- The Four Lads
Infobox musical artist
Name = The Four Lads
Img_capt =
Background = group_or_band
Origin =Toronto, Ontario ,Canada
Genre = Traditional Pop
Years_active = 1950-1960s
Label = Okeh, Columbia
URL = http://www.the4lads.com
Past_members = Corrado "Connie" Codarini
John Bernard "Bernie" Toorish
James F. "Jimmy" ArnoldThe Four Lads were a Canadian singing group. They grew up together in
Toronto, Ontario , and were members ofSt. Michael's Choir School , where they learned to sing. The founding members were Corrado "Connie" Codarini, bass; John Bernard "Bernie" Toorish (bornMarch 2 ,1931 ), tenor; James F. "Jimmy" Arnold, (January 4 ,1932 -June 15 ,2004 ) lead; and Frank Busseri,baritone and group manager. Codarini and Toorish had formed a group with two other St. Michael's students, Rudi Maugeri and John Perkins, who were later to become founding members of another group,The Crew-Cuts .History
The group was known variously as The Otnorots (a name taken from the name "Toronto" spelled backwards) and The Jordonaires (not to be confused with a similarly named group,
The Jordanaires , that was known for singing background vocals onElvis Presley 's hits). When Maugeri and Perkins left the group to concentrate on their schoolwork, Codarini and Toorish joined with Arnold and Busseri in a new quartet. At home, they practiced until they achieved their clean-cut harmonies, whether for spirituals, sacred music, or pop. They originally called themselves The Four Dukes but found out that a Detroit group already used that name, so changed to The Four Lads. In 1950 they began to sing in local clubs and soon were noticed by scouts. Recruited to go to New York, they were noticed byMitch Miller , who asked them to do backup for some of the artists he recorded. One artist,Johnnie Ray , became a major hit in 1951 with "Cry" and "The Little White Cloud that Cried " with the Four Lads behind him. This made them well known.Their first single was "
The Mocking Bird " on Columbia'sOkeh label (master #ZSP-9710), released in 1952, with "I May Hate Myself in the Morning" (#ZSP-9711) on the B-side. "The Mocking Bird" was rerecorded for release on the Columbia label twice in subsequent years in the 1950s.In 1953 they made their own first gold record, [cite web | title= Gold & Platinum certification of albums at RIAA| work=www.riaa.com|url=http://www.riaa.com/gp/database/search_results.asp Retrieved
November 26 2006 ] . "Istanbul (Not Constantinople) ", which launched them to stardom and kept them busy throughout the 50s and 60s in the U.S. andCanada . Today, a reconstituted group, with original singer Frank Busseri, sings to the nostalgia crowds.Their most famous hit was "
Moments to Remember " in 1955, [cite web | title= U.S Billboard chart rankings| work=billboard.com|url=http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/charts/yearend_chart_index.jsp RetrievedNovember 26 2006 ] and their next best known was "Standin' on the Corner", from the Broadway musical productionThe Most Happy Fella , in 1956. A gospel album withFrankie Laine took them back to their roots and produced the hit single "Rain, Rain, Rain".Corrado Codarini was replaced in 1962 by Johnny D'Arc (who remained with the Lads until 1980), and Bernie Toorish in the early 1970s by Sid Edwards.
Jimmy Arnold died of
lung cancer inSacramento, California at the age of 72. John D'Arc passed away in 1999 at the age of 60.Awards and recognition
The Four Lads were inducted into the
Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2003. [cite web | title= VocalGroup Hall of Fame inductees | work=vocalgroup.org|url=http://www.vocalgroup.org/inductees.htm RetrievedNovember 26 2006 ]Gold records
*"
Istanbul (Not Constantinople) " (recordedAugust 12 ,1953 )
*"Moments to Remember " (recordedJune 21 ,1955 )
*"No, Not Much " (recordedNovember 16 ,1955 )
*"Standin' on the Corner" (recordedMarch 1 ,1956 )
*"Who Needs You? " (recordedOctober 18 ,1956 )Other records
*"
The Mocking Bird "/"Won'cha" (recordedApril 16 ,1952 , redone in 1958) Columbia 4-41266
*"Down by the Riverside" (recordedJanuary 30 ,1953 )
*"Gilly, Gilly, Ossenfeffer, Katzenellen Bogen by the Sea " (recordedFebruary 27 ,1954 )
*"Skokiaan " (recordedAugust 4 ,1954 )
*"No, Not Much " (recordedNovember 16 ,1955 )/"I'll Never Know" (recordedJune 21 ,1955 )- Columbia 4-40629
*"My Little Angel " (recordedFebruary 29 ,1956 ) (flip side of "Standin' on the Corner") - Columbia 4-40674
*"A House with Love in It "/"The Bus Stop Song " (recordedJuly 17 ,1956 )-Columbia 4-40736
*"I'll Never Know" (1956)
*"I Just Don't Know " (recordedApril 4 ,1957 )
*"Who Needs You"/"It's So Easy to Forget" - Columbia 4-40811 1956
*"Put a Light in the Window " (recordedOctober 27 ,1957 )
*"There's Only One of You " (recordedFebruary 16 ,1958 )
*"Enchanted Island" (recordedFebruary 16 ,1958 )
*"The Girl on Page 44" (recorded November 1958)
*"Happy Anniversary" (recordedSeptember 23 ,1959 )
*"The Fountain of Youth" (1959)
*"Got a Locket in My Pocket"/"The Real Thing" - Columbia 4-41443 1959
*"Giuggiola (Joo Joo Lah)" (1961)
*"I Should Know Better/555 Times"- Kapp 404 1961ee also
*
Canadian rock
*Music of Canada
*Dodge City's 50's SchoolReferences
External links
* [http://www.the4lads.com/ The Four Lads home page]
* [http://www.vocalgroup.org/inductees/the_four_lads.html 'The Four Lads' Vocal Group Hall of Fame Page]
* [http://www.vh1.com/artists/az/four_lads_1/bio.jhtml VH1.com page on The Four Lads]
* [http://www.canoe.ca/JamMusicPopEncycloPagesF/four.html Jam! page on The Four Lads]
* [http://home.earthlink.net/~v1tiger/fourlads.html Moments To Remember : The Four Lads]
* [http://www.lkwdpl.org/lore/lore94.htm Biography from the Lakewood (Ohio) Sun-Post]
* [http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=U1ARTU0001267 Canadian Encyclopedia article on The Four Lads]
* [http://www.musicianguide.com/biographies/1608003563/The-Four-Lads.html MusicianGuide.com page on The Four Lads]
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