thomas. Members include (left to right) Frank Cicerale,
Jim Offner, Harry Maitland,
Marty Geliebter and Bill Butkowski. Re-MemberThen will be performing a free concert
at the
Franklin Township (NJ) Public Library, at 7 PM July 18. See
Our Events Calendar.
(Photo courtesy of Marian Cicerale)
King David's Harp, a
gospel harmony group we brought here from Portsmouth, VA,
gave an unbelievable performance, drawing several standing ovations.
King David's Harp amazes
the audience with their acappella rendition of
"The Lord's Prayer" (think Swan Silvertones!)
Van Jones leading King
David's Harp in "Three Pictures Of The Lord" The group
also sang "The Denial" (originally done by the Stripes of Glory on the
Peacock label).
We gave them the song a week and a half before the concert and they did an
incredible job.
King David's Harp singing
a medley of Sam Cooke & Soul Stirrers tunes,
including "Wonderful" and "Touch The Hem Of His Garment"
Next up was the popular
acappella group from Philly, Quiet Storm.
They opened with a lively version of the Drifters' "Fools fall In Love"
Quiet Storm often backed
the late Bobby Thomas when they combined to pay tribute
to the Orioles. On this night, Quiet Storm sang an emotional rendition
of
"It's Too Soon To Know" in honor of Bobby Thomas.
Quiet Storm singing
"You're Mine". Originally done by Dean Barlow & the Crickets,
Quiet Storm does the later arrangement by the Vibrations, a nice blend of
50's and 60's R&B.
(Photo courtesy of Marian Cicerale)
Darrall Campbell (left)
leading Quiet Storm in "Some Enchanted Evening".
Quiet Storm has a new CD out and just performed at a Classic Urban Harmony MC'd
free outdoor concert for the Franklin Township Cultural Arts Council,
Franklin Park, NJ.
(Photo courtesy of John Bishop)
Charlie & Pam take time
to acknowledge some of the celebrity singers in the audience.
Jimmy Merchant, founding
member of the Teenagers and co-writer of
"Why Do Fools Fall In Love"
(Photo courtesy of Marian Cicerale)
Jimmy Merchant's new CD
For
info on how to get a copy of Jimmy's new CD, email him at
jimmymerchant@verizon.net
Charlie & Jimmy Merchant
(Photo courtesy of Marian Cicerale)
Bobby Diskin, Brooklyn
vocal group historian, greets Sammy Strain (right)
of the Chips, Fantastics, Little Anthony & the Imperials and O'Jays.
(Photo courtesy of Marian Cicerale)
Trudy Cunningham &
Barbara Jean English of the Clickettes
(Photo courtesy of Marian Cicerale)
Doc Robinson of the
Mastertones
(Photo courtesy of Marian Cicerale)
Norman Donegan of the Ad
Libs
(Photo courtesy of Marian Cicerale)
The acappella group, The
Sheps
(Photo courtesy of Matt Gilliano)
Little Isidore and the
Inquisitors are one of the most entertaining vocal groups around today.
Their unique blend of harmony and humor make them audience favorites.
They opened with a rocking "You And Me Baby" followed by one of our
favorites, "Oceans Apart".
Left to right: Johnny
Staccato, Kitten Kaboodle, Molten Milton, Little Isidore
Jim Kline accompanying on
guitar.
Little Isidore and the
Inquisitors singing "I Like It Like That" and "All Night Long".
(Photo courtesy of Marian Cicerale)
Little Isidore & the
Inquisitors singing a great version of
"Memories are Made Of This"
(Photo courtesy of Marian Cicerale)
Vic Donna has been
singing vocal harmony and recording since 1957. He's recorded
with the Parakeets, Fi-Tones, Sharps and Compliments, among others.
Two years ago Vic assembled his current group, The Vic Donna Group,
from some of the best voices around. Besides Vic Donna, the group
contains
Dom D'Elia, John Mirabile, Danny Pesci & George Marchese.
The group's first professional
performance
was at our 5th Wedding Anniversary in October 2010.
The Vic Donna Group
opened with the uptempo "Big Night For Love".
They followed that with a sensational version of the Five Keys' "Just For A
Thrill".
