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Groupe US originaire de New York formé en 1957. Les "Capris" était composé de Nick Santo
(né Nike Santa Maria), Mike Mincelli, Steve Reina, Vinnie Narcardo & John
Apostol. Ils se sont reformés en 1982.
Not to be
confused with the Philadelphia group of the same name, the New York City Capris
were a white doo wop group. Although strongly associated with the 1950s rock &
roll sound, the two records they are best known for, "There's a Moon out Tonight"
and "Morse Code of Love," didn't become hits until the '50s were over.
The group originally formed in 1957 in the borough of Queens, NY, when all were
teenagers. The original lead was Nick Santa Maria (aka Santo), Mike Mincelli
(first tenor), Steve Reina (second tenor), Vinnie Narcardo (baritone), and John
Apostol (bass). In selecting their name, the guys were apparently unfamiliar
with the Philadelphia group that had preceded them by a few years. Previous
interviews with different members of the group make it unclear whether the group
was named for the Isle of Capri, or the car of the same name. Perhaps it was a
combination of the two.
By 1958, the group had been gaining experience performing at local venues, and
had even started adding some of their own original material to their repertoire.
They attracted the attention of some independent record producers, and were soon
in the studio cutting an original ballad called "There's a Moon out Tonight."
For the B-side, they recorded an interesting up-tempo novelty tune titled "Indian
Girl." With it's strong 1950s rock & roll flavor, the sides were quickly picked
up for release by Planet, a small New York City label. Unfortunately for the
Capris though, Planet was not able to effectively promote the record and it
became an almost instant obscurity. Original Planet pressings of "There's a Moon
out Tonight" can now fetch up to 1,000 dollars in collectors circles, when one
of these rare platters surfaces.
Soon thereafter, the groupmembers all went their separate ways, and one would
think that's where the story would end. But, for the Capris, things took a
different and an interesting turn. By 1960, much of what was being passed off to
teenagers as rock & roll was polished pop with a beat; lacking the original
vitality of what preceded it in the mid-'50s. Discerning and disgruntled
teenagers were looking backward, and radio programs were starting to focus on "oldies,"
even though these "oldies" may have been released only two or three years
earlier. As luck would have it, the Capris' record found it's way in to the
hands of Jerry Greene. At the time, Greene worked for Times Square Records, a
legendary New York City "oldies" store that supplied DJ Alan Fredericks with
material for his Night Train radio show. Fredericks played the record and now
kids were looking to buy it. Greene was initially able to get a few hundred of
the remaining copies of the record from Planet. With the demand exceeding the
dwindling number of available copies, Greene finally purchased the masters from
Planet, started his own label, and reissued "There's a Moon out Tonight" as Lost
Nite 101. But the demand kept growing and so Greene turned to Hy Weiss, who
released the disc again, now on his Old Town label.
By early 1961, the record had made the national charts and stayed there for over
three months. With a national hit on their hands, the Capris reunited and soon
were playing some of the country's most prestigious venues, like the Regal in
Chicago and the Apollo in New York City. Trying to capitalize on the success of
"There's a Moon out Tonight," Old Town released three more singles by the group,
all in 1961. "Where I Fell In Love" was an average ballad that borrowed
lyrically from "Moon" but lacked it's energy. The flip side "Some People Think,"
another ballad, was a stronger effort by the group. It probably would have done
better without the syrupy strings that were added. It barely broke in to the
national charts, and quickly dropped out of sight.
Their next release, "Why Do I Cry," was a cliché-filled ballad, again with too
much strings added. The flip side, "Tears in My Eyes," was another pleasant
ballad by the group. But again, neither side registered with the fans. For their
last Old Town pairing, they broke with the back-to-back ballad formula of the
previous two releases. "My Island in yhe Sun" was a nice mid-tempo number with a
cha cha feel. The flip "Girl in My Dreams" was a decent ballad, although with
some overly busy string bass work that somewhat intrudes on the group's Vocals
efforts. This one also scratched at the bottom of the charts but never took off.
