THE EARLS
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


The Earls are one of the great New York City doo-wop success stories.  Formed by a bunch of guys out of the Bronx, and discovered singing on the street corner in front of subway station, the Earls took the original black doo-wop sound and refined and expanded it for whole new doo-wop audiences.  The Earls were what New York City street corner harmony was all about!
Larry Chance was the driving force behind the group's formation and success.  Larry grew up in Philly and attended high school with the likes of Chubby Checker, Frankie Avalon, and Danny Rapp of Danny and the Juniors.  But it wasn't until 1957 that he moved with his parents to the Bronx after high school that Larry's career in doo-wop took off.
 
 

Larry hooked up with some guys at the Tecumsa Social Club and formed a group known as the Hi-Hatters.  The group was Larry, Bob Del Din, Eddie Harder, Larry Palumbo and John Wray.  The group started performing together and in the fall of 1959 they were singing in front of a subway station when a guy by the name Johnny Powers who had a fledging record label by the name of Rome heard them singing.  Powers was impressed with their sound and took them into the studio in the fall ’59.  The Earls paid their own money to cut 4 tracks under the Hi-Hatters name.

About this same time, Larry decided it was time for a new name and he literally took the name the Earls at random out of a dictionary.  Later, in 1960, the Earls lost their original member Larry Palumbo in an army skydiving accident.

                                    
 Finally in 1961, Rome released the Earls first record – Life is But a Dream  (Rome 101 – 1961) b/w Lost Love (and later released with Whoever You Are as the B side - the first version is a collectors item now worth around $150) with Larry doing some great lead work. The group then found itself in the big time performing with Murray the K and on Dick Clark’s Bandstand show.  They released another record that year - Looking For My Baby (Rome 102) b/w Cross My Heart – another great uptempo boppin number.  The Earls were starting to break new ground for doo-wop taking the black doo-wop roots and transforming them into a newer sound.  This is very evident on these two records.

                    
In 1962, the group hooked up with Stan Vincent and recorded the record they are most remembered for (no pun intended) - Remember Then for Old Town Records (Old Town 1130) b/w Let’s Waddle  – this was a real smash hit #24 on the charts by early ’63.  Larry next took a stab at song writing by co-writing the group’s next record Never b/w I Keep A-Tellin You (Old Town 1133 – 1963).  The group scored another hit in 1963 on Old Town with Eyes b/w Look My Way (Old Town 1141 – 1963).  Later, a demo cut called I Believe was released (Old Town 1149 – 1963) b/w Don’t Forget without the grouping knowing about it ahead of time.
Larry Chance later went on for a brief solo stint recording a record for Barry called Let Them Talk.  Larry went back with the Earls who at the time had two new members – Bob Moricco and Ronnie Calabrese.  The group actually started playing their own instruments and in 1967 recorded If I Could Do It Over b/w Papa for Mr. G Records (Mr. G 801 – 1967) and a track for ABC Records called Its Been a Long Time Coming b/w Mr. Lonely (ABC 11109 – 1967).
 

The group continued performing into the 70’s and in 1977 they released the track Tonight.  In 1983, the group’s personnel were Larry Chance, Ronnie Calabrese, Colon Rello, Bobby Tribuzio and Butch Barbella and they recorded Larry Chance and the Earls – Today.

Speaking of today, Larry Chance and the Earls continue to be one of the more sought-after original doo-wop groups performing several times a year on the contemporary doo-wop circuit including appearances at Madison Square Garden this fall and Lead East 2001.  In 2000, Larry battled throat cancer and survived and is back healthy and singing again.  The Earls have a new CD coming out this year and it should be available in early summer 2001 - click here to check on its status:  Larry Chance and the Earls and for some more great photos of the guys!              1

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