Lenny Cocco & The Chimes Once In A While (Vinyl-LP)

In 1959 Lenny Cocco and The Chimes decided to go into a recording studio and make a demo record of "Once In Awhile.” The recording engineer thought that they had a great sound, and contacted the owners of Tag Records to come and listen to Lenny Cocco and The Chimes on Vinyl-Record. Tag Records staff, felt the group was great and signed them to a recording contract. Within a period of about 6 months “Once In Awhile” became a nationwide hit.

After the success of “Once In Awhile” the group went on tours and made TV appearances throughout the country, which increased their popularity and demand to produce more hits. They went on to vinyl-record such hits as “I'm In The Mood For Love,” ”Let’s Fall In Love" &, “Times Two I Love You.”

All the song on this vinyl-album, were recorded for the sole purpose of putting together an album which was never possible in their early years of success. Since this vinyl-album is Lenny Cocco and The Chimes first album, the feeling of accomplishment is much greater now than it would have been had it been made earlier in the 1960's. The group consists of Lenny Cocco (lead singer &, originator of group), Joe Locicero (2nd tenor), Rocky Marsicano (1st tenor), Joe Ficarotto (baritone), Joe Amato (bass &, keyboards), Dennis Cirolia (drummer), and Tom Jelinek (guitarist).

This group consists of seven men, who are very dedicated to keeping the oldies sound alive today, and in appreciation, would like to thank all the fans who made their hits possible.

PRODUCED BY: LENNY COCCO

The Chimes

Once In Awhile

The Chimes specialized in doo-wop revivals of beloved pop standards. No wonder: lead singer Lenny Cocco's father was a professional accordion player. They formed in Brooklyn in 1957 and called themselves The Capris until learning another nearby group had the same name (they enjoyed a '61 smash with There's A Moon Out Tonight). Cocco was joined by first tenor Pat DePrisco, second tenor Ricardo Menardo, baritone Joe Croce, and bass Pat McGuire. They obviously hadn't heard of another group of Chimes that waxed Zindy Lou for L.A.-based Specialty in 1955.

Cocco reworked Once In A While, a 1937 pop smash for bandleader Tommy Dorsey, into a doo-wop ballad while rehearsing inside a Brooklyn poolroom. They entered a local studio to cut a demo in 1960; a recording engineer called Andy Leonetti, who hustled down and signed the newcomers to his fledgling Tag label. Leonetti pressed up the ballad under the slightly off-kilter title of Once In Awhile that autumn. The Chimes' debut single soared to #11 pop in early '61.

The Chimes tried the same ballad formula for their first Tag followup, reviving the 1935 evergreen I'm In The Mood For Love and scoring a #38 seller in the spring of '61. But Let's Fall In Love, their third consecutive revival of a pop oldie, didn't follow suit (its peppy flip Dream Girl might have been a better choice to plug). Neither did Cocco's violin-enriched Paradise, their Tag farewell, billed to Lenny and The Chimes. The group bounced after that from Metro (McGuire had died in an auto wreck, leaving The Chimes a foursome) to Laurie to Vee-Jay before calling it quits mid-decade. Cocco reformed the group with fresh members during the '70s and '80s and still has The Chimes working, with DePrisco as his first tenor.

Various - Street Corner Symphonies 1960 Vol.12

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