Richie Giordano
The Crowns (5) (Stamford, CT.)
aka The Barons (6)
Personnel :
Jimmy Ienner (Lead / Bass)
Tommy Fowler (Lead Tenor)
Richie Giordano (Falsetto)
Joe Mattera (Baritone)
Pete Esposoto (Bass)
Discography :
The Barons (6)
Singles :
1964 - Pledge Of A Fool / Don't Go Away (Pretty Little Girl) (Epic 9586)
1964 - Lucky Star / Remember Rita (Epic 9747)
1966 - Since You're Gone / My Smile Is Bigger (Than Your Smile) (RCA 9034)
Unreleased :
1966 - When You Dance (Acappella)
1966 - Traveling Stranger (Acappella) (as the Kooltones)
1966 - Pennies From Heaven (Acappella) (as the Pretenders)
The Crowns (5)
1964 - Possibility / Watch Out (Old Town 1171)
Biography :
In
1962, Jimmy Ienner and Richie Giordano formed the the Majestic Lads in
Stamford Ct. area. The group then consisted of Jimmy Ienner
(Lead/Bass), Tommy Fowler (Lead Tenor), Richie Giordano (Falsetto), Joe
Mattera (Baritone) and Pete Esposoto (Bass). in 1963, Stan Vincent
became the manager of The Majestic lads and composed "Pledge Of A Fool"
and "Don't Go Away (Pretty Little Girl)". Stan Vincent changed the
original name by The Barons. Stan Vincent began his music industry
career as a teenager working as a gofer at the Brooklyn-based offices of
Jim Gribble who managed several doo-wop groups including the Mystics
and the Passions, sometimes assisting on the recordings on Gribble's
clients: by 1959 Vincent was himself recording his output including two
singles backed by the Del Satins.
Stan
Vincent
Vincent's releases were overlooked but a recording he produced for
the Del Satins of his composition "Teardrops Follow Me" became a
regional success in the summer of 1962 and Vincent was afforded his
first major success as the producer of the Earls hit "Remember Then"
recorded in 1962 which reached #24 in January 1963. Some of the artists
he's worked with include (but are not limited to): The Passions, The
Earls, Connie Francis, Lou Christie, The 5 Stairsteps, The Brooklyn
Bridge, Cher, Ronnie Dyson, the Edwin Hawkins Singers, The Del Satins,
Larry Finnegan.
Jimmy Ienner
Considered
by many as one of the most wonderful doo wop, "Pledge of a Fool" was
released in March 1963 on Epic and charted locally. The record became
popular and the group make many appearances throughout the area. in
1964, Ron D'Angelis replaced Joe Mattera. At the end of 1964, the Barons
returned to the studio and record two new songs composed by Stan
Vincent : "Lucky Star" and "Remember Rita" released on Epic 9747. Some
months later, they recorded "Possibility" b/w "Watch Out" released on
Old Town records as the Crowns because they were still under contract
with Epic.
Jimmy Ienner (Left) with the Raspberries
The
Crowns sounded like Larry Chance & the Earls and "Possibility" was
composed again by Stan Vincent and this is where the Larry Chance rumor
was started. There is no connection to Larry Chance with either the
Barons or the Crowns. The Larry Chance connection to the Crowns on Old
Town was one of several/many BS stories started by Gus Gossert. After
this Billy Neilson replaced Richie Giordano. In 1966, Jimmy Ienner
composed & produced the last single of the Barons "Since You're
Gone" b/w "My Smile Is Bigger" on RCA. They also had 3 accapella sides
on Relic 101 (Best of Acappella Vol 1). These came from Slim Rose who
found them in the back of Times Square Records on reel to reel. They
are: When You Dance, Traveling Stranger (as the Kooltones) and Pennies
From Heaven( as the Pretenders). Jimmy Ienner will become an American
music producer, best known for producing albums for such artists as Bay
City Rollers, The Raspberries and Three Dog Night.
Richard A. Giordano,74, passed away peacefully at home on Friday, October 7, 2016.
Songs:
The Barons (6)
Pledge Of A Fool Lucky Star
Remember Rita Don't Go Away (Pretty Little Girl)
Since You're Gone When You Dance (Acappella)
The Crowns (5)
Possibility Watch Out (Inst)