They recorded...
AS THE ROULETTES
- I See A Star / Come On Baby.Champ Records--1958.
LISTEN...
AS "THE SINGING" ROULETTES
- Hasten Jason / Wouldn't Be Going Steady.Scepter Records-1959.
LISTEN...
AS BILLY GALLANT
- Scribbling On The Wall / Thinking Wishing Hoping.Dee Dee Records-1963.
- Thinking Wishing Hoping / If You'd Only Be MyLlove.Goldisc Records-1963.
To Listen or Download_Scribbling On The Wall. please visit; http://www.box.net/shared/338i7amse5AND AS BILLY & THE PATIOS(see in this blog).
5 comments:
On "I See A Star" Lillie Acosta is the lead of the Roulettes on Champ Records. Billy Galante told me that he knew no one could tell that we had a girl lead when she sang, I knew it, when I listened to the words, carefully, of Hasten Jason" on Scepter Records decades ago - everyone told me, even recently. I was nuts!. The song "Hasten Jason" is about a girl singing about her guy. The flip side, of "I See A Star," "Come On Baby" is led by Bobby Galante. Lillie Acosta sang lead, in the Roulettes, on "Hasten Jason" on Scepter Records. A dispute'caused Scepter Records from giving this release any promo - hence, it's a super and valued rarity on the original label.
Reading some interview articles, I came up with this information. "Sweetest One" by the Crests ,on Joyce Records, lists "Browne - Mastrangelo" as the writers. In an interview, Johnny Maestro claimed "I didn't write that song - Billy Dawn Smith did." When I spoke to Billy Dawn Smith, he said "I didn't write that song either." I interviewed Billy Galante a little before his passing and he told me this tale: Billy had heard Lillie Acosta, singing in the streets (lower Manhattan), with Johnny Maestro/Crests. Lillie was a stand-in member of the group. Billy had big ideas for this girl. He knew no one could tell that she was a girl, when singing lead or in the harmony. Maestro gave Lillie to Billy. Billy had already started writing songs and he gave one of them to Al Browne for Johnny Maestro and the Crests use. This song was "Sweetest One" written by Billy Galante!
Bobby Diskin - Brooklyn, NY
Wow Bobby that information is priceless, actually thought all of these years that Billy Galante was the lead singer and sang lead on"I See A Star" no idea that it was a girl, is that her in the picture above??? can it be? Anyway that other information about that great classic 'Sweetest One" is the most shocking of all yea i thought it was Johnny that wrote it, good to finally give credit to Billy Galante and sorry too, to hear he's no longer with us. Thank you Bobby Diskin for that great information.
You're most welcome. I don't know of a group picture existing with Lillie Acosta in it. I believe it was in 1980, I was listening to "Hasten Jason," by the Roulettes and I listened to the words. The words, to me, was a girl singing about her boyfriend. Then I played "I See A Star" and I hear the same lead voice - obviously now, was that it was a girl lead. Everyone I told this to, told me that I was nuts - including recently. I guess, no one listens to the words, only the sound. On speaking to Billy Galante, some 30 plus years later, he confirmed that the lead singer of the Roulettes was Lillie Acosta.
In a printed interview, Johnny Maestro said that Billy Dawn Smith wrote "Sweetest One." Billy Galante had told me that he wrote "Sweetest One." So when I spoke, in person, to Billy Dawn Smith and mentioned what Maestro said - Billy stated "Maestro's wrong, I didn't write "Sweetest One" and I never heard that Al Browne wrote it either." Last man standing, Billy Galante, he's the one who wrote it !
Bobby Diskin - Brooklyn, NY
If you look closely to the above photo,second from the left is a woman,must be Lillie Acosta.
Yes, that's old news that a close friend of mine thought too. Only problem is that in the picture of Billy and the Patios that person is in the photo and it clearly was a guy, not a girl. I did get a picture of the Crests, in the street with a young girl in the picture. We figured that was Lillie Acosta and I'm still waiting as someone got in touch with JT Carter to confirm. I'm still waiting for his reply to a friend of mine. So anything is possible, but if you look at a picture of Biily/Patios you will see that person in the Patios and there it's clearly a guy. If I ever find out that Lillie Acosta was the same person in the earlier picture, I will write in immediately. The last I asked, I was told that JT Carter and my friend were playing phone tag. I will email him tomorrow to ask if he spoke to JT Carter yet. I do agree that person could look like a girl but you should see if the picture of Billy/Patios is on-line and then you will see that it's a guy. Look it took decades for anyone to believe me that a girl was the lead of the Roulettes (and all you needed to do was to listen to the words of "Hasten Jason") - no one believed me. Especially when everybody thought Billy Galante was the lead of the the Roulettes. Billy told me that the Roulettes were his younger brothers group and Bobby Galante asked Billy to write some songs for Bobby's group. After some 40 years after I told people that the lead of the Roulettes was not Billy Galante but it was a girl (Lillie Acosta) no one believed me. Billy never told me that he was a member of the Roulettes and he was the one who spotted Lillie in the streets and Maestro agreed to let Bobby Galante's Roulettes could have Lillie as their lead singer. I will remind my friend to get the answer on the photo of the young girl with the Crests in the street. Anythings possible on this - but my friend who told me that's a girl in the picture didn't have a picture of Billy/Patios where you can see it's really is a guy. I'll post again, if I get any new info. Check out the Billy/Patios picture. I'm flexible on this - but I think we need and I've been trying to get more on this. I'll get on this tomorrow. I guess I must know you or what's with the Unknown. If you writing in to put out new info (which isn't new to me) why don't you put your name on it. I've been wrong on stuff before but i did interview Billy Galante and I'll stick with what he told me until different info and proof shows up.
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