Some previously unreleased Capris tracks for Old Town have now been made
available on a series of CDs put out by England's Ace Records.
1962 saw the group leave Old Town and move over to the Mr. Peeke label for a
single release "Limbo" backed with "From the Vine Came the Grape." Neither of
these tunes captured the public's attention. So, by 1963, the Capris were
dissolving again, with Santo becoming one of New York City's finest. Over the
next few years there would be other personnel changes as the group continued on
with performances. But for the next big event in the history of the Capris,
we'll fast forward about 20 years.
In 1982, Nick Santo re-joined the group and they went in to the studio to record
a new album,There's a Moon out Again, for Ambient Sound. Besides doing
covers of some doo wop classics, the Capris also included a couple of original
tunes. One of these was a song called "Morse Code of Love." The tune sounded
like it came right out of the late '50s, and many thought it was in fact an
overlooked "oldie." It was also released as a single in 1982, backed with "There's
a Moon out Again." And the song got even more exposure when Manhattan Transfer
decided to cover it. Over the years, "Morse Code of Love" has only grown in
popularity and has become one of the most requested tunes on oldies-type radio
stations. Once again the Capris scored a home run with a 1950s sound that
touched the heartstrings of the listeners and evoked the spirit of a time when
life was simpler.
http://www.history-of-rock.com/doo.htm
Talents: Nick: (lead) - Mike: (first tenor) - Steve: (second tenor) - Vinnie: (baritone) - John: bass
Style musical : Doo Wop
THERE'S A MOON
OUT TONIGHT (1958)
INDIAN GIRL
(1958)
BOP! BOP! BOP!
(1959)
WHERE I FELL IN
LOVE
(1961)
MORSE CODE OF LOVE
(1982)
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Years in activity :
| 1910 | 20 | 30 | 40 | 50 | 60 | 70 | 80 | 90 | 2000 | 10 | 20 |
DISCOGRAPHY
Singles
| 1958 | SP PLANET P-1010/11 (US) |
There's A Moon Out Tonight
/
Indian Girl
|
| 1959 | SP SABRE ROLLE SR-201 (US) |
My Promise To You /
Bop! Bop! Bop!
|
| 11/1960 | SP LOST NITE L-101 (US) | |
| 12/1960 | SP OLD TOWN 1094 (US) |
There's A Moon Out Tonight
/
Indian Girl
|
| 1961 | SP TROMMERS TR-101 (US) |
There's A Moon Out Tonight
/
Indian Girl
|
| 03/1961 | SP OLD TOWN 1099 (US) |
Where I Fell In Love
/ Some People Think |
| 05/1961 | SP OLD TOWN 1103 (US) | Tears In My Eyes / Why Do I Cry |
| 08/1961 | SP OLD TOWN 1107 (US) | Girl In My Dreams / My Island In The Sun |
| 1961 | SP LOST NITE L-112 (US) |
God Only Knows / Thats What You're Doing To Me |
| 1961 | SP LOST NITE L-148 (US) | Little Girl / When |
| 1962 | SP MR. PEEKE MP 118 (US) | Limbo / From The Vine Came The Grape |
| 1964 | SP MR. OLDIE'S MO 101 (US) |
There's A Moon Out Tonight
/
Indian Girl
|
| 1964 | SP OLDIES 45 OL 178 (US) |
There's A Moon Out Tonight
/
Indian Girl
|
| 1976 ? | SP HI-OLDIES 458 (US) | |
| 1977 | SP JANUS GOLD 1JG-713 (US) |
There's A Moon Out Tonight
/
Indian Girl
|
| 01/1982 | SP AMBIENT SOUND 02697 (US) |
Morse Code Of Love
/ There's A Moon Out Again |
| 1985 | SP COLLECTABLES COL 3161 (US) |
Morse Code Of Love
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| 02/1991 | SP COLLECTABLES COL 1000 (US) |
There's A Moon Out Tonight
/
Indian Girl
