The Chimes (later Lenny Cocco & the Chimes) were an American doo wop group from Brooklyn.[1]
The group came together under the direction of lead singer Lenny Cocco in the mid-1950s.[1] Their first single was a version of "Once in a While"—a 1937 hit for Tommy Dorsey—released on Tag Records.[1] The song became a hit in the U.S., peaking at No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 in January 1961, and No. 15 in Canada.[2] The follow-up single was "I'm in the Mood for Love", a song from the 1930s.[1] This hit No. 38 later that year. In 1962, they began recording as Lenny & the Chimes, and moved to Metro Records and then to Laurie Records in 1963. In 1964, they released the single "Two Times" on Vee-Jay, but broke up shortly after.[1]
In subsequent decades they have re-formed for the doo-wop revival circuit, usually under the name Lenny Cocco and the Chimes. Cocco died in 2015 at age 78.[3]
Members
Original
- Lenny Cocco – lead singer and founder (born Leonard Cocco in Brooklyn in 1936; died on May 8, 2015, in Holbrook)[3]
- Pat DePrisco – first tenor; died September 21, 2022
- Richard Mercado – second tenor; died October 12, 2015
- Joseph Croce – baritone; died 1993 approx
- Pat McGuire – bass; died 1963, car accident[4][1]
References
- The Chimes at AllMusic
- Joel Whitburn, The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits. 7th edn, 2000
Footnotes
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Colin Larkin, ed. (1997). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Sixties Music (First ed.). Virgin Books. p. 111. ISBN 0-7535-0149-X.
- ↑ "CHUM Hit Parade – February 6, 1961".
- 1 2 "'60s doo-wop singer from LI dies at 78". Newsday.com. Retrieved December 24, 2019.
- ↑ "The Dead Rock Stars Club : 1960". TheDeadRockStarsClub.com. Retrieved December 7, 2016.