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The Lettermen are an American pop music vocal group. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Pop music as a genre features a noticeable rhythmic element catchy melodies and hooks, a mainstream style and conventional structure A musical ensemble is a group of two or more Musicians who perform instrumental or vocal Music. The Lettermen's trademark is close-harmony pop songs with light arrangements. In Western music, harmony is the use of different pitches simultaneously and chords actual or implied in Music. Pop music as a genre features a noticeable rhythmic element catchy melodies and hooks, a mainstream style and conventional structure A song is a Musical composition. Songs contain vocal parts that are performed 'sung' and generally feature Words ( Lyrics) commonly followed In Music, an arrangement refers either to a rewriting of a piece of existing Music with additional new material or to a fleshing-out of a compositional sketch such They were popular mainly with adult audiences during the 1960s. The 1960s decade refers to the years from the beginning of 1960 to the end of 1969

Contents

History

The group was formed in late 1950s by Mike Barnett, Dick Stewart and Tony Butala. The 1950s Decade refers to the years of 1950 to 1959 inclusive They auditioned for Jackie Barnett, chief comedy writer for the Jimmy Durante TV show. A television program (US television programme (UK or television show (U They landed the part to impersonate The Rhythm Boys, the vocal group that traveled with Paul Whiteman and his orchestra in the late 1920s, and gave Bing Crosby his initial fame. The Rhythm Boys were a male singing trio consisting of Bing Crosby, Harry Barris and Al Rinker. Abba Brisbane Birralee Voices Cliff Adams Singers Crosby Stills & Nash Danny Paul Whiteman ( March 28, 1890 &ndash December 29, 1967) was an American orchestral An orchestra is an instrumental ensemble, usually fairly large with string brass woodwind sections and possibly a percussion section as well The 1920s is sometimes referred to as the " Jazz Age " or the " Roaring Twenties " when speaking about the United States and Canada Harry Lillis “Bing” Crosby ( May 3, 1903 &ndash October 14, 1977) was an Academy Award winning American Popular The "Newcomers of 1928" review opened on 28 February 1958 at the Desert Inn in Las Vegas, Nevada. Events 202 BC - coronation ceremony of Liu Bang as Emperor Gaozu of Han takes place initiating four centuries of the Han Dynasty 's rule Year 1958 ( MCMLVIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The Desert Inn was a Las Vegas Nevada hotel/casino that operated from April 24, 1950 to August 28, 2000. Las Vegas ( Spanish: "The Meadows" is the most populous City in the state of Nevada, the seat of Clark County, and an internationally Nevada ( is a state located in the western region of the United States of America. This review also starred Paul Whiteman, Buster Keaton, Rudy Vallée, Harry Richmond and Fifi D'Orsay. Joseph Frank "Buster" Keaton ( October 4 1895 &ndash February 1 1966) was an Academy Award -winning American Rudy Vallée ( July 28, 1901 - July 3, 1986) was an American Singer, Actor, Bandleader, and entertainer Fifi D'Orsay ( April 16, 1904 - December 2, 1983) was an actress They played to sell-out audiences and were held over for many weeks. This review also played a six week review at the Deauville Hotel in Miami Beach, Florida, with Butala being the only consistent Letterman. Florida ( is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the Barnett and Russell were replaced by Gary Clarke and Jerry Paul. When the review ended, Butala landed a job as singer/bass player in a lounge group, "Bill Norvas and the Upstarts", with Gary Clarke. The electric bass guitar (also called electric bass, or simply bass; ˈbeɪs as in "base" is a Stringed instrument played primarily with the After a few months, Clarke left the group and was replaced by Jim Pike. Jim Pike was raised in the state of Idaho with his two brothers Donny Pike and Gary Pike. Pike and Butala decided to leave the Upstarts and resume the Lettermen although they had not yet decided to use the Lettermen name. Pike envisioned a group where each member was an excellent soloist as well as a competent group singer. Pike recommended the third Letterman should be Bob Engemann, a singer that Pike had met when he attended Brigham Young University a few years earlier. Both had come to Los Angeles, California, and sang together in different combinations until Engemann had go into the National Guard for 6 months. Los Angeles (lɑˈsændʒələs los ˈaŋxeles in Spanish) is the largest City in the state of California and the American West California ( is a US state on the West Coast of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. For the National Guard of a State and other countries' National Guard see National Guard. At that point, Pike joined Bill Norvis and met Butala. This combination first recorded in late 1959.

