The Dukes of Harmony

As more and more original doo-wopers retire and others find it better to live in warmer climates, Florida is increasing becoming center stage for great acappella and doo-wop music.  And one of the groups leading the way to the south is the Dukes of Harmony.  As the group themselves says:  "we strive to keep acappella alive for the enjoyment of all those people who appreciate the beauty of the human voice in song and harmony."  The Dukes work out of Orlando, Florida.  The group consists of 4 guys originally from other major cities in the U.S. specializing in 50's and 60's Doo Wop harmony.
 

Don O'Neill (lead and second tenor) is the group's founder and has performed in many bands including Semanon and the acappella group the Harmonics.  Angel Anglero started singing in 1959 in the Bronx with a group called the Barons.  He later joined the the Endings until the early seventies when he started doing studio work.  In 1979, Angel joined "The Riffs", with lead singer Joe LoCicero, performing night clubs, Rock-n-Roll concerts and benefits.  In 1986, he joined John Kuse's Excellents.  After moving to Florida, Angel joined the Imaginations with Frank Mancuso as lead singer for two years, then returned to the Riffs until 1998.

Jim Rich (lead, first tenor, second tenor and baritone) grew up in Rockport, Mass. where he sang with the Boston acappella group the Andytones until he moved to Florida in July of 2001. Jim has also performed with local Boston groups "Boston Rockabilly Music Conspiracy", "North Shore acappella" and national acts "Little Joe Cook and the Thrillers" and "Jan and Dean".  Craig Sculthorpe (lead, first tenor, second tenor) sang in a group called the the Sentry's performing at Marine Corp. base clubs when he was called to serve in Vietnam. Upon returning home, he put together another group called the "D00-Whops."  He then formed a Christian Rock and Roll band called "Faith" where he was lead singer, manager and Pastor of Faith Community Church.

The current group got together about two years ago.  Jim responded to an ad in the paper in the Orlando area.  The group first started singing acappella until it had a solid repertoire of songs.  They have recently started working with tracks and a backup group.  Doo-Wop is in high demand, says Jim.  So the group is constantly performing.  They recently performed in Las Vegas for a trade show, as well.  And they have plans to perform in the New York area in 2004.

They have also been busy the past year recording.  They now have 4 CDs and two new ones in the works.  Their most recent offering was a Christmas CD that included some original selections and nice arrangements of classic songs done by Jim.  They also have a new CD of classic tunes entitled Doo-Wop Classics II.  In the first volume, the group recorded more popular and recognizable selections.  This time around, they have chosen more obscure tunes including a rare song by the Hi-Tones entitled Sure as the Flower - a favorite of bass singer Anglero.  Also included is a nice rendition of Looking For an Echo.  They are planning a second live CD and another new CD of all original material in 2004.

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