The Knockouts

 The Knockouts (North Bergen / Bayonne, New Jersey)
 (By Hans-Joachim)

Personnel:

Bob D’Andrea (Lead)

Eddie Parente (Guitar)

Harry Venuta (Drums) (replaced by Pierre LaSalle in 1960)

Bob Collada (Piano)

Discography :

Singles:
1959 - Darling Lorraine / Riot In Room 3C (Shad 5013)
1960 - Rich Boy - Poor Boy / Please Be Mine (Shad 5018)
1961 - You Can Take My Girl / Fever (MGM 13010)
1964 - Mo Jo (Part 1) (Got My Mo Jo Working) / Mo Jo (Part 2)  (Tribute 199)
1964 - What's On Your Mind / Tweet-Tweet (Tribute 201)
1964 - Don't Say Goodbye (instrumental) / Ecuador (Tribute 203)
1965 - Falling From Paradise* / Ecuador* (Tribute 216)
*credited to Bob D’Andrea & The Knockouts

Unreleased:
1960 - Please Be Mine (Allegro acetate)
N/A - Stormy Weather
N/A - Jungle Mambo

Album:
1964 -Go Ape With The Knockouts (Tribute LP 1202)Mo Jo Pt. 1 / Darling Lorraine* / Tweet Tweet / Ecuador / Poor Boy - Rich Boy** / I Got A Woman Pt. 1 / What’s On Your Mind / Give Me A Chance / Number One Girl / Molly Malone / Don’t Say Goodbye / I Got A Woman Pt. 2
*re-recording, **re-recording of Rich Boy - Poor Boy

Biography:

The Knockouts hailed from North Bergen and Bayonne, New Jersey and consisted of Bob D'Andrea (vocals), Eddie Parente (guitar), Bob Collada (piano) and Harry Venuta (drums). In 1959, their manager Chic Salerno persuaded Bob Shad of Time/Brent Records, who'd just come off two hits with "I've had it" by the Bell Notes and "It Was I" by Skip and Flip, to sign his boys.

  

Aware of their limitations as vocalists, The Knockouts hedged their bets by placing "Darling Lorraine", which sounded like a bunch of leathery-faced cowboys breaking into an impromptu doo-wop session around the camp fire. Shad heavily hyped "Darling Lorraine" in New York area in the autumn of '59 and the song ascended to #45 on the charts just before the payola bandwagon came to a crashing halt amid a welter of recriminations and investigations.

During the 60's, The Knockouts used to perform in Seaside, NJ at the Parrot Club, Luciano's in Lodi, NJ, in Lyndhurst, NJ and also up at Greenwood Lake, NY on weekends. Bob Catucci (aka Pierre LaSalle) replaced Harry Venuta in 1960.

     
                                            left Eddie Parente, right Bob D'Andrea; back: left. Bob Collada, right Pierre LaSalle

Pierre was with the group in all the recordings that followed Lorraine and stayed with them until the group started to decline in the early mid sixties. Bob D’Adrea went on to form a comedy duo called Andre and Cirell which still performs around the Jersey Shore.

Movie:


Darling Lorraine

Songs:

     
Darling Lorraine (short ending)  Darling Lorraine (alt. take with long ending)  Riot In Room 3c

     
Rich Boy - Poor Boy                 Please Be Mine              You Can Take My Girl

     
Fever                                    Mo Jo Pt. 1                  What’s On Your Mind

     
Tweet-Tweet                       Don’t Say Goodbye                   Ecuador

     
Darling Lorraine (album version)   Poor Boy - Rich Boy (album version)  Give Me A Chance

     
I Got A Woman Part 1             I Got A Woman Part 2             Number One Girl

      
Molly Malone                      Stormy Weather                    Jungle Mambo


 Please Be Mine

...