THE ADMIRATIONS....1st & 2nd Group

Pictures from Bim Bam Boom magazine.

The Admirations from Brooklyn originally consisted of Joe "Cookie" Lorello(Lead),Ralph Minichino(Baritone),Fred Mastanduno(1st Tenor),Lou Moschella(Bass) and John Mahlan(2nd Tenor).
They recorded in 1959 for Mercury Records_The Bells Of Rosa Rita/Little Bo Peep.

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But Mercury gave it very little promotion and consequently it received less than an overhelming amount of airplay and soon The Admirations broke up.

To Listen or Download_The Bells Of Rosa Rita. Please visit;http://www.box.net/shared/e6kmld2hgc

In 1961 The Admirations group was reformed with the old members Joe,Fred,Lou and the new members Joe Mertens and Joe Lorello's wife Dianne Salemme this formation recorded again for Mercury records in 1962_Hey Senorita/To The Aisle. (in this session they recorded the unreleased sides_It Happened So fast/Remember The Day).

To Listen or Download_To The Asile.Please visit;http://www.box.net/shared/c26yg3f73r

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But again Mercury disinterest in the record and the group disbanded for a second and definitive time.

In 1974 Kelway Records released the admiration's sides_Over The Rainbow/My Younger days.

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Admiration's bio from;http://books.google.es/books?id=mTM_9JTeoMIC&lpg=PA66&ots=EJPZkW9aGZ&dq=the%20admirations%20bells%20of%20rosa%20rita&pg=PA66#v=onepage&q=the%20admirations%20bells%20of%20rosa%20rita&f=false

If the quality of a vocal group was judged by the number of records released, then the Admirations would have been judged unfairly. One of the best late-'50s white doo wop groups, the Admirations were also one of the few such acts with only two records on a major label. The quintet would have been better off with one of New York's rock and roll independents,who were used to breaking records like theirs, but in 1958, 15-year-old high school students couldn't possibly forsee such things.

The group members were all friends from the same neighborhood in brooklyn, growing up around Elderts Lane and Liberty Avenue. They consisted of lead Joe (Cookie) Lorello, Fred Mastanduno (First Tenor), John Mahlan (Second Tenor), Ralph Minichino (Baritone), and Lou Moshella (Bass).

They practiced in hallways, on street corners, and at the neighborhood candy store and locked their eyes on a large advertisement for admiration cigar. At that moment the Admirations were born. They began doing dances and record hops. performing songs by their favorite groups like The Flamingos and Belmonts.

In the fall of 1958, an A&R assistant to Mercury's Clyde Otis named Jerry Maggat saw the group perform and brought them to Otis, who signed them up. Although their first recording was done in February 1959, for some inexplicable reason "Bells of Rosa Rita" was not released by Mercury until November of that year.

It became one of those classic East-Coast doo wop records that seemed more popular as an "oldie" than it was at the time of its ill-fated initial release. With Mercury's interest on the wane after just one record, the group decided to disband, but in 1960 they reformed with Joe Mertens and Diane Salemme (Joe's wife) replacing John Mahlam (In the Army) and Ralph Minichino.

 By the summer of 1960, the group got an opportunity and cut four more sides for Mercury, two of which were never released and two ("To the Aisle" and "Hey Senorita") that weren't issued until 1961.