Johnny Maestro: John Mastrangelo

I think the above is John's grandfather WW2 draft registration card. He is living on Roosevelt Street in 1942. Johnny Maestro was born John Mastrangelo. From my neighborhood sources there was always some minor controversy about where Johnny Maestro hailed from.(There's no controversy on his talent). I heard about this at last year's Smith reunion
Joe Bruno tells me that Johnny's brother Pee Wee lived in Knickerbocker Village at 16 Monroe Street in the 70's.

RIP Johnny Maestro

Johnny passed away on Wednesday of this week
Johnny's fourth ward origins and the crests from oldies.com

Formed in New York City, USA, in 1956, the Crests soon became one of the most successful of the ‘integrated’ doo-wop groups of the period, after being discovered by Al Browne. Headed by the lead tenor of Johnny Maestro (Johnny Mastrangelo, 7 May 1930, USA), the rest of the band comprised Harold Torres, Talmadge Gough, J.T. Carter and Patricia Van Dross. By 1957 they were recording for Joyce Records and achieved their first minor pop hit with ‘Sweetest One’. Moving to the new Coed label, the Crests (without Van Dross) recorded their signature tune and one of doo-wop’s enduring classics, ‘16 Candles’, a heartfelt and beautifully orchestrated ballad. It became a national pop hit at number 2 in the Billboard charts, paving the way for further R&B and pop successes such as ‘Six Nights A Week’, ‘The Angels Listened In’ and ‘Step By Step’. At this time the band was almost permanently on the road. Following ‘Trouble In Paradise’ in 1960, the band’s final two chart singles would be credited to The Crests featuring Johnny Maestro. However, this was evidently not enough to satisfy their label, Coed, whose priority now was to launch the singer as a solo artist. Mastro’s decision to go solo in 1960 (subsequently calling himself Johnny Maestro) weakened the band, although they did continue with James Ancrum in his stead. Their former vocalist made the charts with ‘Model Girl’, still for Coed, in the following year, before re-emerging as leader of Brooklyn Bridge, an 11-piece doo-wop group who are best remembered for their 1968 single ‘The Worst That Could Happen’. After ‘Little Miracles’ failed to break the Billboard Top 100 (the first such failure for the Crests in 10 singles), Gough moved to Detroit and a job with General Motors. He was replaced by Gary Lewis. However, the Crests were now entangled in legal disputes with Coed over the ownership of their name. They eventually moved to Selma, although the songs made available to the group were now of significantly inferior quality, including ‘You Blew Out The Candles’, a blatant attempt to revisit the success of ‘16 Candles’. The band continued to tour throughout the 60s, though Torres had left to become a jeweller, leaving a core of Carter, Lewis and Ancrum. Later line-ups were organized by Carter for lounge sessions (although there are no recordings from this period), and in June 1987 the original line-up (minus Van Dross) was re-formed for a show in Peekskill, New York.

from my PS 177 classmate Rich about the article above

I remember the Crests started out of the Smith Projects. One of the backup singers' brother, Franklin, was in our class. Or so it was claimed by Franklin. I don't remember his last name and don't recognize it from the members of the group

Have Yourself A Fourth Ward Merry Little Christmas

from Johnny Maestro a former fourth warder

Sixteen Candles

A 2007 performance of Johnny Maestro doing Sixteen Candles
The song peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 charts and number four on the R&B charts in 1958

Happy birthday, happy birthday, baby
Oh, I love you so
Sixteen candles make a lovely light
But not as bright as your eyes tonight
(as your eyes tonight) (Oh)
Blow out the candles, make your wish come true
For I'll be wishing that you love me, too
(that you love me, too)
You're only sixteen (sixteen)
But you're my teenage queen (you're my queen)
You're the prettiest, loveliest girl I've ever seen
(I've ever seen) (OH!)
Sixteen candles in my heart will glow
For ever and ever for I love you so (for I love you so)
You're only sixteen (sixteen)
But you're my teenage queen (you're my queen)
Oh, you're the prettiest, loveliest girl I've ever seen
(I've ever seen) (OH!)
Sixteen candles in my heart will glow
For ever and ever for I love you so
(for I love you so)
For I love you so!!!

Anthony Monaco At The Smith Reunion

Anthony told a story about the singer Johnny Maestro who was always reluctant to reveal that he grew up in the Smith Projects. I'm trying to make believe I know something about Doo-Wop. Anthony and his mom now live in Knickerbocker. He used to live on Oliver Street in the house that Al Smith lived in, #25.
from Joe Bruno:

In the original Crests, there were 5 people, Johnny Maestro, Patricia Van Dross, two black guys, J. T. Carter and Tommy Gough and Hal Torres, a Puerto Rican, who I thought was from Smith too.
When the Van Dross', Luther and Patricia, moved out of Smith the group became just 4.
Notice, Luther changed his name to one word instead of the original 2 words.
Johnny Motts was a mailman for awhile. And he did sing with a group called The Neighborhhood in the 80's. All guys from KV - Ross Aschutto -- a cop--, Frankie Fischetti, who lived under me at KG5, and Stevie Randazzo, the actor. They used to rehearse in Frankie's apartment, and I used to bang on the floor, telling them to shut the ...up. It's 2 in the ........ morning. I was kidding of course. Johnny quit in the early 90's and a guy named Carlo, from the 6th Ward, took his place. Not as good as Johnny Motts, but not bad.

The Worst That Could Happen (Well, Not Really)

I got a speeding ticket on the way to Clark University. The worst is if Palin is a heartbeat away from the presidency. Gives me a chance to use KV neighborhood's Johnny Maestro and The Brooklyn Bridge
words and music by Jim Webb, #3 hit for The Brooklyn Bridge in 1969 (released November 1968 - entered the Billboard Top 40 January 4, 1969)

Girl, I heard you're getting married
Heard you're getting married, this time you're really sure
And this is the end, they say you really mean it
This guy's the one that makes you feel so safe, so sane and so secure
And, baby, if he loves you more than me
Maybe it's the best thing
Maybe it's the best thing for you
But it's the worst that could happen to me
I'll never get married
Never get married, you know that's not my scene
But a girl like you needs to be married
I've known all along you couldn't live forever in between
And, baby, if he loves you more than me
Maybe it's the best thing
Maybe it's the best thing for you
But it's the worst that could happen to me
And, girl, I don't really blame you for having a dream of your own
Hey, girl, I don't really blame you
A woman like you needs a house and a home, baby
If he really loves you more than me
Maybe it's the best thing
Maybe it's the best thing for you
But it's the worst that could happen
Oh, girl, don't wanna get married
Girl, I'm never, never gonna marry, no no
No, it's the worst that could happen
The worst that could happen
Oh, girl, the worst that could happen