They secured a recording contract with Warner Bros. Records through Bob Engemann's older brother, Karl Engemann, who was a record producer there, and for whom Pike had released a record earlier called "Lucy D", which was not successful. A recording contract (commonly called a record deal) is a legal agreement between a Record label and a Recording artist (or group where the artist Warner Bros Records Inc is an American Record label that operates as a wholly owned Subsidiary of Warner Music Group. In the Music industry, a record producer or music producer has many roles among them controlling the recording sessions coaching and guiding the musicians organizing A gramophone Pike, Butala and Engemann as "The Lettermen" released two singles in 1960. The A-sides were "Two Hearts" and "There Hearts Were Full Of Spring". A-side and B-side originally referred to the two sides of 7 inch Vinyl records on which singles were released beginning in the 1950s They were not successful. Karl Engemann moved on to Capitol Records as President of A&R. Capitol Records is a major United States -based Record label owned by EMI and located in Hollywood California and New York City as Artists and Repertoire ( A&R) is the division of a Record label that is responsible for talent scouting and artist development He got them out of their contract at Warner Bros. , and made an appointment with Nick Venet, a producer at Capitol and they were signed. Nick Venet (born Nikolas Kostantinos Venetoulis December 3, 1936 - January 2, 1998) was a Record producer who for the majority of

There was another "Lettermen" group in the late 1950s and early 1960s that recorded for Liberty Records, (which was a major label at the time). Liberty Records was a United States -based Record label. It was started by chairman Simon Waronker in 1955 with Alvin Bennett as president In the Music industry, a record label can be a Brand and a Trademark associated with the Marketing of music recordings and Music They were an R&B group with five members, and their single was called "Hey Big Brain". But the "Lettermen" of Pike, Engemann and Butala had the first hit record, so they were entitled to exclusively use the "Lettermen" name. A Hit record is a Sound recording, usually in the form of a single or Album, that sells a large number of copies or otherwise becomes broadly popular or There was also a group in the mid 1950s called The Lettermen Trio, but had no record success.

The Lettermen were unknown until they signed with Capitol Records in 1961. Their first single for Capitol, "The Way You Look Tonight," succeeded on the Billboard Hot 100 pop chart, and their next, "When I Fall in Love," reached the Top 10 in late 1962. " The Way You Look Tonight " is a song featured in the film Swing Time, which won the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1936. Record chart are a method of ranking Music according to Popularity during a given period of time " When I Fall in Love " is a popular song written by Victor Young (music and Edward Heyman (lyrics The Top Forty or Top 40 is a music industry shorthand for the currently most-popular songs in a particular genre. They had several other Top 10 hits, such as the 1965's, "Theme From A Summer Place". A hit single is a recorded track or single that has become very popular The " Theme from A Summer Place " is a song with lyrics by Mack Discant and music by Max Steiner, written for the 1959 movie A Summer In late 1967 Bob Engemann resigned, and was replaced by Jim Pike's younger brother, Gary Pike. The hits continued with the 1968 medley "Goin' Out of My Head"/"Can't Take My Eyes Off You", and in 1968 with "Put Your Head on My Shoulder", plus 1969's "Hurt So Bad". "Can't Take My Eyes Off You", written by Bob Crewe and Bob Gaudio, was a 1967 single by Frankie Valli. " Put Your Head on My Shoulder " is a song written by Canadian Singer-songwriter Paul Anka. The last successful single was in 1972, "Love" a solo by Pike.

The Lettermen have had 32 consecutive Billboard Magazine chart albums, 11 gold records, five Grammy nominations, an Andy Award, and a Cleo Award. See Billboard (Turkish magazine Billboard is a weekly American Magazine devoted to the Music industry The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard An album or record album is a collection of related audio or Music tracks distributed to the public The Grammy Awards (originally called the Gramophone Awards)—or Grammys —are presented annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences In 1976, Jim Pike left the group and sold the Lettermen name to Butala.

