In 1961, songs like Chubby Checker’s “The Twist,” Patsy Cline’s
“Crazy” and Elvis’ “Can’t Help Falling in Love” were filling the
radio airwaves.
Add to that list two romantic ballads by The Lettermen — “The
Way You Look Tonight” and “When I Fall in Love” — the group’s first
two hits.
“We found that niche in between The Platters in the 1950s and
the hard rock that followed in the ‘60s,” said Tony Butala, the
sole original member of The Lettermen.
Butala, along with Donovan Tea and Mark Preston who make up the
current Lettermen lineup, will appear at 7:30 p.m. Friday at the
Bromeley Family Theater at the University of Pittsburgh at
Bradford’s Blaisdell Hall as part of the current Bradford Creative
and Performing Arts Center’s season.
For five decades, the Lettermen have been a mainstay in concerts
and on records, radio and TV, singing romantic pop songs in their
characteristic close, breathy harmonies.
The reason for their popularity is no mystery to Butala.
“Love never goes out of style,” he said.
For the Bradford concert, Butala said the group would perform a
medley of their hits, such as “Shangri-La” and “Theme From a Summer
Place.” But, he emphasized they are performers first.
“We’ve had 26 hit records that are like a big dessert,” he said.
“But you can have too much sugar, so we condense the hits into a
medley and add audience participation numbers, impersonations,
solos and comedy numbers, too.”
The lettermen sweaters, popular when the group started out in
the late ‘50s, were the reason for their name, but they soon
outgrew the trend.
“We chose the wrong name,” Butala said. “We all did ‘letter’ in
high school and used the sweaters as a visual aid back then to
stand out.”
But when the sweaters became passé, the group had already gained
a following under their name, so it stayed.
Butala, a native of Sharon, began his professional singing
career at age 7 on KDKA Radio in Pittsburgh. In a few years, he was
working in Hollywood. Over the years, he met the other original
members of the group — Jim Pike and Bob Engemann.
By 1961, the group was signed to Capitol Records where they had
their first hits.
“I remember one memorable occasion when all the Capitol artists
were invited to then-Capitol president Alan Livingston’s house to
meet The Beatles on their first trip to America,” Butala said. “I
remember sitting in the corner of the room talking to John Lennon
for about two hours that night.”
Another Capitol artist he remembers fondly was Nat King
Cole.
“He liked our group, too. I remember him saying, ‘Man, you boys
are doing a great job.”
The statistics confirm that observation. The Lettermen have over
10,000 sold-out shows to their credit and more than $25 million in
record sales, many of which have gone gold.
One of their biggest hits charted in 1967 — a combination of two
popular songs at the time, “Going Out of My Head” and “Can’t Take
My Eyes off You.”
“That was recorded live at a concert in front of about 10,000
college kids,” Butala said. “It was the first hit record to ever
incorporate two different songs by weaving them together and making
them sound like one song.”
Butala is also the proud founder of the Vocal Group Hall of Fame
and Museum, a non-profit foundation based in his hometown of
Sharon.
“I wanted to save this rustbelt town of mine,” he said. “At the
same time, I wanted to honor all the great vocal groups and their
legacies. We have 10 years of inductees and their stories.”
The hall and museum also support the “Truth in Music” bill that
makes it illegal for impostor groups using names of established
vocal groups to deceive audiences into believing they are the
original group. The bill has become a law in 33 states, including
Pennsylvania.
Unfortunately, when the economy took a downturn and state grants
dried up, The Vocal Group Hall of Fame and Museum had to be closed
up, but Butala said induction ceremonies continue and all material
is being archived for the time when it will open again. People
interested in checking out the status of the museum and information
about inductions can log on to the Web site at www.vocalgroup.org.
Butala said he’s looking forward to visiting Bradford for the
first time.
“Tell everyone we’re not three old pot-bellied bald guys,” he
said. “Donovan is 6-foot-3 and handsome, and Mark is dynamite. We
believe in bringing our audiences into our shows. Sure, we’ll sing
songs that remind people of their first kiss, but we’re
entertainers above all.”
Tickets can be purchased in advance by visiting the BCPAC office
at 10 Marilyn Horne Way between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Monday through
Friday, as well as through the Web site at www.bcpac.com.
If seats remain on the day of the show, student rush tickets are
available for half price one hour before the show at the venue’s
box office on the day of the performance.
