Brooklyn Bridge - Brooklyn Bridge (1968)

Brooklyn Bridge - Brooklyn Bridge (1968)

Johnny Maestro (Mastrangelo) b. May 7, 1939 in Brooklyn, New York, began his career in 1957 as the original lead singer of The Crests, one of the first interracial groups of the recording industry. After a regional hit with "My Juanita"/"Sweetest One" on the Joyce label, and two years of chart success on Coed Records with "16 Candles", "Step by Step", "The Angels Listened In", and "Trouble in Paradise", Maestro left the Crests for a solo career. Maestro was unable to reach his former chart heights with the Crests, but did have Top 40 hits with "What A Surprise" and "Model Girl" in 1961 and 1962.

By 1967, another New York group called the Del-Satins, who had made several non-charting recordings between 1959 and 1967 under their own name (and backing up Dion on his post-Belmonts recordings), were looking for a new lead singer to replace original lead Stan Ziska. Other members were brothers Fred and Tom Ferrara (baritone and bass), Les Cauchi (first tenor) and Bobby Fiela (second tenor). According to Cauchi, members of the group ran into Maestro at a local gym, playing his guitar, and approached him with the offer to join the group. After initially turning them down, Maestro's manager called Cauchi and told him Maestro had changed his mind.

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. Impressed with each other's skills and talents, the groups decided to try to join forces. The name supposedly came from the joke that the group would be "harder to sell than the Brooklyn Bridge."

Johnny and the Bridge rehearsed their unusual combination of smooth vocal harmonies and full horns, and signed a recording contract with Buddah records. Their first release, a version of the Jimmy Webb song "The Worst That Could Happen" (previously recorded by The Fifth Dimension), reached #3 on the Billboard Pop Charts. The follow up, "Welcome Me Love", and its flip side, "Blessed is the Rain", both reached the Top 50. A dramatic version of "You'll Never Walk Alone" and the controversial "Your Husband, My Wife" also reached the middle ranges of the charts. The group sold over 10 million records by 1972, including LP sales, mostly produced by Wes Farrell. Appearances on Ed Sullivan, The Della Reese Show and others helped to bring the group to the national stage.

After its heyday, The Brooklyn Bridge downsized to a five-man group, with the vocalists playing their own instruments. For example, Maestro could be seen on stage playing rhythm guitar, while former Rhythm Method bassist Jim Rosica picked up a vocal part. Later in the 1970s, as the Rock and Roll Revival evolved from a nostalgic fad to a respected genre, the group began to add members, retaining its core vocalists. By 1985, the group had solidified into an eight piece group, including original Del Satins Cauchi and Fred Ferrara and original Bridge member Rosica, and augmented by a horn section for special occasions.

1. Blessed Is The Rain 3:21
2. Welcome Me Love 2:19
3. Which Way To Nowhere 3:27
4. Free As The Wind 2:42
5. Glad She's A Woman 3:01
6. Space Odessey-2001 (Thus Spake Zarathustra) 1:26
7. Requiem 3:51
8. I've Been Lonely Too Long 4:10
9. Worst That Could Happen 3:08
10. Piece Of My Heart 3:09
11. Your Kite, My Kite 2:34