It was in the Little Italy neighborhood of West Philly that four teenagers formed a band inspired by the music of Dion & The Belmonts, The Earls and Little Anthony & The Imperials. You could hear them on the corner of 49th St. In April of 1964 they recorded a song called 'Funny Girl' which was never released because their manager died just after the track was cut. Through this tragic circumstance the group never went commercial but did continue to just cruise around Philadelphia and share street corner symphonies with other groups, alternating songs for their own pleasure and that of passersby. Thirty-three years later lead singer Frankie Lafaro (who has been called the Frank Sinatra of doo-wop) and the four Fashions finally recorded both some of the tunes they have sung all their lives and some of Frankie's originals. |
