Johnny Maestro
b. John Mastrangelo, 7 May 1939, Brooklyn, New York, USA. Maestro led two singing groups to the Top 10: the Crests in the '50s and Brooklyn Bridge in the '60s and '70s. With the Crests, whom he joined in 1956, Maestro's voice was heard on the number 2 doo-wop classic 16 Candles in 1958, as well as lesser hits The Angels Listened In, Step By Step and Trouble In Paradise. (Note: Maestro spelled his stage name Mastro during his tenure with the Crests). Maestro signed as a solo artist to the Coed label, the same for which the Crests recorded, in 1960, while still with the Crests (the group backed him vocally). That year he placed three singles on the charts: the Top 20 Model Girl, the Top 40 What A Surprise and the lesser entry My Happiness. He left the group and the label in 1962 and continued to record singles for such labels as Apt Records, Cameo-Parkway Records, Sceptre Records and United Artists Records, some with new line-ups of Crests, but none were successful. He was absent from the national scene until 1968, when he combined two groups from Long Island, New York: the Del Satins (who had backed Dion on some recordings) and the Rhythm Method, into the Brooklyn Bridge. The 11-piece group immediately logged its biggest hit, The Worst That Could Happen, followed by six lesser chart entries, including Blessed Is The Rain, Welcome My Love and Your Husband-My Wife. The group's chart run stopped in 1970 but Maestro continued to appear with revamped Brooklyn Bridge line-ups into the '90s. His recordings with both the Crests and Brooklyn Bridge remained popular on radio stations specializing in early rock ‘n’ roll, particularly in the New York area.