Vic Donna singing his
1958 recording, "Love Was A Stranger To Me"
(Photo courtesy of Marian Cicerale)
The unique blend of
voices and intricate harmonies makes the Vic Donna Group
one of the top vocal groups singing today. We were thrilled to hear
them
sing "The Time Of Her Life" (a song recorded by Vic while with the
Compliments)
and "The Gypsy". The Vic Donna Group closed with a song borrowed from
the Parakeets, "My Heart Tells Me".
(Photo courtesy of Marian Cicerale)
With one sensational
group after another, the concert kept rolling along smoothly.
The legendary Solitaires are well known to all fans of 1950's R&B harmony.
Led by Milton Love, and on some songs Don Cruz, the Solitaires re-created
their classic songs "The Angels Sang," "Please Kiss this Letter," "Blue
Valentine,"
and "Please Remember My Heart". Other members of the current
group
include Al Grant and Ray Goodwin.
Certainly one of the
superb leads of all time, Milton Love
"Don Cruz leads the
Solitaires on "I Don't Stand A Ghost Of A Chance"
The Solitaires also sang
"I Wonder Why" and "Embraceable You"
(Photo courtesy of Marian Cicerale)
The Solitaires conclude
their set with their signature song, "Walking Along".
Before bringing on the
Masqueraders we announced to our guests that they'd each receive
a hand-molded chocolate figure of a vocal group. Those 11 people who
attended more of our
Classic Urban harmony events than anyone else, would receive figures made of
red chocolate!
It was now time to
surprise our featured group, the Masqueraders, by honoring them with
plaques for their 50 years of outstanding contributions to R&B vocal
harmony.
To help us award the plaques, we brought up Terry Stewart, President and CEO
of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, who'd driven in from Cleveland
for the occassion.
Pam & Charlie presenting
the plaques to the Masqueraders.
(Photo courtesy of Marian Cicerale)
Sammie Hutchins receiving
his plaque.
(Photo courtesy of Marian Cicerale)
(Photo courtesy of Marian
Cicerale)
(Photo courtesy of Matt
Gilliano)
The Masqueraders
receiving a standing ovation.
(Photo courtesy of Marian
Cicerale)
"If I were a beggar
I'd stand out on the corner everyday
And I'd get down on my knees
And I'd beg for the right words to say.
But I'm Just An Average Guy..."
Ladies and gentlemen...
THE MASQUERADERS
(Photo courtesy of Marian Cicerale)
(Photo courtesy of John
Bishop)
The Masqueraders opened
with their 1966 LaBeat label recording, "One More Chance"
Abdur-Rahman Hatim
leading the Masqueraders in re-creating their hit records,
"I'm Just An Average Guy," "I Ain't Got To Love Nobody Else" and
"(Call Me) The Travelin' Man".
Abdur-Rahman Hatim
Robert "Tex" Wrightsil
Harold "Sundance" Thomas
David "Cowboy" Sanders
Sammie Hutchins
The Masqueraders
performed an astonishing harmony version of "At Last" and then
their exciting rendition of "A Change Is Gonna Come"
They closed the concert
portion of the evening with "Goodnight Sweetheart Goodnight".
But the night wasn't quite over. Our guests retreated to the theatre
lobby
where they had a chance to meet and get autographs and photos of the
performers.
(Photos of that will be in PART 4 - Coming soon!)
(Photo courtesy of Marian Cicerale)
Because of the significance
of the event, we've posted hundreds of photos and will post numerous short video clips, over the next few weeks.
Please click on the segment below that you'd like to view.
Part 1
- Behind the Scenes - Any event of this magnitude requires
months of planning and preparation. Here we'll give you the story
behind selecting the venue, caterer, entertainment, invitations, table
centerpieces and even the chocolate favors for the guests.
Part 2 - The Reception and Buffet - With 180
invited guests there were plenty of music celebrities attending. See
photos of who were there.
Part 3
- The Concert - See photos from the concert, featuring Re-MemberThen, King
David's Harp, Quiet Storm, Little Isidore & the Inquisitors, the Vic Donna
Group, Milton Love & the Solitaires and the Masqueraders. We also have
photos of the Masqueraders receiving plaques for 50 years of great R&B
harmony.
Part 4 - The party
continues at the hotel for out of town guests.
Part 5 - Some nice compliments we received from our
guests. Coming Soon!!!
Part 6 - The Concert Videos - Coming Soon!.
Copyright © Classic Urban Harmony LLC, 2012. All
Rights Reserved.
