Top : Fred Merola & Santo "Sandy" Ratineri- Center : Kenny "Vance" Vogt - Bottom : Charlie Guanierie & Chico Gambardella

The Bachelors (3) (New Heaven, CT)
aka The Music Men (1)

Personnel :

Kenny "Vance" Vogt (Lead)

Santo "Sandy" Ratineri

Chico Gambardella

Fred Merola


Discography :

Kenny Vance & The Bachelors (3)
1957 - Flaming Red Hair / Did Your Pen In Sunshine (Winston 8001)

The Bachelors (3)
Singles :
1957 - From Your Heart / A Million Teardrops (National 104)
1958 - Today, Tomorrow, Forever / I Want A Girl (National 115)
1958 - Teenage Memory / Sometimes (MGM 12668)
Unreleased :
1958 - I'm Sincere (MGM)
1958 - Moon (MGM)

The Music Men (1)
1959 - Blue Bird / Santa Cruz (Bigtop 3006)
1959 - An Open Fire / Via De Paradisio (Bigtop 3014)



Biography :

Vocal group from New Heaven composed by Santo ”Sandy” Ratineri, Chico Gambardella , Fred Merola and Ralph Donnarummo. The Bachelors, all New Haven, Connecticut residents, first organised in 1956 under the name of the Teardrops. They worked the Connecticut and New York areas and built up quit a following for themselves under that name. Kenny Vance who is now a New Haven resident hails from Chicago, Illinois.

 He came to Connecticut to live near his manager and also "to be near New York where everything is going on". He worked as a single in most of the top Connecticut nite-spots before teaming up with the the Teardrops to Replace Ralph Donnarummo. That happened one night after both acts worked a dance-job at the town House in New Haven. At the age of 23, Kenny is the oldest member of the group. When a new group called the Teardrops came out on the King label, the boys had to change their name to the Bachelors.

Bandleader Bobby Madera (Bobby Woodlen), ABC Paramount recording star was the co-composer of two tunes which he offered the boys after he heard them sing at a dance in New Haven. The tunes were suited to the style of the Bachelors and The Bachelors were suited tot he style of the tunes. A recording session was scheduled and "Flaming Red Hair" and "Did Your Pen In Sunshine" were released on the Winston Record Label. The release of the record brought a "double-first", as this is the first offering by Kenny Vance & the Bachelors and the first released by Winston.

     
                                                                                                                         Kenny Vance

In 1957, Charlie Guanieri  join the Bachelors and the group sign a recording contract for National records. National label operated by industry veteran Joe Leahy for a short period in New York in 1957. It seems there may have been at least five totally different National labels over the years. The Group cut two singles for Joe Leahy, and "From Your Heart" became a Northeast regional hit song. Chico Gambardella abandons the group to execute his military obligationsand the quartet with Kenny Vance, Sandy Ratinieri, Fred Merola and Charlie Guanierie recorded a  single for MGM in 1958 "Teenage Memory" b/w "Sometimes" . Two other titles were recorded but MGM will never release them.

But the story does not end there, at the end of 1958, the Bachelors signed a recording contract with Johnny Bienstock from BigTop records and in January 1959, Bigtop released the first of their two singles under their new name The Music Men,  "Blue Bird" b/w "Santa Cruz" and four months later, a second single will be released by Bigtop : "An Open Fire" b/w "Via De Paradisio". 

Songs :
 (Updated by Hans-Joachim)

 The Bachelors (3)

    
From Your Heart                   A Million Teardrops                  Sometimes

     
I Want A Girl (Shame Shame On You)    Teenage Memory     Today, Tomorrow, Forever

..