Edward Harder, John Wray, Bob DelDin, Larry Chance & Larry Palombo.

The High Hatters (Bronx, New York)
aka The Earls (2)

Personnel :

Edward Harder (Lead)

Bob DelDin (First Tenor)

Larry Chance (Second Tenor)

John Wray (Baritone)

Larry Palombo (Bass/Baritone)

Discography :

Unreleased :
1959 - It's You (Rome)

Biography :

From the Bronx, The Earls began life as the High Hatters, cutting four demos in 1959 for Rome Records. They planned to buy themselves white tux & tails, spats, patent leather shoes, ruffled shirts, white gloves, white top hats and fancy white walking sticks. However, they had no money, so the name went out , along with the idea. At that time, the group consisted of Val Polillo (Lead), Bob Del Din, (First Tenor), Larry Palombo, (Bass/Baritone), John Wray,(Baritone), and Larry Chance, (Second Tenor). Val Polillo left and was replaced by Eddie Harder on lead.

        
Larry Palombo

Their First appearances as the High Hatters were at the Moose Lodge on 216th Street in the Bronx and at Teen Town in Mt. Vernon, NY. They sang all the standard street songs, "Zoom, Zoom, Zoom," "I'm So Happy," "Why Do Fools Fall In Love," "Thousand Miles Away," etc. Knowing they couldn't afford to buy the outfits they had wanted, they decided to change the name. However, they had five guys, all of whom thought that the name they wanted was best. Five members, five ideas. So, they decided that the only fair way to arrive at a new name would be to get a dictionary, open a page at random, place a finger on a word and call the group whatever came up. Finger landed on the word "EARL,... nobleman of high rank." That was it....they would be called "The EARLS!". Later, in 1959, the Earls lost their original member Larry Palombo in an army skydiving accident when his parachute failed to open during an exercise. In 1961, Rome released the Earls' first record "Life is But a Dream" (Rome 101 – 1961) b/w "Lost Love".

Songs :

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