She was not on the list.
Singer. Famous the national hit "Party Girl" from 1964, she passed away today October 5, 2018 at her home in Florida at the age of 74 following a brief battle with cancer. She started her career with the Starlets, a group that became the Angels; the Starlets had a regional hit with "P.S. I Love You." Bernadette was an uncredited fourth voice on the Angels' #1 hit from 1963 "My Boyfriend's Back." A few years later she was the lead singer of the Angels on a few recordings that did not become hits. Bernadette, along with Denise Ferri and Peggy Santiglia, was one of the three backup singers on Lou Christie's 1966 #1 hit "Lightning Strikes." Though not a household name, Bernadette Carroll is one of the more successful teen vocalists of the girl group era. She charted as a member of the Angels, as a solo act, and as a for-hire backup singer, performing on at least two #1 hits, selling over a million copies of each. You've heard her voice, whether you know it or not. Her early '60s work with Hazlet, New Jersey, producer Tommy Falcone resulted in a handful of singles for the Cleopatra and Julia labels, including the syrupy ballad "Laughing on the Outside (Crying on the Inside)" and the upbeat dancer "Heavenly." Both have been remastered from the original analog tapes, pressed on high quality German vinyl, and housed in a stock Numero sleeve.
n Linden, New Jersey, in 1959, she collaborated with singers Barbara Allbut, Jiggs Allbut and Lynda Malzone to form a group called The Starlets but later on formed another group called The Angels. In 1964 she gained popularity for her hit single Party Girl, however her songs Laughing on the Outside (Crying on the Inside) and Care a Little gained recent popularity when they were featured on the soundtrack of the 2017 dark comedy-drama The End of the F***ing World.
Carroll's first preformance was when she was only seven, acting in a school play. Soon after her family moved to Linden, New Jersey, she became somewhat of a reckless teenager, sneaking out late at night to go to local recording studios with her friends, which is how the Starlets formed. Members Barbara and Jiggs Allbut met Tom DeCillis, who had branched out into songwriting after moving to NJ. He then found two more members, Bernadette Carroll and Lynda Malzone to form the Starlets. Soon after they recorded "P.S. I Love You" in 1961 on the Astro label. DeCillis signed Carroll as a solo artist under the Cleopatra and Julia labels after he saw her potential.
After The Starlets disbanded, Carroll made her first solo recording for the Julia label, My Heart Stood Still. She then joined with Tommy DeVito and Nick Massi of The Four Seasons to record the song "Nicky", written by Massi and Bob Gaudio, which was Carroll's first single for the Laurie label. Carroll's second single under the label was "Party Girl," produced and co-written by Ernie Maresca, which became a national hit. She teamed up with Denise Ferri and Peggy Santiglia to be backup singers for Connie Francis, Patty Duke, Bobby Hebb and Frankie Valli (one of which is featured in the hit musical Jersey Boys). The trio did background vocals for Lou Christie's #1 song "Lightning Strikes" and the follow-up Rhapsody in the Rain. In 1968, Carroll became the lead singer of The Angels and recorded four songs for RCA Records, including "The Boy With The Green Eyes", written by Neil Diamond. She toured with them for one year.
"My Heart Stood Still" was Carroll's first solo single. It did not chart on the Hot 100, but was a hit in Springfield, Massachusetts where it charted at #4 on the WHYN 560 AM radio survey chart in October 1962.
No comments:
Post a Comment