Randy & the Rainbows

Randy & the Rainbows are an American doo wop group from Maspeth, New York.

The group was formed in 1962 in a neighborhood of Queens, and featured two pairs of siblings, along with a fifth member. The Safuto brothers had previously sung in the group The Dialtones. They recorded with the producers of The Tokens, releasing the single "Denise" in 1963. The song hit #18 on the US Black Singles chart and #10 on the Billboard Hot 100 that year. [http://wc07.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:gpfoxqe5ldde~T5 Billboard Singles] , Allmusic.com] "Denise" was written by Neil Levenson, and was inspired by his childhood friend, Denice Lefrak. [ Milestones, Billboard, February 2, 2008, p. 60. ] The song later became a European hit for Blondie, with the title changed to Denis. Randy & The Rainbows' follow-up single, "Why Do Kids Grow Up", barely scraped the pop charts at #97, and the group never charted again.

They continued to perform under several other names (Madison Street, Triangle, Them and Us), and toured in subsequent years with The Spinners, Little Anthony & the Imperials, Tony Orlando, Blood, Sweat and Tears, Freddie Roman, Jay Black, Pat Cooper, The Beach Boys, Dionne Warwick, and The Four Seasons. [ [http://wc07.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:gpfoxqe5ldde~T1 Biography] , Allmusic.com] They released a new album, entitled "Play Ball", in 2001 on producer Jimmy Wisner's label WizWorks. [ [http://wc07.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:ajfixqq0ld6e Review of "Play Ball"] . Allmusic.com] Two groups now exist; one includes Mike Zero and Sal Zero's replacement Vinny Carella, the other includes Randy and Frank Safuto.

The group appeared on the 2001 PBS special Dow Wop 51; it featured Randy's group plus Mike Zero.

Members

1962 lineup

*Sal Zero
*Mike Zero
*Frank Safuto
*Dominick "Randy" Safuto
*Ken Arcipowski

Current lineup

;Mike Zero's Randy & The Rainbows
*Mike Zero
*Vinny Carella
*Jimmy Bense (joined 1990 [ [http://www.wizworksrecords.com/bottom_randy.htm WizWorks Records ] ] )

;Randy Safuto's Randy & The Rainbows
*Randy Safuto
*Frank Safuto
*Anthony Vara
*Charlie Rocco

External links

* [http://www.randyandtherainbows.com/ Mike Zero's Randy & The Rainbows]
* [http://www.randyandtherainbowssafuto.com/ Randy Safuto's Randy & The Rainbows]

References