In 1981 Gary Pike left the Lettermen, and today Jim and Gary Pike, along with Ric de Azevedo, sing The Lettermen hits, billed as Reunion.

In 1961, The Lettermen started performing live concerts doing over 100 shows a year, an unbroken string that continues to the present now amounting to 46 years. A concert is a live Performance, usually of Music, before an Audience.

Over the decades, the group has had various line-ups, replacing members who left for various reasons with new people to maintain a trio. Trio is generally used in any of the following ways Three Musicians playing the same or different Musical instrument. Tony Butala, who (as of 2007) is still a member, has stated that the group ethos is that of three strong soloists that harmonize, and that the group encourages individual singing and songwriting. A songwriter is someone who writes the Lyrics to songs the Musical composition (chords or Melody to songs or both

They pride themselves in welcoming audience member photographs during the show, unlike many recording acts. A photograph (often shortened to photo) is an Image created by Light falling on a light-sensitive surface usually Photographic film or an electronic A musician is a person who plays or writes Music. Musicians can be classified by their roles in creating or performing music An instrumentalist plays a

Personnel over the years

Awards and recognition

Discography

Albums

Singles

Year Song US Hot 100 US AC
1961 "The Way You Look Tonight" 13 3
1961 "When I Fall in Love" 7 1
1962 "Son of Old Rivers"1 - -
1962 "Come Back Silly Girl" 17 3
1962 "How Is Julie?" 42 16
1962 "Turn Around, Look at Me"2 105 -
1962 "Silly Boy (She Doesn't Love You)" 81 -
1962 "Again"3 120 -
1963 "Heartache Oh Heartache"4 122 -
1963 "Allentown Jail"5 123 -
1963 "Where or When" 98 -
1964 "Put Away Your Tear Drops"6 132 -
1964 "You Don't Know Just How Lucky You Are" - -
1965 "Girl with a Little Tin Heart"7 135 -
1965 "Theme from A Summer Place" 16 2
1965 "Secretly" 64 8
1965 "Sweet September"8 114 24
1966 "You'll Be Needin' Me" - -
1966 "I Only Have Eyes for You" 72 4
1966 "Chanson D'Amour"9 112 8
1967 "Our Winter Love" 72 16
1967 "Volare" - 17
1967 "Somewhere My Love" - -
1967 "Goin' Out of My Head / Can't Take My Eyes Off You" 7 2
1968 "Sherry Don't Go" 52 9
1968 "All the Grey Haired Men"10 109 -
1968 "Holly" - -
1968 "Medley: Love Is Blue/Greensleeves" - -
1968 "Sally le Roy" - -
1968 "Put Your Head on My Shoulder" 44 8
1969 "I Have Dreamed"11 129 16
1969 "Blue on Blue" - -
1969 "Hurt So Bad" 12 2
1969 "Shangri-La" 64 8
1969 "Traces/Memories Medley" 47 3
1970 "Hang On Sloopy" 93 18
1970 "She Cried" 73 6
1970 "Hey Girl"12 104 17
1971 "Morning Girl" - 34
1971 "Everything Is Good About You" 74 6
1971 "The Greatest Discovery" - -
1971 "Feelings" - 33
1971 "Love" 42 8
1971 "Oh My Love" - -
1972 "Spin Away" - -
1973 "Sandman" - -
1973 "Summer Song" - 25
1974 "The You Part of Me" - -
1974 "Touch Me in the Morning/The Way We Were" - 31
1975 "Eastward" - 16
1975 "You Are My Sunshine Girl" - 28
1976 "If You Feel the Way I Do" - -
1976 "The Way You Look Tonight"13 - -
1977 "What I Did for Love" - -
1979 "World Fantasy" - -
1980 "In the Morning I'm Coming Home" - -
1985 "It Feels like Christmas" - -
1986 "Proud Lady of America" - -
1987 "One More Summer Night" - -
1988 "All I Ask of You" - -

