Top left to right , Kenny and Tommy, Bottom left to right, Pete, Freddie and Bill.
The Ideals (4) (East Paterson, NJ)
Personnel :
Tommy Kontos aka Thomas Jefferson Kaye
Bill DeMarco
Pete Verelli
Kenny Kerwin
Freddie Schlatter
Discography :
1958 - My Girl / Annie Was A Stroller (Decca 307200)
1959 - Ivy League Lover / Don't Be A Baby, Baby (Decca 30800)
Biography :
Tommy and Bill formed their first acapella Doo-wop band called the
Blaretones with Tommy Traino, from East Paterson, NJ and Chris Oberfel
of Fair Lawn, NJ during the Summer of 1955 to Summer 1956. First show at
East Rutherford HS 1956 as the Blaretones, performed at Allen Freed’s
Easter Show at the Brooklyn Paramount Theater, with Frankie Lymon and
the Teenagers, The Valentines, and The Cadillacs.
The
Brooklyn Paramount
Theater
The Blaretones opened for Slim Harper at the Coral Bar in East
Paterson, NJ. The Ideals Opened for the Everly Brothers. at the
Meadowbrook in Cedar Grove, NJ sometime around May 1958. Another group
performing that night was the Rocking Chairs, from Long Island, NY. The
band name changed to the Rock-Abouts, from the Summer of 1956 to Summer
of 1957. Same group the Ideals during the Summer of 1957, recorded at
Decca Records from early 1958 through June of 1958. The
Ideals were often invited to play with Joey Dee when he hosted record
hops at the Passaic Armory, before he was with the Starlighters. They
also performed often at “Sock Hops” at the Passaic Ballroom and other
local venues. Music included their own compositions and their own
doo-wop covers of Buddy Holly, The Cadillacs, and other popular songs of
the period.
Songs :
Annie Was A Stroller / My Girl Don't Be A Baby, Baby Ivy League Lover