The Knockouts hailed from North Bergen and Bayonne, New Jersey
and consisted of Bob D'Andrea (vocals), Eddie Parente (guitar),
Bob Collada (piano) and Harry Venuta (drums). In 1959, their manager
Chic Salerno persuaded Bob Shad of Time/Brent Records, who'd just come
off two hits with "I've had it" by the Bell Notes and "It Was I" by Skip
and Flip, to sign his boys. Aware of their limitations as vocalists,
The Knockouts hedged their bets by placing "Darling Lorraine", which
sounded like a bunch of leathery-faced cowboys breaking into an impromptu
doo-wop session around the camp fire. Shad heavily hyped "Darling Lorraine"
in New York area in the autumn of '59 and the song ascended to #45 on the
charts just before the payola bandwagon came to a crashing halt amid a
welter of recriminations and investigations.Mr. Bob D'Andrea was born in 1932
and in 1993 he played Tony Toupee in A Bronx Tale.
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