Cirino & The Bowties (Brooklyn, New York)


Personnel :

Cirino Colacrai (Del Serino) (Lead)

Johnny Granato

Jimmmy Piro

Anthony “Diddy” Cipaldo


Discography :

Singles :
1955 - My Rosemarie / My Baby's In Love With Me (Royal Roost 614)
1956 - Again / This Must Be The Place (Royal Roost 619)
1956 - After Love / Snap Jack (Royal Roost 622)
1956 - Ever Since I Can Remember / Rock Pretty Baby (Ivy Schulman & Bowties)(Royal Roost 624)

Unreleased :
N/A - Road Man (Royal Roost)
N/A - Blind in love (Royal Roost)


Biography :

Cirino Colocrai was born in Brooklyn and was a accomplished child musician, playing multiple instruments. He and Teddy Randazzo were boyhood friends, and in the early 1950s wrote several hit songs together, including "Rosemarie." Cirino's compositions "Runaround" and "Foolishly" were both recorded by Randazzo's group, the Three Chuckles.

Cirino organized a group called "Cirino and the Bowties" to experiment and demonstrate, and record Cirino's songs. Initially, Cirino & the Bowties consisted of Red Hook neighborhood residents Cirino Colacrai,Tony Bonadonna (Vic Donna’ Brother), Jimmy Piro and Andy Romeo.By the end of 1955, the Bowties were recording for Royal Roost. But Vic’s brother, Tony Bonadonna, had been drafted and was in Germany.

Andy Romeo had also left the group. The group recorded rock and roll and teenage-themed uptempo love ballads for Roost Records during the mid-1950s. Roost Records (also known as Royal Roost Records) was a record label established in 1949 by music producer Teddy Reig, primarily to record jazz, taking its secondary name from the New York club with which it was associated. The personnel on the Bowties first record, “Rosemarie,” was Cirino Colacrai, Johnny Granato, Anthony “Diddy” Cipaldo and Jimmy Piro.

                                                                                                               Cirino Colacrai

Both Cirino and the Bowties and the Three Chuckles would become favorites of deejay Alan Freed who not only put the groups on his stage shows but also in his 1956 film, Rock Rock Rock in which they sang "Ever Since I Can Remember" and also backed up Ivy Schulman on "Rock, Pretty Baby."  Cirino bought a luncheonette in Red Hook. While the Bowties were working Freed’s show at the Brooklyn Paramount, many of the singers from the show would drop by Cirino’s luncheonette, much to the joy of the neighborhood kids.

In the late 1950s, the Bowties seemed to slowly break up, as they lost their contract to Roost, and Cirino followed other, more songwriting-type, projects. Cirino's songs were featured in the movies "Jamboree" and "Country Music Holiday" during the late-'50s, such as "Toreador," "I Don't Like You No More," and "Goodbye My Darlin'." During the 1960s, Cirino continued to write more pop songs, some of them moderate hits.

Videos :


Ever Since I Can Remember

Rock Pretty Baby (with Ivy Schulman)

Songs :
(updated by Hans-Joachim) 

        
                   Again                       This Must Be The Place             Ever Since I Can Remember


          
Rock Pretty Bab        (Take One) My Baby's In Love With Me            My Rosemarie

After Love / Snap Jack  

...