Introduction
Johnny Maestro (7 May 1939-24 March 2010) was an American singer and musician from New York. He was a member of New York-based bands The Crests, The Del Satins, and The Brooklyn Bridge.
Early life and education
Johnny Maestro was born as John Peter Mastrangelo on May 7, 1939, on the Lower East Side area in Manhattan, New York, to Salvatore and Grace Mastrangelo. He had two siblings.
He graduated from Charles Evans Hughes High School in 1956 and later attended Borough of Manhattan Community College.
Career
The Crests
In 1956, Maestro joined four teenage singers from the Lower East Side to form interracially mixed (three blacks and one Puerto Rican) doo-wop vocal group The Crests. The other singers were J. T. Carter, Talmadge Gough, Patricia Van Dross (older sister of R&B legend Luther Vandross), and Harold Torres. Their vocal harmony was innovative and they combined elements of jazz, rhythm & blues, and early rock 'n' roll. They mostly did covers and their musical influences at the time were groups like The Flamingos and The Harptones.
On the group's first record, the B side had a song called "My Juanita," which made it on the city R&B charts. After a switch to Coed Records, they made a second record with the hit "16 Candles" on the B side. Their other hits with Maestro as the lead singer include "Trouble in Paradise," "The Angels Listened In" and "Step by Step."
The group split up in 1961.
Maestro also recorded with other backup singers under the name Johnny Maestro & The Crests, producing a single for United Artists in 1962, two singles for Cameo Records in 1963-64, a single for APT Records in 1965, a single for Scepter Records in 1965, and three singles for the Parkway label in 1966.
In June 1987, the original members of The Crests reunited for a concert in Peekskill, New York.
The Del-Satins and The Brooklyn Bridge
Maestro left The Crests in the early 60s and had a brief solo career, following which he joined another popular New York group, The Del-Satins, as lead singer. The group provided back-up on several of Dion DiMucci's hit records in the 60s. Legend has it that members of the group ran into Maestro at a local gym, playing his guitar, and approached him with the offer to join the group.
In 1968, The Del-Satins merged with a Long Island-based group, The Rhythm Method, to form an 11-piece band named Johnny Maestro and The Brooklyn Bridge, under Buddah Record label. They initially billed themselves as Johnny Maestro, the Del-Satins and the Rhythm Method, before calling themselves Johnny Maestro and The Brooklyn Bridge, or simply The Brooklyn Bridge.
The group recorded a series of hits, including "Welcome Me Love," "You’ll Never Walk Alone," and "Your Husband, My Wife." They had their biggest hit with a rendition of Jimmy Webb's song "The Worst That Could Happen." On December 15, 1968, the band performed "The Worst That Could Happen" on The Ed Sullivan Show.
On September 11, 1969, the band performed on The Merv Griffin Show, with guests including Edmund Muskie, Steve Lawrence, Mort Lindsey, Pat Cooper, and Erroll Garner.
Maestro and The Brooklyn Bridge continued to perform for forty-two years.
In 1990-2010, Maestro invited J. T. Carter (original member of The Crests) to join him and The Brooklyn Bridge to record with them and to re-record some of their greatest hits.
The Brooklyn Bridge's last performance was on January 17, 2009, when they were invited to perform at "Bowzer's Ultimate Doo-Wop Party" at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Connecticut.
Charity work
Maestro performed at many fundraising events on Staten Island such as the Borough President's "Back to the Beach" concert. He also performed for the New York City Fire Department and Police Department, the United States Military, Italian American Association, as well as church and school fundraisers. He performed on The Jerry Lewis MDA (Muscular Dystrophy Association) Labor Day Telethon and as part of "We Are the World," which raised funds for worldwide hunger relief.
Maestro and The Brooklyn Bridge also participated in to aid 9/11 responders and their families.
In 2007, Maestro sang at a concert digitally filmed and sent to bases of the US Armed Forces overseas. Maestro and The Brooklyn Bridge ended their concert by singing "You'll Never Walk Alone," a show tune from the 1945 Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II musical Carousel. The song was dedicated to the men and women in uniform.
Recognition
Johnny Maestro and The Brooklyn Bridge were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2005, the Long Island Hall of Fame in 2006, and the South Carolina Rhythm and Blues Hall of Fame.
Personal life
Maestro was married twice. He married his first wife Alma Jean Degler in 1964. The marriage ended in divorce (date not known); the couple had three children. In December 1985, he married Grace DeMarzo. They had one child.
Death
In his later years, Maestro lived in Islip, New York, until 1963 and then moved to Florida.
He died of cancer on March 24, 2010, at his home in Cape Coral, Florida, at the age of 70.
Legacy
On March 26, 2011, the City of New York in honor of Maestro renamed the intersection of Mason Avenue and Midland Avenue on Staten Island as "Johnny Maestro Way."
Discography
The Crests
Singles
1957
- Sweetest One
- My Juanita
- No One To Love
- Wish She Was Mine
1958
- Pretty Little Angel
- I Thank The Moon
- 16 Candles
- Beside You
1959
- Six Nights A Week
- I Do
- Flower Of Love
- Molly Mae
- The Angels Listened In
- I Thank The Moon
- A Year Ago Tonight
- Paper Crown
1960
- Step By Step
- Gee (But I'd Give The World)
- Trouble In Paradise
- Always You
- Journey Of Love
- If My Heart Could Write A Letter
- Isn't It Amazing
- Molly Mae
- I'll Remember (In The Still Of The Night)
- Good Golly Miss Molly
- Say It Isn't So
- The Great Physician
1961
- Model Girl
- We've Got To Tell Them
- What A Surprise
- The Warning Voice
- Little Miracles
- Baby I Gotta' Know
1962
- The Actor
- Three Tears In A Bucket
- Guilty
- Number One With Me
1963
- Did I Remember
- Tears Will Fall
1964
- A Love To Last A Lifetime
- You Blew Out The Candles
With The Brooklyn Bridge
Studio albums
- 1968 Brooklyn Bridge
- 1969 The Second Brooklyn Bridge
- 1970 The Brooklyn Bridge
- 1972 The Bridge in Blue
- 1989 Christmas Is...
- 1993 Johnny Maestro and The Brooklyn Bridge
- 1994 Acappella
- 2002 Peace On Earth
- 2004 Today
- 2007 Songs Of Inspiration (reissue of Peace On Earth)
- 2009 Today, Volume 2