Footnotes:
1"Son of Old Rivers," a parody of "Old Rivers" by Walter Brennan, was recorded by Butala, Engelmann, and Pike. The Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart (formerly known as Adult Contemporary Singles, Easy Listening, and only Adult Contemporary) lists the most popular " The Way You Look Tonight " is a song featured in the film Swing Time, which won the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1936. " When I Fall in Love " is a popular song written by Victor Young (music and Edward Heyman (lyrics " Come Back Silly Girl " is the name of a song written by Barry Mann. " How Is Julie? " is the name of a song written by Eddy Carroll and Barry DeVorzon. " Turn Around Look at Me " is the name of a song written by Jerry Capehart. " Silly Boy (She Doesn't Love You " is the name of a song written by Dave Burgess and Marnie Thomas " Again " is a popular Song, recorded by many singers " Allentown Jail " is a folk song Written by Irving Gordon, it tells the story of a man who is caught stealing a diamond for his girlfriend and ends up in the Allentown " Where or When " is a Show tune from the 1937 Rodgers and Hart musical Babes In Arms. The " Theme from A Summer Place " is a song with lyrics by Mack Discant and music by Max Steiner, written for the 1959 movie A Summer The best-known recording of the song was done by Jimmie Rodgers, charting in 1958, reaching #3 on the Pop chart and #5 on the Country chart " Sweet September " is a song written by McGuffie Phillips and Stanley " I Only Have Eyes For You " is a popular song by composer Harry Warren and lyricist Al Dubin, written in 1934 for the film " Chanson D'Amour " ("Song of Love" is a popular song written by Wayne Shanklin. " Nel blu dipinto di blu " (literally "In the blue painted blue" popularly known as " Volare " ( Italian for the infinitive form of the " Lara's Theme " is the generic name given to a recurring musical cue written for the film Doctor Zhivago (1965 by composer Maurice Jarre. " Put Your Head on My Shoulder " is a song written by Canadian Singer-songwriter Paul Anka. "I Have Dreamed" is a Show tune from the 1951 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, The King and I. " Shangri-La " is a popular song written by Carl Sigman (lyricist Matt Malneck, and Robert Maxwell in 1946. " Hang on Sloopy " is a song by the pop group The McCoys which was #1 in America in October 1965 and is the official rock song of the state of " Love " is a ballad by John Lennon, originally released in 1970 on his John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band album " The Way You Look Tonight " is a song featured in the film Swing Time, which won the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1936. A parody (ˈpɛɹədiː US, [ˈpaɹədiː] UK) in contemporary usage is a work created to mock comment on or poke fun at an original work its subject Walter Brennan ( July 25 1894 – September 21 1974) was a three-time Academy Award winning American Actor.
2"Turn Around, Look at Me," the b-side of "How Is Julie?," did not chart on the Hot 100, but hit #5 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart. A-side and B-side originally referred to the two sides of 7 inch Vinyl records on which singles were released beginning in the 1950s The Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.
3"Again" did not chart on the Hot 100, but hit #20 on the Bubbling Under chart.
4"Heartache Oh Heartache" did not chart on the Hot 100, but hit #22 on the Bubbling Under chart.
5"Allentown Jail" did not chart on the Hot 100, but hit #23 on the Bubbling Under chart.
6"Put Away Your Tear Drops" did not chart on the Hot 100, but hit #32 on the Bubbling Under chart.
7"Girl With a Little Tin Heart" did not chart on the Hot 100, but hit #35 on the Bubbling Under chart.
8"Sweet September" did not chart on the Hot 100, but hit #14 on the Bubbling Under chart.
9"Chanson D'Amour" did not chart on the Hot 100, but hit #12 on the Bubbling Under chart.
10"All the Grey Haired Men" did not chart on the Hot 100, but hit #9 on the Bubbling Under chart.
11"I Have Dreamed" did not chart on the Hot 100, but hit #29 on the Bubbling Under chart.
12"Hey Girl" did not chart on the Hot 100, but hit #4 on the Bubbling Under chart.
13The 1976 release of "The Way You Look Tonight" was a new disco version.

See also

External links

Abba Brisbane Birralee Voices Cliff Adams Singers Crosby Stills & Nash Danny Traditional pop or Classic pop or Standards music denotes in general Western (and particularly American popular music that either wholly predates the advent of
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