The Carmelettes (Jersey City, NJ)
aka The Kittens (2)

Personnel :

Angela LaPrete "Angela Murphy"

Vickie Cevetello

Virginia Verga

Discography :

The Carmelettes
1959 - My Foolish Heart / Promise Me A Rose (Alpine 53)
1960 - Aching For You / Something Tells Me I'm In Love (Alpine 61)

Neil Sedaka  (bb The Carmelettes)
1959 - Oh! Carol / One Way Ticket (RCA 47-7595)   

Carole King (bb The Carmelettes)
1960 - Oh, Neil / A Very Special Boy (Alpine 57)   

The Kittens
1960 - Dark, Dark Sunglasses /Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polkadot Bikini (Alpine 64)
1960 - A Letter On His Sweater / Broken Dreams    (Alpine 67)

Biography :

Trio named after Our Lady of St. Carmel Church composed by Angela LaPrete (Angela Murphy), Vickie Cevetello and Virginia Verga.  The Carmelettes were a group of Italian-American teenage girls from Jersey City, NJ -- a working class city just across the Hudson River from Manhattan -- in the late 50's.

Beatrice Verdi was their songwriter, arranger, and mentor, and she is the songwriter credited on Aching for You and Ding Dong. The group was signed to Alpine, a subsidiary of Epic Records, in about 1958 and recorded their own songs as well as background vocals for Neil Sedaka's Oh Carol.

When Carole King, for whom the song was written, recorded the answer song, Oh Neil, the girls were hired again to recreate the sound of the original song. This began a long collaboration with Carole King, although the girls were no longer called the Carmelettes.

  
The Kittens

Virginia Verga left the group, and  Angela and Vickie became the Kittens. They continued to record with Carole and for Alpine until they fazed themselves out of the business at age 18.

Songs :

The Carmelettes

   
Aching For You                                 My Foolish Heart

   
Something Tells Me I'm In Love              Promise Me A Rose

 
Neil Sedaka                                             Carole King

   
Oh! Carol                                        Oh, Neil

 ....