THE FIVE PLAYBOYS (Early Pittsburgh White Group)

1951 in the Bloomfield section of Pittsburgh Tony Bertoni and Sam Juliano have a vocal group know as The Sonny Boys they singing in the streets and participe in the Wilkens Amateur Hour,remained together for a brief time and broke up.

About 1956 Tony and Sam formed another group know as The Five Playboys formed by Mickey Sands(Lead),Tony Bertoni(1st Tenor),Eddie Lucente(2nd Tenor),Joe Fabry(Baritone) and Sam Juliano(Bass).In early 1957 auditioned for Joe Averbach’s Fee Bee label (in this auddition they singing a song_One Summer Night. later recorded for The Danleers) who signed the group and send this to one recording session at George Heid’s recording studio at the William Penn Hotel in Pittsburgh,in June of 1957 Fee Bee released the sides_Pages Of My Scrapbook/Love Me Right.

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The A Side was very popular in Pittsburgh and the tri-state area and the label re-released the recording with another B side_When We Were Young. and leased the disc to Dot Records for his national exposure,with the sucsess the group apeared at record hops with the most important Pittburgs DJ’s and have a life perfomance at the Syria Mosque Theater.

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In February of 1958 the Five Playboys recorded at the Universal international Studios in Chicago the sides_Time Will Allow/Why Be A Fool. Released by Mercury Records without any success.

In late 1958 Fee Bee Records released_Angel Mine/She’s My Baby. The A Side have a Chuck Jackson of The Del Vikings singing the falsetto part ,in the summer of 1959 Joe Averbach releaseed on his Petite label another side of the group_Mr. Echo. with the know B Side_She’s My Baby. But with a limited distribution of the recording only to the Pittsburgh area this dead soon and finally the group broke up in 1960 without made another recording.

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Listen unreleased side_Spring Is Here.