The Roommates were originally a duo formed by
15-year olds Steve Susskind and Bob Minsky, of Russell Sage Junior High
in Queens, New York. After coming second in a local talent show - behind
another duo, Tom & Jerry, who later became better known as Simon &
Garfunkel - they became a quartet. For their first release they recorded
14 year old Cathy Jean Giordano singing "Please Love Me Forever",
a song that had been a minor hit in 1958 for Tommy Edwards, and would
become a hit again in 1967 for Bobby Vinton. Before releasing the
record, overdubbed harmonies by the Roommates was added. Cathy Jean and
the group had never met in person when the record was issued.
Steve Susskind later became a successful character actor. He died in an
automobile accident on January 21, 2005, and Bob Minsky died on August 25,
2006. Art Loria died in October 2010 after a successful, post-Roommates,
career performing and recording with such acts as the Belmonts, Larry Chance
and the Earls and the Doo Wop All Stars. Cathy Jean Giordano married and,
as Cathy Jean Ruiz, hosted a Long Island radio show in the late 1980s.
She recorded a comeback single, "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me", in 1991.
Soon afterwards, she formed a new version of Cathy Jean and the Roommates,
who continue to perform in and around New York as of 2012. Current members
of the Roommates are Jerry Pilgrim, Shelly Wengrovsky, and Carlos Rampolla.
This is a non-profit, informational web page, meant to be a
reminder of the music we listened to 50 years ago. Use of copyrighted
material is consistent with the "fair use" provisions contained in
section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976; the use of copyrighted material is
of a nonprofit, educational nature, intended for the sole purposes of
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