What happened to Johnny Maestro between 1961 and 1968? The Best Of Johnny Maestro, where my collection comes from, has only 3 tracks he recorded as a solo artist, all three from 1961, and all 3 chart hits. Before that he sang bel canto doo-wop with The Crests, and in the late 60s / early 70s he was lead singer of Brooklyn Bridge, Buddah Records’ answer to Gary Puckett & The Union Gap (as if an answer were required). And those missing years? No idea, nothing comes up in the usual sources, and I can’t find any unusual sources.
And whatever happened to him, it’s too bad, because he was good. He held his own among the best of the teen idols of his day, and for the most part he could sing circles around Bobby Vee or Bobby Rydell. So I’ll keep checking Amazon for Johnny Maestro: The Missing Years, but I’m not holding my breath…
Johnny Maestro:
• Model Girl – Model as in Christie Brinkley? Model as in plastic glue-it-yourself airplane? More like model as in “role model.” She can’t possibly live up to the hype, but while those strings are playing and his voice is soaring the fantasy is just too real. From the spring of 1961. “When I saw you walking down the street…”
• What A Surprise – This is as silly as Model Girl is fanciful, but when I hear Johnny sing I forgive him everything. I have to wonder what would have happened had he just given up and gone home… From the summer of 1961.
• Mr. Happiness – We’re getting a bit mundane here and it showed in the results; the song didn’t get higher than number 57 on Billboard, and it was his last hit before he resurfaced with The Brooklyn Bridge. From the summer of 1961, a bit later than What A Surprise.
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After the three songs you listed, COED Records released two Johnny Maestro singles late in 1961: I.O.U./The Way You Look Tonight & Besame Baby/It Must Be Love. Johnny then recorded for different record labels: Fifty Million Heartbeats/Before I Loved Her ~ I'll Be True/Over The Weekend ~ Lean On Me/(It's Harder To)Make Up My Mind ~ Phone Booth On The Highway/She's All Mine Alone ~ I'm Stepping Out Of The Picture/Afraid Of Love ~ Heartburn/Try Me ~ I Care About You/Come See Me ~ My Time/Is It You ~ The Rain Came/Never Knew This Kind of Hurt Before ~ Yours Until Tomorrow & more. Most of these were recorded between 1961 & 1965 and are available on YouTube. Johnny continued as lead singer of The Brooklyn Bridge, touring and recording, until his death in 2010.
After the three songs you listed, COED Records released two Johnny Maestro singles late in 1961: I.O.U./The Way You Look Tonight & Besame Baby/It Must Be Love. Johnny then recorded for different record labels: Fifty Million Heartbeats/Before I Loved Her ~ I'll Be True/Over The Weekend ~ Lean On Me/(It's Harder To)Make Up My Mind ~ Phone Booth On The Highway/She's All Mine Alone ~ I'm Stepping Out Of The Picture/Afraid Of Love ~ Heartburn/Try Me ~ I Care About You/Come See Me ~ My Time/Is It You ~ The Rain Came/Never Knew This Kind of Hurt Before ~ Yours Until Tomorrow & more. Most of these were recorded between 1961 & 1965 and are available on YouTube. Johnny continued as lead singer of The Brooklyn Bridge, touring and recording, until his death in 2010.
Johnny Maestro was also the lead singer of The Del Satins from 1966 to 1968, when the group merged with The Rhythm Method to form The Brooklyn Bridge.
The solo recordings by Johnny that really stand out are called Northern Soul, and are: I Care About You, Never Knew This Kind of Hurt Before and I'm Stepping Out Of The Picture. These songs show a voice that is very soulful and are different than the doo wop music that he also did so well. My favorite of his solo recordings is Yours Until Tomorrow (1971) on the Buddah label and written by Carole King & Gerry Goffin.
I'm speechless...
More solo recordings by Johnny Maestro are on a 2010 CD "Maestro Music Please", available on Amazon. Admittedly, a few are simply not good songs and are poorly produced, but there are also some gems that should have been big hits. Johnny also recorded a superb CD in 2002 with The Brooklyn Bridge, PEACE ON EARTH.
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