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Albums
| 1982 | LP 12" COLLECTABLES 5016 (US) |
 |
THERE'S A MOON OUT TONIGHT - There's A Moon Out Tonight / Where I Fell In Love / A Hum Diddily Dee Do / Tears In My Eyes / Stars In The Sky / Girl In My Dreams / My Island In The Sun / Indian Girl / Why Do I Cry / Some People Think |
| 1982 | LP 12" AMBIENT SOUND 37714 (US) |
 |
THERE'S A MOON OUT AGAIN - To Be Loved / Morse Code of Love / Guardian Angel / Boy Meets Girl / Oh Darlin / You Are / Tonight I'm So In Love / She's My Girl |
| 1982 | LP 12" Curcio GSR - 44 (I) |
 |
La Grande Storia Del Rock - 44 - The Capris / Paul Jones / George Freeman - CAPRIS : Why Do I Cry / My Island In The Sun / There's A Moon Out Tonight / Girl Of My Dreams / Hum Diddly Do / Where I Fall In Love / Tears In My Eyes / Stars In The Sky / Paul JONES : High TIme / I've Been A Bad Bad Boy / George FREEMAN - You've Changed / I Ain't Got Nobody / Groovy Lady |
| 1983 | LP 12" Sarpe GER-44 (S) |
 |
Las Grandes Estrellas Del Rock - 44 - he Capris / Paul Jones / George Freeman - CAPRIS : Why Do I Cry / My Island In The Sun / There's A Moon Out Tonight / Girl Of My Dreams / Hum Diddly Do / Where I Fall In Love / Tears In My Eyes / Stars In The Sky / Paul JONES : High TIme / I've Been A Bad Bad Boy / George FREEMAN - You've Changed / I Ain't Got Nobody / Groovy Lady |
| 11/1992 | CD COLLECTABLES 5450 (US) |
 |
MORSE CODE OF LOVE - There's A Moon Out Tonight / To Be Loved (Forever) / Morse Code Of Love / Guardian Angel / Love Of My Own / Imagine / That's How Love Goes / Boy Meets Girl / Oh My Darling / You Are / Tonight I'm So In Love / She's My Girl / Indian Girl / There's A Moon Out Tonight |
| 1998 | CD CAPRI LABEL ? (US) |
 |
FALLING IN LOVE AGAIN - Unchained Melody / Falling In Love Again / Till / Wind Beneath My Wings / Morse Code Of Love / There's A Moon Out Tonight / Stardust / Reality / She Used To Be My Lady / The Impossible Dream |
| 01/1999 | CD JMV #1001 |
 |
OUR STORY - Dick Clark TV Intro / There's A Moon Out Tonight / Dick Clark interview / Where I Fell In Love / God Only Knows (demo) / Indian Girl / Some People Think / Tears In My Eyes / Why Do I Cry / God Only Knows (unreleased version) / My Island In The Sun / Girl Of My Dreams / Darling (demo) / Hum Diddley Dee Do (unreleased) / Stars In The Sky (unreleased) / The Way I Love (unreleased) / It Happened This Time Last Year (unreleased) / This Time It's Love (unreleased) / Limbo / From The Vine Came The Grape / Don't Twist With Anyone Else But Me (Clay COLE) / Twist Around The Clock (Clay COLE) / I Kinda Like You (unreleased) / That Girl In My Heart (unreleased) / There's A Moon Out Tonight (live 1985) / Are You Happier Now (demo) / Love Poems (unreleased) / Morse Code Of Love (live 1982) / This Is Romance (unreleased) / There's A Moon Out Again (live 1982) |
| 01/2000 | CD COLLECTABLES 5922 (US) |
 |
THERE'S A MOON OUT TONIGHT - THE VERY BEST OF THE CAPRIS - There's A Moon Out Tonight / Indian Girl / Where I Fell In Love / Some People Think / Why Do I Cry / Tears In My Eyes / Girl In My Dreams / My Island In The Sun / Stars In The Sky / Hum Diddily Die Doo / This Is Romance / Way That I Love / Love Poems / Tears In My Eyes [acapella] / My Island In The Sun [acapella] / Way That I Love [acapella] |
© Rocky Productions 31/10/2022
