Tommy Frontera's Singing Group

[robb_k]

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Does anyone here know what Detroit male singing group back up Tommy Frontera on his Rem and Hi-Lite songs? I have a photo of him singing with a group, that was posted on You-Tube together with his song "After Tonight", which was a minor hit on REM Records [[a subsidiary of Hi-Lite Records).
Here it is:
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Do any of you recognise any of them? Tommy is front right. I assume that two of them might possibly be named Pat Meehan and Dominic Chiaravelli [[two writers listed for his REM songs). Or, those writers could have been members of The Seminoles, as they also appear on Seminoles and Tommy Frontera records on Hi-Lite Records. REM was a subsidiary of Hi-Lite Records.

But, I rather think that Pat Meehan, who produced The Four Gents on Oncore Records, may have been one of the producers [[and possibly a co-owner) of Hi-Lite Records. So, he was probably not a member of the group in the photo.

IF Frontera [[AKA Tom Shad?) didn't appear with his OWN group, maybe they were The Seminoles? The Calveys? The Imperials?

[robb_k]

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Here's a bigger view:
https://i.imgur.com/3WKVddL.png

[robb_k]

duplicate post

[robb_k]

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Lots of views but no comments. Where are the Detroiters who knew Tommy? I should have asked this question in 2001. The Kount, Ron Murphy, StuBass, or someone else would have answered this question. But, Maybe Ralph can, or Stu, Dennis, or one of the other older native Detroiters will see this thread. :cool:

Where are the Detroit experts when you need them?

[TomatoTom123]

I have absolutely no idea the answer to your question robb, but I would like to wish you good luck in finding it. :rolleyes:

[StuBass1]

14805
Lots of views but no comments. Where are the Detroiters who knew Tommy? I should have asked this question in 2001. The Kount, Ron Murphy, StuBass, or someone else would have answered this question. But, Maybe Ralph can, or Stu, Dennis, or one of the other older native Detroiters will see this thread. :cool:

Where are the Detroit experts when you need them?
Funny you mentioned Tommy Frontera and yes...I do have a Tommy Frontera story, but not so much relating to music... When I was a little wannabe jock...maybe 11 or 12 years old, I had a neighbor, Ed [[Lolly) Nagel) who was a promising baseball pitcher and used to coach us kids baseball. Lolly went on to not have Major League talent, but ultimately became a high school Phys Ed teacher and I used to hang out with him and his girlfriend, later his wife, Sylvia... Ed went to Pershing High School and one day, asked me if I wanted to go to a sandlot [[playground) baseball game he was playing in on the other side, East of Woodward [[near 7 mile rd) for those of you Detroiters...It was a bunch of his high school buddies and on the other team was Tommy Frontera who walked onto the sandlot like a sort of "rock star". I knew the name because as a beginning musician just getting familiar with the Detroit music scene...I knew the name when he showed up, and I remember that he was sort of a local celebrity since he had just released his first record [[which I really don't recall) and he was a local guy at this game...so that was my experience with Tommy Frontera...probably 1961 or 1962 I'd assume...I remember he was wearing some sort of mafia style white "wife beater" shirt too...LOL...

[StuBass1]

Oh man...See what kinda shit happens...Bringing this story up, I wondered what happened to Lolly Nagel since I hadn't seen him in at least 50 years...Amazing google took me about 2 minutes to find him...I now plan to reach out to his family... Glad this thrad helped. He was a great influence on my and a lot of kids lives and my "buddy" who used to take me around with him to his athletic events and coached my baseball teams...https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/detroitnews/obituary.aspx?n=edward-e-nagel&pid=181038159&fhid=11409

[robb_k]

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Nice story Stu. Tommy hadn't had "Shy Boy" released until early 1962. So, that must have been just after it was released. Can you remember if he had a regular group, in which he was lead singer? His picture above shows a full group, and on about half of his songs he had a group behind him. you can hear them on "After Tonight". I'm trying to find out if the same group who recorded with him also appeared with him at local venues. Was it Tommy Frontera and The ..........?

[robb_k]

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Here's his best group record from the very end of 1963, into early 1964 [["After Tonight"/"How To Love Him"):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8reri-CsHUU

[StuBass1]

Could have been 62...I only remember him as having released a record under his own name...

[robb_k]

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Here's his big local hit, "You're My Leading Lady". He had no back-up group on this one:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4FYw9CLFo0

[robb_k]

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While in high school [[and, possibly for some time after) he used to sing with a group of friends. I wonder if Domenic Chiaverelli , who co-wrote several of his songs, was in the group that backed him on "Shy Boy" and his REM cuts. From the photo above, they look like they could have ALL been of Italian ancestry. There were a LOT of Italian kids in Detroit's music scene during the early '60s: Danny Zella [[Larados), Sal Prado & Joey Finazzo[[Seminoles), Tony Micale [[Reflections), Ralph Terrana [[Sunliners), Gino Romano [[Calveys), Bobby Gioia [[Fiats). Do you recognise any of the guys in the photo above [[other than Tommy [[front right)?

I'm sure that Dennis Coffey could answer my questions, Dennis and Tommy went to high school together at MacKenzie High, in Detroit. So Dennis would certainly know about Tommy's group. They started singing with him while they were all in high school. Dennis kept in touch with Tommy through at least 1966. He and Mike Theodore produced and arranged Tommy's 2 Palmer Records cuts in 1966 [["Street of Shame" and "Merry-Go-Round".

[robb_k]

Could have been 62...I only remember him as having released a record under his own name...
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Yes, I've seen 4 singles by Tommy on Hi-Lite Records, and one on REM, and NONE of them had a back-up group named. I guess he was a "solo act", EVEN if his old group made up of his friends always backed him up on his gigs.