• The Laurels (7)  (McKeesport, Pa.) 
    aka The Pennants


    Personnel :

    Bob Gaynor (Lead)

    Fred Hulme (First Tenor)

    Dick Muse (Second Tenor)

    Noel Schwertfeger (Baritone)

    Nick Ticich (Bass)

     

     

    Discography:

    The Pennants

    Singles :
    1961 - Don't Go / Workin' Man (World 102)
    Unreleased :
    1961 - Darling How Long (Word)


    The Laurels (7)

    Singles :
    1989 - Don't Go / Darling How Long (World 102)
    Unreleased :
    1960 - Every Minute of the Day / Lips of Fire  (Willett)




    Discography :

    Fred Hulme, Dick Muse, Nick Ticich, Noel Schwertfeger and Bob Gaymor from McKeesport, Pennsylvania dubbed themselves the Laurels, and by 1957 were doing campus gigs, and expanded to local clubs and hops. Their first trip to the Pittsburgh region was a performance at the White Elephant in 1958. During the show, DJ Tom Nee introduced the group to Harry Latanzio, the owner of Harry's Danceland in Latrobe.

    The Laurels were signed to open there for national acts like The Coasters and Freddy Cannon.   That led to bookings at the Veterans Club of McKeesport, where they got the audience pumped for the likes of Pookie Hudson and The Spaniels. Latanzio then hooked the guys up with Elmer Willett.  Willett owned the Vogue Terrace club and ran a local label, Willett Records, out of Carnegie.  The Laurels taped "Every Minute of the Day" and "Lips of Fire" for Willett, but he never released them.

          

    But Lennie Martin and Lou Guarino at World Records liked their sound, and issued "Working Man" b/w "Don't Go" in 1960. They credited it to the Pennants for still unexplained reasons.  Muse, an English major, received his B.A. in 1960. The Laurels disbanded after graduation to deal with the real world, and he went on to a teaching career.



    Songs :

      
                  Don't Go                                Every Minute of the Day




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