Johnny
Maestro & The Brooklyn Bridge
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Left-Right: Freddie Ferrara, Johnny Maestro, Les Cauchi Background: Lou AgiestaJohnny
Maestro and The Brooklyn Bridge is an American musical group, best known for
their rendition of Jimmy Webb’s "The Worst That Could Happen"
(1968).
History
Johnny Maestro (Mastrangelo) b. May 7, 1939 in Brooklyn, New York is the original
lead singer of The Crests, one of the first interracial groups of the recording
industry. After chart success with "16 Candles", "Step by Step",
"My Juanita" and "The Angels Listened In" Johnny left
the group for a solo career with COED Records and had top 40 hits with "What
A Surprise" and "Model Girl". Members of a group named the
Del-Satins, Stan Ziska (lead), Fred Ferrara (baritone), his brother Tom Ferrara
(bass), Leslie Cauchi (first tenor) and Bobby Fiela (second tenor), did back
up on Dion DiMucci's early albums. They approached Johnny and asked him to
join their group. The story goes that Les Cauchi and other Del-Satins saw
Johnny strumming a guitar in a gym when they approached him. After being turned
down, Fred Ferrara, Les Cauci and the other were surprised when they heard
from Johnny's manager telling them he had changed his mind and wished to join
them.
In 1968, after touring locally and playing in clubs and small venues the Del-Satins attended a "Battle of the Bands" and encountered a seven piece brass group named the Rhythm Method. Bent on merging the two groups a manager was called, when told that it was an eleven member band looking for management he exclaimed, "that will be a harder sell then the Brooklyn Bridge!" Hence the name "The Brooklyn Bridge".
Johnny and the gang would go on to hit number 3 on the billboards with the Jimmy Webb penned song "The Worst That Could Happen" which was previously a minor hit for The Fifth Dimension. Other hits such as "Welcome Me Love", "You'll Never Walk Alone", "Your husband, My Wife" and "Blessed is the Rain" also hit the top 40. The group sold over 10 million records by 1972. Appearances on Ed Sullivan, The Della Reese Show and others helped to bring the group to the national stage. The group released a successful Christmas EP in 1989 and released a greatest hits compilation in 1993. Johnny Maestro and the Brooklyn Bridge were also featured in one of PBS's biggest fundraising events ever, Doo Wop 50 performing both "Sixteen Candles" and "The Worst That Could Happen" on the VHS/DVD. The Brooklyn Bridge is also the featured artist in a 2005 "Pops Legends Live" a series of concerts featuring artists of classic rock. Considered one of the strongest groups of the era they continue to tour to this date and recently released a CD titled "Today" covering songs of the 1950's and 60's.
They were inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame (www.limusichalloffame.org)on Oct 15, 2006
