Personnel :
Jerry Goldstein
Bob Feldman
Discography :
The Kittens (1)
1959 - A Letter To Donna / It's All Over Now (Unart 2010)
Bobbi & The Beaus (2)
1959 - Melvin / Losing Game (Unart 2009)
Bob & Jerry
1961 - Dreamy Eyes / We're The Guys (Who Drive Your Baby Wild) (Columbia 42162)
1962 - Chubby Isn't Chubby Anymore / Nursery Rhyme Folk (Musicor 1018)
Biography :
Born
in Brooklyn in 1940, Feldman grew up in an orthodox Jewish home and
originally studied to be a cantor. The Feldmans lived across the street
from Neil Diamond’s folks, just around the corner from the Sedakas,
whose son, Neil, was a promising classical pianist, and a couple of
blocks away from members of the Tokens, all Lincoln High School
graduates and friends. By the mid-50s, doo wop was all the rage and
Feldman soon fell in with various groups practising harmonies on the
Brooklyn backstreets. He teamed up with his neighbourhood buddy, Jerry
Goldstein, and wrote some songs that brought the pair to the attention
of Jack Lewis, an A&R man at United Artists Records. Lewis allowed
the enthusiastic 18 year-old to sit in on sessions at weekends and
mentored him on various aspects of the music business.
Back then, the quickest route to a potential hit was a novelty recording and Feldman and Goldstein chose this path as the most likely way of securing airplay in a crowded market. Thus "Comic Book Crazy" by Ezra & the Ivies, "Melvin" by Bobbi & The Beaus with singer Barbara Robert and "‘A Tribute To Donna" by the Kittens - both probably recorded at the same session under Lewis’ supervision, appeared in March 1959, the latter being a tribute to Ritchie Valens, issued within weeks of his death in the plane accident that also claimed Buddy Holly’s life. None of these early efforts were particularly distinguished or hitworthy, but they enabled Feldman and Goldstein to establish a toehold in the business as part-timers.
